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Executive Director Jennifer Valentine, MSPH Jennifer has worked in both the public education and public health arenas over the last 18 years. She brings curriculum development and training experience and both large- and small-scale collaborative community project management to our AHEC team. Jennifer has been coordinating our healthcare workforce and health career pathways initiatives and has developed the website to serve as a virtual AHEC office for the constituents in our large geographic area. Jennifer has been with Cascades East AHEC since 2000. Jennifer is grateful to be working on such important issues and noted "we strongly believe in using collaborative partnerships to develop and implement effective programs that will make a difference". jvalenti@cascadehealthcare.org 541-617-2603
Clinical Rotation Coordinator Tracy Parmele, CMSC Tracy works with OHSU and our rural communities to coordinate the details of primary care clerkships for third-year medical students. The six-week rotations allow medical students to experience primary care as practiced in rural and under-served areas in Oregon. Tracy also serves as Continuing Medical Education (CME) Coordinator for St. Charles Medical Center. St. Charles is an accredited provider of Category 1 CME for physicians. Many CME activities are broadcast live to Burns, John Day, Lakeview, Madras, Prineville, and Redmond. Parmele notes that "this allows the rural practitioner to fulfill their CME requirements without the travel, and also allows medical students and other health professionals to participate in CME." Mental health been identified as a significant health problem in the region, and Tracy is involved with the Cascades East AHEC Mental Health Workgroup. "We are working to provide regular CME offerings that will support rural primary care physicians and other mental health providers in meeting the needs of their communities." tparmele@cascadehealthcare.org 541-617-2605
Health Careers Education Coordinator Lyn Bogie, RN, BSN Lyn is currently coordinating regional nursing and allied health education pipeline efforts, servers as Project Lead of the Distance Nursing Education Program and Spanish Healthcare Interpreter Training. Lyn assesses, plans, develops and implements programs based on identified community needs. She works closely with community health care and educational provider partners on developing unique approaches, including distance learning, to provide educational training for health professions closer to home. Lyn also serves as an education coordinator for the CHS' Health and Learning Department, coordinating Patient Education, Organ Donor Education, and is the Central Oregon Parish Nurse Coordinator. Phone: 541-383-6861 E-mail: lbogie@cascadehealthcare.org
Supervisor Preparedness/Training Center Marty Betsch, RN, BSN Marty has oversight of St. Charles Medical Center ‚ Bend & Redmond disaster preparedness, AHA and HRSA Region 7. Marty says, "I am loving every minute of disaster preparedness and am working to take it to another level." Phone: 541-633-2903 E-mail: mbetsch@cascadehealthcare.org
Regional Preparedness Coordinator Tiffany Stafford Tiffany joined the AHEC team in 2006 as the Heath Resource Services Administration Region 7 Preparedness Coordinator. She is responsible for organizing and facilitating the Regional Healthcare Preparedness Program across eight counties in Central/Eastern Oregon. She works closely with hospital emergency managers, local Public Health Departments, county emergency managers, EMS, law enforcement, fire, and government officials across the region and state. She is also the Project Lead on the Simulation Training Center. Tiffany came to us from the United States Air Force, where she was a Security Forces officer, managing law enforcement and base defense; prior to that she worked as a Patient Service Representative in one of the largest hospital systems in the state of Hawai'i. Tiffany brings a array of knowledge and experience in the disaster preparedness arena and says " I am very excited to have the opportunity to work together with so many wonderful people to ensure that our region is prepared to successfully manage any disaster situation". Phone: 541-617-2631 E-mail: tastafford@cascadehealthcare.org
Education Assistant - CEAHEC Sasha Bronson Sasha joined the AHEC staff in January of 2008. Her role in the organization provides support for the Board and Executive Director of CEAHEC, Nursing Education Program, High School Health Occupations, and Health Care Interpreter Training Program. Sasha came to us with an Associate of Science degree in Business Administration; as well as an Associate of Arts. She is currently pursuing her B.S. in Business Administration. Sasha says, "I am very passionate about my work because of the variety and versatility it brings on a daily basis. It's exciting to be involved in a program that provides opportunities to the community and is actively transforming people's lives." Phone: 541-617-2617 E-mail: smbronson@cascadehealthcare.org
Training Center Coordinator Willy Giddings Hello My Name is Willy Giddings I'm the Training Center Coordinator for St Charles Medical Center. I started working for St. Charles Medical Center as a private contractor back in the winter of 2006 teaching ACLS, PALS and BLS courses that are offered here at SCMC. I took over the Coordinator role in November of 2007. Office: (541)322-4713 Cell (541)419-1094 E-mail: wdgiddings@cascadehealthcare.org
Health Care Interpreter Trainer Roxana Ocaranza-Ermisch BA in Bilingual Education; AS in Health Education; Spanish Health Care Interpreter, Instructor, and Translator at Cascades East AHEC; Health Care Interpreter and Translator for Bridges to Communication language services. Phone: 541-617-2617 E-mail: roermisch@cascadehealthcare.org
Education Assistant - AHA Training Center Diana Koester Diana joined the AHEC team in August 2007 as the American Heart Association Training Center Assistant. She provides support for the students, instructors and Training Center Faculty. Diana is an Oregon State University Alumni with a Bachelor's degree in Health Education/Health Promotion. After spending the last several years working in the Emergency Department, she realizes the importance of CPR training. She enjoys her role, assisting medical professionals and lay people in receiving their CPR certification. She feels it is important for everyone to have the skills and the confidence to respond appropriately during a cardiac event. The AHA Training Center offers courses in CPR, ACLS, PALS, PHTLS and NRP. For information, please contact Diana at 541-693-5845 or dkoester@cascadehealthcare.org The Training Center Office hours are Monday - Friday 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
K-12 Health Science/Careers Coordinator Shannon Ryan Shannon has worked in the healthcare arena for 10 years and is a new asset to the AHEC team. Shannon provides coordination for Regional Health Science and Health Careers pipeline programs and serves as resource to the communities in our region on health science and health careers education and pipeline programs. She is currently helping to design and implement a curriculum that is focused on sparking 4th - 8th graders interests in health and science. The curriculum plans to foster student awareness about issues and gives them firsthand experience with basic discoveries and connects them with the way modern scientists, doctors, and inventors are solving problems today. Shannon is enthusiastic to be working for AHEC and says, "I most enjoy helping our youth increase their love for health and science related fields." ssryan@cascadehealthcare.org 541-322-2773
Financial Coordinator Keryn Glass Keryn handles our office logistics, financial services and process improvement analysis. Keryn also serves as Human Resources Financial Coordinator for Cascade Healthcare Community which consists of the Human Resources Division of St Charles Medical Center Bend, Redmond and Pioneer Memorial Hospital. Keryn has 15 years of experience in medical office financial services and 25 years of experience in office practices. Keryn is a member of the IAAP (International Association of Administrative Professionals). "I am grateful to be a part of CEAHEC, I have learned much about rural issues, medical needs, and continue to be excited about the many great things we are doing in our region. I truly believe the AHEC's play a major role in the statewide arena and hope to help make our services known to those who are in need." kglass@cascadehealthcare.org 541-322-4716
Office address: Cascades East AHEC 2500 NE Neff Rd.,Bend, OR 97701 Office Fax: 541-385-6322