LA GRANDE, Ore. — USDA Rural Development will provide $811,000 to seven hospitals, health care facilities and food banks in rural Oregon.

In La Grande, Grande Ronde Hospital will receive $88,200 purchase equipment that will enhance the hospital’s COVID-19 response.

The equipment includes negative air pressure equipment for the pediatric unit and an analyzer for COVID testing.

“We applied for these funds to help make permanent two important, but temporary, solutions we implemented during the height of the COVID outbreak here in Union County,” hospital spokeswoman Mardi Ford said. “That’s the neat thing about being independent — we find a way around, over or through the roadblock and create our own solutions to the problems.”

Ford said the air pressure equipment will pull unhealthy air out of a room and away from anywhere in the building so it is not breathed in by others. The testing equipment for the hospital’s lab provides a fast, accurate way to diagnose infectious diseases.

“Bottom line, this grant will help us implement permanent measures to address airborne contaminants and disease diagnoses to provide the best care for our patients moving forward,” she said.

Other agencies that received grants include Harney County Senior and Community Services Center, Burns; Columbia Lutheran Charities, Astoria; Brookings Harbor Community Helpers Inc., Brookings-Harbor; South Lane Mental Hospital, Cottage Grove; Harney County Health District, Burns; and Florence Food Share, Lane County.

“As we celebrate National Rural Health Day this year, we are reminded that a strong community is rooted in its people. Nowhere is this more evident than in rural Oregon,” USDA Rural Development state director Margi Hoffmann said. “Day in and day out, quiet heroes carry the health and happiness of our communities on their backs. They feed us when we’re hungry. They care for us when we’re sick. Without exception, they give their all for the families who depend on them.”

National Rural Health Day is celebrated the third Thursday of November each year to recognize the efforts of rural health care providers, organizations, and stakeholders as they work to promote better care for rural residents.