Authorities in Oregon investigating incident that sent man with explosive device to Sacred Heart

The Oregon State Police and Wallowa County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the incident that resulted in a man with a hand injury being transported to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center with explosive materials.

The initial incident occurred around 11:53 a.m. Wednesday near the town of Wallowa, Capt. Kyle Kennedy of the Oregon State Police said in an email Friday. Kennedy said the incident involved “an injury caused by an explosive device.”

Wallowa is a town of about 800 people on the banks of the Wallowa River lying between La Grande and Enterprise. The town is about 145 miles south of Spokane.

Wallowa County Sheriff Joel Fish told the Elkhorn Media Group on Friday that the man had a “traumatic hand injury” when he was flown to Spokane. Fish did not immediately respond to a phone call requesting comment on Friday.

Kennedy declined to provide further details, citing “an active criminal investigation.”

The arrival of the patient, and discovery of the explosive material, forced the movement of dozens of patients either awaiting or receiving care in Sacred Heart’s emergency department Wednesday afternoon, said Beth Hegde, communication director for Providence Inland Northwest Washington. Police were called to the scene around 2:30 p.m., according to a Spokane Police Department news release.

“The issue was that we were so full in the emergency department, we couldn’t take more patients,” Hegde said.

The plans for moving patients and responding to the incident “went very well,” Hegde said.

The explosive materials were discovered on the patient, whom Hegde couldn’t confirm was still at the hospital this week, and moved outside to be handled by the Spokane Police Department’s Explosive Disposal Unit.

Patients were diverted to other hospitals during the response.