Oregon Business

From stronger teeth to sharper eyes to a rewired brain, Oregon innovators are finding ways to keep us living longer and better.

Grande Ronde Hospital in La Grande is a rural, 25-bed facility with no cardiologist on staff. Two years ago, a heart patient there would have had to drive three hours to Boise. But now patients can get instant, face-to-face appointments with a cardiologist without anyone driving anywhere.

Gourmet chocolate lover Ashley Rahll says she always has at least one chocolate bar on hand at home. But a recent trip to Portland chocolate retailer Cacao with friend Adam Morris meant an extra-special splurge on a spicy dark drinking chocolate and single-malt scotch chocolate.

Attendance at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival has dropped 6% from last year, as the weakened economy forces consumers to cut spending on luxuries like travel and the arts.

Joan Austin is sitting in an office a stone’s throw from her Allison Inn & Spa that’s under construction. And yes, it is her project.

Last year, the Oregon Institute of Technology became the first university in the nation to award degrees in renewable energy engineering. Now the Klamath Falls-based school is on its way to becoming the world’s first geothermal-powered campus, with a 1.5-megawatt geothermal power plant due to be completed by the spring of 2010.