Born without a normal opening in her airway, 9-year-old Delayza Diaz recently underwent a rare, complex surgery at OHSU to reconstruct her vocal chords and give her a voice. Derek Lam, M.D., who has cared for Diaz since birth and performed the surgery, says she could have easily gone through her life with the help of a breathing tube but no voice, but he was determined to give her a better option. He says, “I think it certainly can open a lot of doors for her that maybe would have stayed closed before.”

Born without a normal opening in her airway, 9-year-old Delayza Diaz recently underwent a rare, complex surgery at OHSU to reconstruct her vocal chords and give her a voice. Derek Lam, M.D., who has cared for Diaz since birth and performed the surgery, says she could have easily gone through her life with the help of a breathing tube but no voice, but he was determined to give her a better option. He says, “I think it certainly can open a lot of doors for her that maybe would have stayed closed before.”

Born without a normal opening in her airway, 9-year-old Delayza Diaz recently underwent a rare, complex surgery at OHSU to reconstruct her vocal chords and give her a voice. Derek Lam, M.D., who has cared for Diaz since birth and performed the surgery, says she could have easily gone through her life with the help of a breathing tube but no voice, but he was determined to give her a better option. He says, “I think it certainly can open a lot of doors for her that maybe would have stayed closed before.”

Three Hockinson High School students organized a toy drive to benefit OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital.

Oregon State Sen. Bill Hansel announces his recurrent prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment plan at OHSU.

KGW-TV profiles Forest Grove’s “Santa Mickey” and his daughter, Cheryl Aamodt, who raise money during the holidays for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society following her leukemia diagnosis. Cheryl took the drug Gleevec, developed at OHSU, saying “that’s what’s kept me alive the last 20, almost 23 years.”

OHSU received a record $595.9 million in research funding during its 2023 fiscal year, which Peter Barr-Gillespie, Ph.D., says was the result of increased, focused efforts of researchers from throughout the university: “While the institution as a whole (is) doing okay, individual researchers are working harder and probably submitting more grants than in the past, and that’s keeping us doing fine.”

OHSU received a record $595.9 million in research funding during its 2023 fiscal year, which Peter Barr-Gillespie, Ph.D., says was the result of increased, focused efforts of researchers from throughout the university: “While the institution as a whole (is) doing okay, individual researchers are working harder and probably submitting more grants than in the past, and that’s keeping us doing fine.”

An Idaho Capital Sun story mentions Kootenai Health’s connections to the OHSU Transgender Health Program while reporting on an impeding Idaho ban on gender-affirming medication.

An overview of major healthcare happenings in 2023 includes OHSU’s planned integration with Legacy Health, unionization efforts and Abby Tibbs’ departure to Oregon Health Authority.