Two more Oregon hospitals have joined the Partnership for Patients initiative, a national program that aims to reduce patient harm by 40% and readmissions (patients re-admitted to a hospital after being discharged) by 20% by 2013. That brings the number of hospital participants to 31 statewide.

Good Shepherd Medical Center serves Hermiston, (population 16,300) as well as several outlying towns with a total service population of over 35,000 in Umatilla and Morrow counties. These are rural communities with an agriculture-based economy, where the average household income in Hermiston is $35,354; 15.5 percent of residents have incomes below federal poverty guidelines; and 50 percent of patients are either enrolled in Medicaid or uninsured (37% Medicaid, 13% uninsured).

Grande Ronde Hospital is the only hospital in Union County, Oregon. The county covers 2,038 square miles and has a population of more than 25,000 residents. Grande Ronde Hospital is one of the top employers in northeast Oregon, with more than 500 employees.