Former hospital’s donation to fund St. Charles Prineville expansion

Donations totaling $4.5 million from the Pioneer Memorial Hospital Residual Board and the Prineville Hospital Foundation will mean expansion of St. Charles Prineville and a new scholarship program for residents interested in health care careers, the St. Charles Health System announced Thursday.

“You know, we really want to make sure we serve our local communities, and that’s what this is about,” St. Charles Prineville and Madras President John Bishop said. “We want to make sure the right services are available for our community they need and deserve.”

After the sale of the former hospital building this summer, the residual board voted to donate $1 million to the Oregon Community Foundation to administer a scholarship to Crook County high school graduates and GED recipients interested in pursuing health care careers.

“We are obviously really thankful and excited about the opportunities this gives Crook County High School graduates,” Crook County High School Assistant Principal Joel Hoff said. “The medical field is such a growing field that we re so thankful our kids have hope and can pursue careers and get some help for scholarships.”

The scholarship funds will also be available to adults who have lived in Crook County for at least five years who are interested in going back to school to pursue or advance careers in a health care-related field.

“We thought it was a great way to honor the people that had, for so many years, contributed to Pioneer Memorial Hospital,” said Brian Barney, chairman of the PMH Residual Board. “That was why we created it. It is a legacy to PMH and the community.”

Details on how to apply for the scholarships will be available from the Oregon Community Foundation in coming months.

The former Pioneer Memorial Hospital building was sold for $1.5 million to the nonprofit Lutheran Community Services Northwest, which provides mental health services in Crook County.

“There’s a certain demand in the community to see physicians more,” Bishop said. “That’s really what this is about, because it’s creating that access point for our patients.”

In addition, the board and the Prineville Hospital Foundation board has voted to donate their remaining funds from community donations over the years to the expansion of health care services at the St. Charles Prineville facility. Approximately $3.5 million will go toward the expansion of the St. Charles Family Care clinic in Prineville.

“Prineville Hospital Foundation is proud to have been the steward of this community’s donations since the founding of Prineville’s hospital. Delivery of these funds now for expansion of our current hospital is the culmination of many months of deliberation and debate amongst the PHF board members over best use of the gifts entrusted to us,” said Bobbi Brooks, president of the foundation.

“Thank you to our local medical providers, St. Charles Health System and St. Charles Foundation for creating an outstanding plan; thank you Pioneer Memorial Hospital Residual Board for its partnership and most importantly, thank you to this community for its decades of generous gifts for the sole purpose of keeping health care in Crook County vital and ever improving.”

The expansion will include space for additional visiting specialists and make the outpatient rehabilitation area larger as well. The new clinic space will be designed so that it can potentially function as an urgent care center in the future.

“All of the dollars for this project are coming from the Pioneer Memorial Hospital and Prineville Hospital Foundation boards,” said John Bishop, president of St. Charles Prineville and St. Charles Madras. “We are in the planning phase to determine what is best for the community, with the goal of creating greater access to care.”

In addition to the $3.5 million, about $500,000 will be reserved for the recruitment and retention of new medical providers to the Prineville clinic.

“We are so grateful to the Pioneer Memorial Hospital and the Prineville Hospital Foundation boards – and to the many community members who have made donations through the years to support these two entities,” said Joe Sluka, president and CEO of St. Charles Health System. “Your generosity will ensure that Crook County residents have access to the care they need and the providers to partner with them in their health well into the future.”