Oregon Specialty Group

Looking forward to being a part of this special event. Visit our table in the Salem Hospital courtyard between buildings A and C for resources, support, fun giveaways, and more. Let’s honor, uplift and celebrate our survivor community! See you on September 10th!

Join the Salem Health Cancer Center for this special celebration on Tuesday, September 10, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Salem Hospital courtyard.

🤝 Connect with our amazing cancer specialists, attend engaging talks and discover fun and informative booths.
👥 Make new friends with fellow survivors and supporters — and enjoy a delicious, healthy cooking demo.

Save the date and stay tuned for more details on Salem Health’s Facebook and Instagram. Let's celebrate together!

We're glad to have sponsored the Unified Run at the Awesome 3000, supporting our local students and celebrating inclusion!

Thank you Oregon Specialty Group and Oregon Oncology Specialist for sponsoring the 2024 Awesome 3000 Unified Run!

Thank you for making a difference for all kids!

We’re thrilled to support this important project! HOPE Plaza will provide permanent housing to survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking, as well as job training opportunities and services to survivors.

Join them (and us!) this Friday, August 16th at 10am for an open house and tour of the building. HOPE Plaza is located at 454 Church St NE.

We’re thrilled to be partnering with Hoopla and hope to see you next weekend! 🏀

Last year, we launched a new site to formally introduce Oregon Specialty Group as the parent organization to our four specialties– while also sharing our history and purpose, and centralizing our recruitment efforts. We’re excited share the site has received a Silver honor in the 2024 Aster Awards Competition – a program recognizing excellence in healthcare advertising. Congrats to our team involved in crafting the website, and to our partners at Gard Communications. Visit our site at https://oregonsg.com/.

Last month, Oregon Oncology Specialists served as title sponsor for the American Cancer Society of Oregon & SW Washington's annual fundraising event, Relay for Life of the Mid-Valley. It was a great turnout; a beautiful day to remember loved ones lost and celebrate cancer survivors.

Oregon Specialty Group was proud to sponsor and take part in the Salem Multicultural Institute and World Beat Festival this year! Our team had a blast managing our booth filled with summer swag and bonding as a community team during the World Beat Festival Dragon Boat Races.

It was a fun day, and let's just say Oregon Specialty Group is really good at a lot of things, but when it comes to dragon boat racing...we're a work in progress. 😅 See you next year! 💪

You may have noticed that our name here has changed from Oregon Oncology Specialists to Oregon Specialty Group. Although this update has been part of our evolution for a while, we are now incorporating it into our social media.

When you specialize in advanced treatments and compassionate care, you want to provide it to more than one specialty – and create a name for it. Welcome to Oregon Specialty Group, the people who bring you Oregon Oncology Specialists, Oregon Rheumatology Specialists, Oregon Infectious Disease Specialists, and Oregon Specialty Infusion.

Moving forward, we'll be sharing updates that encompass all our specialties. Our dedication to personalized care and innovative treatments remains unchanged, and we are committed to bringing the highest level of care to Oregonians in need.

Thank you for being part of our journey. Stay tuned for more updates from Oregon Specialty Group!

Today is National Clinical Trials Day!⚕️May 20th commemorates the first clinical trial, started by Dr. James Lind in 1747, which laid the foundation for modern research. Join us in celebrating the hope, innovation, and progress in cancer care made possible by clinical trials and the people behind them. Visit our website to learn more about clinical trials at OOS at www.oregononcologyspecialists.com/research.

Thank you to Pemberton's Florist for your donation of Blooms of Hope for our patients!

Thank you for spreading joy this season!

Our team is so creative! If you have an appointment at the Oak Street clinic today or tomorrow, we’d love for you to vote for your favorite staff decorated pumpkin!

Mark your calendar! Cancer Showdown Hoedown is on August 18th! All proceeds will benefit American Cancer Society Oregon SW Washington

Here is your link to register -
https://bit.ly/CancerShowdown

Come join us at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm as we celebrate YOU! American Cancer Society Relay For Life

Salem-Keizer Volcanoes Cancer Awareness Weekend will be June 24-26 this year. Stop by the Salem office to pick up your complimentary tickets!

New changes are here at Salem Hospital!

The parking lot and direct access to Salem Hospital's emergency department reopened today, April 19.

There is now a new driveway, a direct entrance to the ER, and a designated first floor parking area in the parking garage for emergency patients.

Capitol Street has been reopened to through traffic, and the Oak Street turnaround will be available for non-emergency patient pickups and drops again.

With construction complete and convenient parking access restored, we are no longer offering on-campus valet service.

Your patience and understanding through these changes are appreciated. Thank you!

Learn more: salemhealth.org/parking

UPDATE REGARDING PARKING AT SALEM CAMPUS:

On Tuesday, April 19 at 5:00 a.m., Salem Health will transition emergency department drop-offs from the Oak Street turnaround to the new driveway on Capitol Street.

Valet service for ED and Building C ends at 5:00 a.m. on April 19.
• Salem Health brought valet service to campus to mitigate the disruptions caused by the construction zone. Now that construction is complete, valet services on campus will end as part of the transition.
o Wayfinders placed around campus will ensure that patients find their way to care in a timely way.
o TownePark will transition any remaining keys to security to ensure patients who need to retrieve their car after valet service ends will be able to do so.

Emergency department patients will enter the driveway and can drop off at the entrance and proceed to dedicated parking on the first floor of the parking garage.

Building C patients may park in the Building C parking garage or in the main Capitol Street parking garage.

Non-emergency patient pickup and drop-off access is restored in the Oak Street turnaround.
• This includes access for all medical transport vehicles. No extended waiting is permitted.

General navigation
• The main entrance to Building A will open for use. It is located in the northeast corner of the Building A main lobby in the tip of the “football.”
• Staff, patients and visitors can take the new covered exterior path to reach the Building A main entrance or access the rest of campus.
• Capitol Street is open to thru-traffic again.

Starting today March 12, the state of Oregon has dropped its mask mandate in indoor public spaces and schools. As a friendly reminder, you will still need to wear a mask in health care settings.

Thank you for helping us provide care with respect to our patients, staff and visitors.

Some of our team recently got the opportunity to give back to the community and help a single mom with breast cancer through Michelle's Love . The manager of our APP group, Sarah Daniel, is actively involved with this wonderful organization.

Salem single mom with breast cancer gets help from nonprofit Lisa Painter was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer in August and has been receiving help from Portland-area nonprofit Michelle's Love.

Oregon Oncology Specialists is proud to have been named as a Top Workplace in Oregon and Southwest Washington. The workplace awards are presented annually by The Oregonian and Oregon Live. At Oregon Oncology Specialists, our purpose is to take care of people, and that includes patients, families, each other, and even the broader community. This recognition is important to us because we’re intensely proud of our staff at every level. Thank you to our entire team for putting our purpose into action!

If you had an appointment at the Salem office today you were given the opportunity to vote on your favorite staff painted pumpkin. We had some extremely creative submissions this year!

In observance of Independence Day we will be closed on Monday, July 5th. We will reopen on Tuesday, July 6th.

As always we have a provider on call 24/7 for our patients in need. You may reach them by calling our mainline number of 503-561-6444.

Marion and Polk counties received special approval from the OHA to advance ahead and allow eligibility for the COVID Vaccine through all of group 6, which includes cancer patients over the age of 45!

Eligibility table and link to make your appointment below.

Link to eligibility table: https://sharedsystems.dhsoha.state.or.us/DHSForms/Served/le3527A.pdf

Link to Website for appointment sign-up: https://mychart.salemhealth.org/mychart/covid19/ #/

MyChart - COVID-19 Vaccine Registration

Salem Health is looking for participants for focus groups to gain insight on needs and gaps in cancer services in our area. We encourage you to join and provide your insight!

Samaritan Health Services collaborates with long-standing oncology group In late 2020, Samaritan Health Services entered into an agreement with Oregon Oncology Specialists. The collaboration creates opportunities for engagement with hematology and oncology specialty physicians, as well as advanced practice providers, who will care for cancer patients in Samaritan’s tri...

COVID-19 Vaccine Update:

We have all been affected by the global pandemic caused by SARS-CoV2, novel coronavirus, known as COVID-19. We are grateful for the scientists, pharmaceutical specialists, researchers, and agencies who have worked tirelessly to create vaccine(s) so we can envision a brighter, healthier tomorrow. Studies show that the COVID-19 vaccine is safe and will protect you from getting COVID-19. Though, the vaccine is not widely available in Oregon yet, it is only a matter of time.

COVID-19 vaccine and immunocompromised patients:

The CDC has recommended that individuals receive COVID-19 vaccine unless otherwise contraindicated, though data not currently available to establish safety and efficacy of vaccine in these groups. They recommend the individual should be counseled about unknown vaccine safety and efficacy, potential for reduced immune response, and the need to continue to follow all current guidance to protect against COVID-19 (including physical distancing masking, hand hygiene, not being around sick contacts, and prompt reporting of symptoms).

Patients diagnosed with cancer, patients who are on chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy were not included in the COVID-19 vaccine trials, therefore we do not have complete data to inform us about potential risks or level of efficacy both in the short term and long term.

Recommendations:

The physicians at OOS are recommending our patients receive the COVID vaccine, when available, including patients on treatment.

The physicians at OOS also recommend our patients receive the Flu shot annually.

The physicians at OOS recommend you avoid live vaccines and discuss with your physician prior to receiving a vaccine if you have questions.

*For transplant patients, the physicians at OOS follow the recommendations and vaccination schedule provided by OHSU or the transplant center.

How do I get my vaccine?

Currently, Oregon continues to receive shipments of the vaccine and has developed a phased approach for distributing vaccines to the community.

Our community partners are working with the Health Department to procure vaccines and will be announcing vaccination clinics and/or vaccine appointments to receive your vaccination. OOS will not be providing vaccines to our patients.

How do I know what phase I am in?
Phase 1b includes:
• People at high risk for severe COVID-19 illness due to
underlying medical conditions.
• People who are 65 years and older

Reference Links:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations-process.htmlhttps://sharedsystems.dhsoha.state.or.us/DHSForms/Served/le3527.pdf

sharedsystems.dhsoha.state.or.us

Our Oregon Oncology family is devastated over the loss of an amazing wife, mother and community angel. Drs. Bud and Selma Pierce have given so much to this community as beautifully referenced in this article by some of those closest to them. As we mourn with the Pierce family, we will continue to provide great care to Bud’s patients to allow him time to spend with his family.

Among the many things Selma did, she loved to read. If you are interested in making a donation in her honor, one suggestion is to give to the Salem Public Library Foundation.

Selma Pierce's heart was bigger than Salem Friends remember Selma Pierce as a community leader, public servant and philanthropist.

It was brought to our attention that a nurse from the healthcare community was posting irresponsible content around the seriousness of COVID precautions on social media. Though this person is not an employee of Oregon Oncology, we share the concerns of the public and Salem Health around the apparent disregard for the safety of our community. At Oregon Oncology, the safety of our patients and staff is our main priority - following CDC guidelines and often going above what is recommended to ensure your experience is a safe one.

Please see official release from Salem Health below.

If you have further concerns or questions about what our organization is doing to keep you safe, please reach out to us at [email protected].

Happy Thanksgiving! Please note that we will be closed for the holiday on Thursday, November 26th and Friday, November 27th.

If you’re a current patient and have any urgent questions, please call us at 503-561-6444. A provider is on call 24/7 to help.

From all of us at Oregon Oncology Specialists, we wish you a warm and happy holiday.

If you visit our Salem clinic this week you will have the opportunity to vote for your favorite staff painted pumpkin!