Rep. Hoyle Secures $2 million to Fund Curry County Chemotherapy Project

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Representative Val Hoyle (OR-04) announced she secured $2 million in the House Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations funding package for the Curry Health Network Chemotherapy Treatment Project at Curry General Hospital in Gold Beach, Oregon. These funds are included in legislation to fund the federal Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education (LHHS), and were also championed by Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden in the Senate’s version of the LHHS bill.

The LHHS bill was included in a six-bill package that is expected to clear both chambers of Congress and be signed into law by President Biden soon. 

“One of my top priorities this year was to fight to secure funding for the Chemotherapy Treatment project in Gold Beach and I am proud to have secured $2 million,” said Rep. Hoyle. “Right now, many residents living on the South Coast have to travel hours to get needed cancer treatments, which is physically taxing, inhumane and expensive. I’m committed to ensuring rural and coastal Oregonians have greater access to healthcare, no matter where they live.”

“Oregonians fighting cancer need access to local, quality chemotherapy care, but for too long patients in Curry County have had to travel far outside of their communities to receive lifesaving treatments. Now, that is finally about to change,” Merkley said. “Working together with Representative Hoyle and Senator Wyden, we secured a critical, $2 million investment to help realize a new chemotherapy clinic in Curry County. This is a gamechanger for health care access in rural communities in Oregon’s South Coast and will help save lives.”?  

“An essential piece of quality cancer treatment for Oregonians on the South Coast is accessibility,” Wyden said. “I’m gratified the teamwork with Congresswoman Hoyle, Senator Merkley and Curry County residents has generated this key federal investment at Curry General Hospital to provide crucial chemotherapy treatment locally. And I’ll keep battling for similar cancer care resources throughout the state.”

The federal funding for this project is essential, as chemotherapy treatment isn’t currently available in Curry County. It is often administered daily for several weeks, and many Curry County patients travel up to seven hours for treatment. Highway 101, which is the single route connecting this rural county from north to south, is often closed due to landslides, leaving chemotherapy patients completely isolated when they need care the most.  

This funding will not only be used for construction of a new chemotherapy clinic, but also to purchase related medical equipment, finally ensuring Curry County patients can get this lifesaving treatment closer to home. 

For FY24, U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle has secured $16.6 million in funding for 14 community projects in House appropriations bills. Here is a complete list of those projects:

Benton County

Coos County

Curry County

Douglas County

Lane County

Lincoln County

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