PENDLETON — The nurses union at CHI St. Anthony Hospital in Pendleton has reported a surge of patients with respiratory infections is slamming the emergency department.

“The impact has been large,” said Rhonda Kenny, a nurse at CHI St. Anthony Hospital and the local labor representative for the Oregon Nursing Association. “The emergency room is seeing double the usual amount of patients every day. People are leaving because they have waited so long to be seen. I have a nurse that has worked the last six days in a row. To try to help out she did her regular shifts in the operating room and then she picked up three shifts out on the surge floor.”

The surge in respiratory infections is happening across Oregon, placing strain on a medical system that often relies on transferring patients from rural areas to hospitals that can provide a higher level of treatment.

“It has grown to a point where it’s really overwhelming the system,” said Matt Calzia, director of nursing practice and professional development for the ONA. “Hospitals like CHI St. Anthony in rural health care systems depend on transferring patients to a higher level of care. Well, those hospitals also aren’t ready, or they hit their capacity already. Rural hospitals have had to hold patients longer than they typically would.”

In some cases, Kenny said, CHI St. Anthony has been forced to board patients in the emergency room.

“This is horrible, horrible, terrible staffing,” she said. “The administration have even called this an ‘internal disaster’ and they’re meeting every day for an hour to review staffing and see where they’re at.”

CHI St. Anthony administration has not responded to requests for comment for this story.

The hospital was able to acquire funds from Oregon after declaring an internal disaster to bring on travel nurses to offset staffing shortages, but Kenny said she thinks it may be too late.

“The problem is they’re already two weeks into this surge, and it is hard to find travel nurses right now,” she said. “The hospital is caught short. Our system is broken, not just CHI St. Anthony Hospital. The system as a whole is broken. Hospitals are making good money, and Oregon is opening up the coffers and trying to bail them out.”

Kevin Mealy, communications manager for the ONA, described Oregon’s hospitals as in a “perpetual state of emergency,” caused by an unwillingness to plan and prepare for the future.

“Obviously, you can’t educate new nurses by tomorrow, that’s going to take a longer-term investment, but there are pieces you can control,” Mealy said. “You can pause elective surgeries, which CHI St. Anthony has opted not to do. You can improve incentives for nurses who agree to work extra shifts because we’re in year three of extra shifts because of COVID. You can talk with the ONA. Sit down with workers on the frontline to talk about where they’re seeing the problems pile up and what solutions they have.”

Mealy said calling in the National Guard should be on the table.

“This is a public health emergency,” he stressed. “It’s affecting not just CHI St. Anthony, but across Oregon.”