New Directions Northwest Inc. of Baker City will celebrate the end of Oregon’s mask mandate for health care facilities with a mask burning ceremony on April 3.

New Directions, which is Baker County’s mental health and addiction treatment center, is subject to the mask requirement that has been in place since August 2021.

State officials announced in early March that the mandate for health care facilities — the only setting in which masks are still required — would end April 3.

“I can tell you, our staff are ready to burn their masks,” said Shari Selander, New Directions CEO. “We’ve come a long way, and we had to endure many hardships to get to this point. We had to change course several times over the pandemic in how we delivered services to our clients.”

For clients who couldn’t visit New Directions office in Baker City, the organization either met with clients outdoors or remotely via computer.

“The request we had from clients was for face-to-face interaction to help overcome anxiety and associated isolation during the pandemic,” Selander said. “And we met that need wherever possible.”

New Directions also set up an emergency walk-in clinic with extended hours.

“We were required to have new policies and procedures in place for transporting clients and for working in the field, all while meeting safe distancing requirements,” Selander said. “Each time the state shifted mandates, our business model also had to shift.”

As with other health care organizations, New Directions was required by the state to have an infectious disease plan which included daily temperature checks for staff and clients, distancing protocols and daily sanitizing procedures.

“We have staff that have stayed with us throughout the entire pandemic, even when their own families were facing hardships due to COVID-19,” Selander said. “They deserve to celebrate.”

New Directions Northwest employees faced termination if they didn’t have proof that they had been vaccinated for COVID-19 or had an approved medical or religious exemption.

Selander said that although no employees were fired, two “great employees” left on their own, and several others choose not to take a job due to the vaccination requirement.

The mask burning ceremony will take place at New Directions 3425 13th St., from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. to overlap lunch schedules, allowing all 140 employees to attend.

Selander also said New Directions has any job vacancies. To learn more, go to https://newdirectionsnw.org/.