Hermiston city officials — along with the Good Shepherd Health Care System — should be lauded for their cooperation to boost public safety.

Through a cooperative effort, the city will add seven new police officers to the existing force, including four who will be paid for by the health care system.

City Manager Byron Smith said in a press release that input from the community showed public safety was a key concern. However, that concern, while certainly valid, was a stretch because of city funding options.

That’s where the Good Shepherd Health Care System stepped in.

The four officers Good Shepherd Health Care System will fund will place one officer each shift at the hospital but with the ability to respond to emergencies throughout the city.

The partnership between the city and the health care system to boost public safety should be used as a prototype for other cities across the state.

The crucial piece to the new blueprint is that instead of finding excuses as to why new officers could not be hired, both city officials and the hospital discovered ways to make it happen.

In other words, officials from both organizations found a way to work the problem and find a solution.

Believe it or not, that kind of cooperation and problem solving isn’t as common as it should be, either locally or across the state.

City officials and the hospital leadership deserve credit for looking for solutions and not giving up when a specific challenge — in this case public safety — arrived at the front door.

These types of cooperative efforts not only help the hospital but they also prove to be a benefit to taxpayers. Taxpayers are not forced to foot the entire bill but, instead, can look to a group of leaders who sat down and worked hard to seek a solution that helps everyone.

When these types of cooperative efforts are triggered and allow the time and space to be successful they prove beneficial to all.

Those who helped make this new arrangement happen deserve a pat on the back and the thanks of all local residents.