Nearly a year after Baker City saw its only birth center close, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden has unveiled a plan to prevent more rural and underserved communities from becoming “maternity deserts.”
On Monday Oregon’s senior senator in Washington D.C. outlined draft legislation designed to increase the flow of federal funding to hospitals that otherwise might close their maternity units because of reduced demand. Wyden’s legislation follows other efforts to address the trend of hospitals increasingly closing costly maternity units.
Saint Alphonsus Health System closed its birth center in Baker City last year, despite opposition from community members as well as Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden and other elected leaders.
Courtesy of Saint Alphonsus
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“We can’t just sit by and turn these communities into sacrifice zones,” he said. “That’s what’s happening if you don’t have rural healthcare and you can’t deliver babies.”
Nearly a quarter of rural hospitals, or 267, stopped providing obstetric services between 2011 and 2021, according to research from health care consulting firm Chartis. Meanwhile, the U.S. has seen notable increases in maternal mortality, with some states seeing their rates double.
Wyden said Oregon saw a “textbook” case of what can happen after the closure of a birth center in Baker City last year. Saint Alphonsus Health System closed its birth center for the small eastern Oregon town, despite opposition from community members as well as Wyden and other elected leaders.
Wyden noted that since the closure, expectant mothers in Baker City now have to drive at least 45 minutes to the nearest hospital in La Grande on a road that is sometimes impassable because of winter weather or wildfires.
“Closures like these are driven by stark economic realities facing the hospitals, as well as efforts by large hospital chains ‘streamline’ their business at the expense of young families,” he said.
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Wyden’s legislation would increase Medicaid payment rates for labor and delivery services at eligible rural and “high-need” urban hospitals. Hospitals that see low volumes of births would receive “standby” payments under the legislation to cover the costs of obstetric staffing and maintenance costs. These hospitals could also receive payment adjustments for labor and delivery services with the requirement that they stay in the community.
Additionally, the legislation would require states to study and report to federal authorities the costs of providing labor and delivery services in rural and underserved areas. States would also have to provide women with 12 months of postpartum Medicaid coverage.
Saint Alphonsus announced the closure of its Baker City maternity unit with only four weeks’ notice, which was pushed back by a month with the help of federal funds to help staff it. Wyden’s legislation would require hospitals to give additional notice of maternity unit closures.
Wyden said he did not know if his legislation would help Saint Alphonsus reopen its birth center. Saint Alphonsus did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Lund Report.
The Hospital Association of Oregon expressed support for the proposal in a statement issued by Wyden’s office, saying rural hospitals deliver one in six babies in Oregon.
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Wyden didn’t have details on how much the legislation would increase Medicaid rates. The legislation is cosponsored by 15 other Democrats, and Wyden said he is optimistic that Republicans will sign on.
“The Senate is essentially a very rural institution,” he said.
Legacy Health’s move to close its maternity unit at its Gresham hospital also sparked headlines and community opposition in 2023. The health system reopened the maternity unit, which serves a less affluent and more diverse population in east Multnomah County, after coming under scrutiny by state and federal regulators.
In response to the situation, the Oregon Health Authority finalized rules this year that require hospitals to study how vulnerable communities would be affected by closures of vital services.
This story was originally published by The Lund Report, an independent nonprofit health news organization based in Oregon. You can reach Jake Thomas at (jake@thelundreport.org) or at @jthomasreports on X.
The University of Oregon’s Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to approve a $1.55 billion operating budget for the next fiscal year.
But they asked university leadership to return with an amended proposal by Dec. 15, when more details about future budget cuts will be known.
FILE — The Board of Trustees recently approved next year’s budget for the University of Oregon. The vote comes several weeks after the school’s president announced that he wants the university to reduce its annual budget as revenues and out-of-state enrollment decline.
Brian Bull / KLCC
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The vote comes several weeks after University of Oregon President Karl Scholz announced that he wants the school to reduce its annual budget by around $65 million.
At a trustees meeting Monday, Scholz said the estimated budget shortfall for next year is just around $23 million. But he said out-of-state enrollment is below historical norms for the second year in a row, and it’s unlikely to bounce back.
“One year can be an aberration. Two years is a pattern,” said Scholz. “And I believe we have to treat it as a new reality.”
Scholz said in May that discussions about the budget would happen over a six-month period. He said no final decisions about cuts would be made over this summer.
On Monday, UO Senate President Dyana Mason told trustees that the Senate had approved a new process to allow for community feedback in the cost-cutting process.
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Mason said the provost will work with the deans on budget proposals, finding “clear rationale” for why programs are considered for elimination.
The provost would then bring those proposals to the Senate Committee for Academic Modifications—which includes staff, faculty and students—for feedback.
Once the plans are nearly finalized, the Senate could then hold a period for public comment.
Mason told trustees that a six-month timeline is better than the three months that frustrated some staff last year, but she recommended taking however much time is necessary.
“The worst situation would be rushing forward to make decisions without appropriate evidence, data, feedback from the people that are most in the know about the impact on our students,” said Mason.
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UO’s Board of Trustees Chair Steve Holwerda said that every week that university delays the decisions could cost them millions of dollars.
Nathan Wilk is a reporter with the KLCC newsroom.This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
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Oregon’s juvenile justice system has been reshaped in recent years by a sweeping reform law that changed how the state handles minors accused of serious crimes.
Senate Bill 1008, which took effect in 2020, ended automatic transfers of juveniles into adult court and eliminated life without parole sentences for juveniles. The law also created “second-look” hearings and established parole eligibility after 15 years for certain offenders who committed crimes before turning 18.
To help explain the law and its impact, KVAL’s Frannie Pedersen put together a timeline video tracing the history of Senate Bill 1008, from the passage of Measure 11 in 1994 to the reforms that later reshaped Oregon’s juvenile justice system.
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The video breaks down how the law changed, why lawmakers pushed for reform, and how SB 1008 continues to influence Oregon’s justice system today. Viewers can watch the full video for a detailed timeline and explanation of the changes.
PORTLAND, Ore. — A New Jersey man was sentenced to federal prison last Friday for conspiring to distribute fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford for the District of Oregon.
Mark T. Eager, 34, was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release.
“This defendant showed a blatant disregard for human life by trafficking fentanyl across the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Bradford. “My office will continue to pursue those who profit from poisoning our communities, and we will use every available resource and partnership to combat fentanyl trafficking and keep Oregonians safe.”
“This investigation brought together law enforcement agencies from across the nation,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Seattle acting Special Agent in Charge April Miller. “Homeland Security Investigations special agents from Portland, Newark, and Houston contributed to the case, along with the Portland Police Bureau and HIDTA HIT officers, who were instrumental in identifying Eager. His 11-year sentence sends a clear message: no matter where you are in the country or the world, if you attempt to sell narcotics online to Americans, we will find you.”
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“Fentanyl trafficking poses a grave threat to communities across the United States, and Homeland Security Investigations is committed to working with our partners to disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks responsible,” said HSI Houston Special Agent in Charge Lucia Cabral-DeArmas. “This case demonstrates the power of interagency collaboration under the Homeland Security Task Force initiative, leveraging resources from across the country to hold traffickers accountable and protect the American people. We will continue to pursue those who endanger lives through the distribution of dangerous synthetic opioids, and we remain steadfast in our mission to safeguard our communities from the violence and instability caused by transnational criminal organizations.”
“By following this offender’s digital trail, Homeland Security Investigations and our law enforcement partners nationwide executed federal search warrants, dismantled an active dark web fentanyl packaging operation and recovered deadly amounts of fentanyl, thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency, and a trove of electronic devices and packaging materials,” said HSI Newark Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas. “This case is a powerful example of how coordinated, data-driven investigations can disrupt dangerous networks and help protect our communities from lethal synthetic opioids.”
According to court documents, from November 2023 through June 2024, Eager and his co-conspirator sold fentanyl on the Dark Net and Telegram. Eager operated as the vendor WRSEH10 and marketed the fentanyl as “China White Synthetic Heroin.”
In June 2024, HSI agents executed search warrants on two residences associated with Eager in Kearny, New Jersey, and seized over 360 grams of powdered fentanyl, counterfeit M30 pills, drug ledgers, cellular phones, two computers, and drug packaging consistent with three deliveries that were sent to Oregon.
On September 4, 2024, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a four-count indictment charging Eager with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and distribution of fentanyl.
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On February 4, 2026, Eager pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.
HSI Portland and HSI Houston investigated this case with assistance from HSI Newark, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Interdiction Task Force (HIT). Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Kerin prosecuted the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey assisted the U.S. Attorney’s in Oregon in obtaining the search warrants that were executed in Kearny.
