Grande Ronde Hospital Urges Union County Residents to Screen for Colorectal Cancer

Union County has a higher colorectal cancer death rate than the Oregon state average, and the number of residents getting colonoscopies at Grande Ronde Hospital has been falling. Whether those two facts are connected is not yet proven, but Grande Ronde Hospital and the Center for Human Development are not waiting for certainty before acting.

The two organizations are launching a three-month Union County colorectal cancer screening campaign, anchored by a March 18 community news release from Grande Ronde Hospital reminding Northeast Oregon residents that March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. The release urged people to learn risk factors, watch for symptoms, and talk with their providers about screening.

Hospital statistics show colonoscopies performed at Grande Ronde dropped from 423 in fiscal year 2009-10 to 369 in 2010-11, a decline the hospital says has continued. Regular screening matters because colonoscopies can catch the disease in its earliest stages, when polyps are still pre-cancerous or when cancer can be removed more easily.

The centerpiece of the campaign will be ads urging people to get screened and encouraging them to push friends and family to do the same. "The ads will be run on radio stations, in The Observer and at Granada Theater and one will be displayed on a billboard donated by Grande Ronde Hospital," said Natalie Linton, the Healthy Communities coordinator for the Center for Human Development.

Why Union County's death rate runs higher than the statewide figure remains unclear. "It is not known why the death rate is higher in Union County than the state average. It may be, however, that not enough people are being screened," according to reporting on the campaign.

Grande Ronde Hospital, located at 900 Sunset Dr. in La Grande, is the largest private employer in Union County with more than 800 employees and operates 21 primary and specialty clinics across the region. Residents can call the hospital at 541.963.8421 or reach the GRH Elgin Clinic at 570 S. 8th Ave. in Elgin at 541.437.2273 to speak with a provider about scheduling a screening.