Month: January 2026

KTVZ

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — The U.S. faces a projected deficit of 6 million skilled workers by 2032 in fields such as health care, construction and manufacturing, according to the Association for Career & Technical Education. Central Oregon Community College is focusing on efforts to help meet that need.

To help shine a spotlight on the diverse career paths provided by technical education programs — from firefighters and foresters to chefs and web developers — as well as to express the high demand for skilled workers, Central Oregon Community College is taking part in National Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month throughout February, COCC officials said Thursday.

Here are the details COCC provided in a news release:

In addition to social media campaigns, promotional pieces and other advocacy efforts, the college is sending a group of COCC students, faculty and staff to Salem to participate in the state’s Feb. 18 CTE event at the Capitol, where community colleges from across Oregon are sharing CTE-focused demonstrations and program information.

COCC is also holding a Manufacturing and Trades Job Fair from 1-4 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 19, at the Redmond campus’s Technology Education Center, to connect job-seekers with employers and help with career exploration. This is a free, drop-in event for the community. For more information, visit cocc.edu and search for “jobfest.”

CTE commonly refers to technical, hands-on, high-skill training programs that come with a one-year certificate or two-year associate degree.

COCC has over 25 CTE programs available, all designed to provide technical skills in specific areas. Presently, more than 27% of COCC’s students are declared CTE majors.

“Career and technical education paths are relatively short-term, while leading to well-paying occupations,” said Julie Downing, instructional dean at COCC. “Graduates from our programs find their passion and bring real strength to their community.”

Those who concentrate on CTE educations beginning in high school are more likely than their peers to be employed full time and have higher median annual earnings eight years beyond graduation, according to the Association for Career & Technical Education.

Recent investments in CTE educations at COCC include a $2.18 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education to develop new short-term certificates in manufacturing technology, as well as the expansion of the college’s Madras campus, now bringing four on-site CTE programs, in health care and early childhood education, to that location.

Visit cocc.edu/programs to learn more about CTE options at COCC.

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KTVZ

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Thousands of Central Oregonians soon will receive letters in the mail to inform them of a data breach at TriZetto Provider Solutions last fall that may have exposed the personal health information of more than 700,000 people around the country.

TPS is a third-party contractor that provides insurance-eligibility verification services to health care providers, including Deschutes County Health Services (DCHS), Best Care, and the La Pine Community Health Center (LCHC), the organizations said in a joint news release Thursday. 

They stressed that the data breach occurred only in TriZetto’s environment and did not involve or compromise any Deschutes County, Best Care, or La Pine Community Health Center systems.

Here are the details

What happened?

In October, TriZetto Provider Solutions discovered suspicious activity in one of its web portals. Upon discovering the issue, TPS launched an investigation and took steps to eliminate the threat.

Experts determined that, starting in November 2024, an unauthorized actor began accessing historical eligibility reports stored on the TPS system. The affected reports contain information about health insurance eligibility transactions, including certain protected health information (PHI) of patients and primary policyholders.

TPS reports that the threat was eliminated on Oct. 2, but may have exposed the PHI of more than 700,000 people.

DCHS, LCHC and Best Care were notified about the data breach on Dec. 10. Since then, staff from all three agencies have been working diligently to verify which clients/patients may have been impacted by the incident.

What data was exposed?

Data exposed during this breach varies, but may include names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, health insurer name, health insurance member numbers and provider names. The incident did not include any medical diagnosis or treatment information, nor did it include any payment card or bank account information.

What are DCHS, LCHC and Best Care doing?

TriZetto Provider Solutions informed DCHS, LCHC and Best Care that it plans to notify exposed clients/patients about the breach in February. However, because confidentiality, privacy, and security of personal health information are among the highest priorities for all three agencies, and to avoid any further delay in offering protections, DCHS, LCHC and Best Care are sending their own notifications.

LCHC will notify approximately 1,200 of its patients, DCHS will notify approximately 1,300 clients/patients, and Best Care will notify approximately 1,650 clients/patients that their protected health information was exposed during the breach. 

It is important to note that while client PHI was accessed, there is no evidence at this time that it has been misused.  

Additionally, each agency is offering exposed clients/patients identity theft protection through a data breach and recovery services contractor, IDX. The free identity protection services include 12 months of credit and CyberScan monitoring, a $1 million insurance reimbursement policy, and fully managed identity theft recovery services.

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