Photo: Visitor7 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Health care is one of the biggest employers on the central coast, and in Newport that means Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital. The hospital, part of the Samaritan Health Services system, serves residents across the middle of Lincoln County.
Year-round jobs
Unlike tourism, health care work does not fade in winter. Nurses, technicians, support staff and physicians give the area a base of steady, year-round jobs, many of them well paid.
Growing needs
Lincoln County has an older population than the state average, and many retirees choose the coast. That raises demand for care, from emergency services to clinics and specialists.
Hiring challenges
Like other employers here, the hospital competes for workers who need housing. Our look at the county’s housing squeeze explains why that is so hard.
Marnie Holcomb is the editor and publisher of Oregon Coast Daily News and covers Lincoln County government and community life.
