July 2026 Community Update

Happy summer! We hope everyone is staying cool. See below for a few updates and highlights from across BMHD. 

New Stroke Services Available in July 

We’re excited to announce that our telestroke program, in partnership with the St. Alphonsus Health System in Idaho, will come to our Emergency Department this month! 

This partnership and telemedicine technology will allow our Emergency Department physicians to consult with St. Al’s stroke neurologists in real time, helping ensure patients are evaluated quickly and transferred to a tertiary care center for stroke intervention when needed. In some cases, patients may also be able to receive care here in John Day and avoid costly transfers thanks to this new partnership. 

Check out a Facebook video from Dr. Margart, one of the ER providers helping bring this service to BMHD, about what it will mean for patients and our community!  

Golf Scramble Raises Over $11,000 for New Equipment  

A huge thank you to everyone who attended the 19th Annual Blue Mountain Healthcare Foundation Golf Scramble. We welcomed 60 golfers and raised over $11,000 to help fund a new C-arm for the radiology Department at BMHD!  

It was a huge success, and we’re incredibly thankful to all who joined us, sponsored, volunteered and supported this year’s event. Community support plays an important role in helping Blue Mountain Healthcare Foundation invest in equipment and services that benefit patients across Grant County. 

We look forward to seeing everyone again at next year’s scramble! 

 

 

 

 

 

BMHD Awarded Grant to Improve Patient Experience 

BMHD has been selected to receive a competitive MBQIP grant through the Oregon Office of Rural Health to support a patient experience improvement initiative! 

The project will help BMHD gather more patient feedback, giving BMHD valuable insights into what’s working well and where there are opportunities to improve. Patient feedback plays an important role in shaping healthcare services and has already helped guide improvements in areas such as communication, care coordination, and discharge education. 

We’re proud to have won this grant and look forward to using it to further improve the quality of care and overall experience for our patients.    

Two New BMHD providers  

We’re happy to announce two new providers to BMHD! 

  • Dr. Brent Shepherd has started seeing patients at Strawberry Wilderness Community Clinic (SWCC). He’s a family practice and OB physician and has joined BMHD for a six-month engagement, expanding access to both primary care and maternal health services. 
  • Erin Gosnell recently completed her nurse practitioner training through BMHD’s Grow Your Own program and will join SWCC later this summer.