May 20, 1954 – November 24, 2025
Stroke Awareness Oregon mourns the loss of Dr. Steven C. Goins, our co-founder and a driving force behind our mission to improve stroke care in Central Oregon and beyond.
Dr. Goins dedicated his career to neurology, beginning as an Assistant Professor of Neurology at the University of Wisconsin Hospital before specializing in pediatric neurology and neuromuscular disease at Oregon Neurology Associates in Eugene, where he served as Medical Director of the Muscular Dystrophy Association Clinic for more than 20 years. In 2015, he and his wife, Catherine, relocated to Bend, where he became Stroke Medical Director at St. Charles Medical Center and the hospital’s first neuro-hospitalist. It was in this role that his commitment to improving stroke care led him to co-found Stroke Awareness Oregon, where prevention became his passion. He worked tirelessly to teach Central Oregonians the BEFAST warning signs of stroke, developed a regional stroke triage program for rural communities, and authored two resources still used today — A Primer on Stroke and a guide for stroke survivors and their families, once included in St. Charles’ discharge packets. He also partnered with St. Charles, OHSU, and the broader medical community to build out the hospital’s stroke care program, so patients who made it to the ER in time received the highest level of care once they arrived. He later continued his distinguished career at Summit Health Neurology before retiring.
Patients were never just cases to Steve — they were people, and they always felt it: heard, respected, genuinely cared for. It troubled him to see patients arrive at the hospital too late, with disabilities that earlier recognition might have prevented, and that determination to change it drove everything he built at Stroke Awareness Oregon.
That same determination carried into the rest of his life. An accomplished mountaineer, telemark skier, cyclist, and traveler, Steve found joy exploring the outdoors, often alongside his family. In one of his proudest achievements, he climbed on his bicycle and rode solo across the entire state of Oregon — despite health challenges of his own at the time — to spread the word about BEFAST and raise funds for SAO. He finished at the edge of the Pacific Ocean and sent back a photo of himself standing in the waves with the biggest smile. That was Steve.
Steve is survived by his wife of 20 years, Catherine Nelson; his children, Matt, Rachel, and Andrew; his grandchildren; his siblings; and many extended family members, colleagues, and friends.
Steve’s brilliant mind, unwavering compassion, and vision for better stroke care for rural Oregonians live on through the work of Stroke Awareness Oregon — and through every person who now knows to think and act BEFAST because of him. We are forever grateful for his leadership and legacy.
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