Reports

This advisory report suggests actions the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS), Oregon Health Authority (OHA), and the Legislature can take to reduce illness and death from communicable diseases in nursing homes, assisted living, and residential care facilities, now and in the future.

We conducted this audit to support transparent and accountable government operations during this unprecedented time. We focused our work on determining steps the county took to ensure that vital services could continue safely and equitably during the pandemic; whether those steps were in line with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health authorities to reduce health risks; and what improvements can be made moving forward.

The Department of Administrative Services (DAS) made progress on 11 of the 16 recommendations from the original audit, fully implementing six. COVID-19 response and preparation for the 2021-23 budget made it difficult for DAS to implement some recommendations, specifically those pertaining to end of biennium spending. Additionally, the agency’s choice to deviate from standard response options in four recommendations made our follow-up work more difficult and limited accountability and transparency.

Part of our hotline work is educating county employees about fraud red flags. As an extension of that service, we are sharing tips to help community members stay safe online during the coronavirus pandemic.