“Due to the extraordinary impacts of COVID-19, much like our colleagues across the region and country, OHSU and OHSU Doernbecher Hospitals are not currently able to provide necessary and life-saving care to all Oregonians who need it.

Our hospitals are full of patients of all ages. While some are sick with COVID, others have various other conditions. Many of them have delayed preventive and necessary medical care over the course of the pandemic. As a result, they are sicker and require more hospital resources, many of which are already depleted by the impacts of the past 18 months.”

Read on for the full opinion piece, published August 25, 2021, in the Oregonian.


Dana Braner, M.D., is a professor of pediatrics in the OHSU School of Medicine and physician-in-chief of OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. Matthias Merkel, M.D., Ph.D., is a senior associate chief medical officer and professor of anesthesiology and perioperative medicine in the OHSU School of Medicine.

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