Project Access NOW eNewsletter: February 2010
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New board recruits, new program, and an event to boot
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The transition from one year to the
next has left little time for resting. We have two pieces of good news to
share and an invitation.
New board recruits
 About a year ago, the Project Access
NOW board of directors assessed its capacity, identifying two gaps: fund development and marketing.
Shortly after, Frank Betzer, of Special Olympics Oregon, joined us as
a development volunteer, helping our organization move forward
significantly in that area. Then, a few months ago, Frank's role
became more formal as he joined the board of directors.
Prior to Frank's work, the only fund
development components we had were grants and partner asks. We're now
working to grow our individual donor base and increase support on the
community level. So far, thanks to Frank's work, we've seen a five fold
increase in the number of individual donors and a 150% increase in
individual donations from 2008 to 2009. Going forward, Frank is
helping us figure out who cares about our work and how we can connect
with them in meaningful ways.
 Which is where marketing comes in. Liz
Rabiner Lipoff, of Liz Ink, is the latest board recruit, bringing
with her skills we didn't have. As a medical marketing and public
relations professional, she's helped us identify a number of areas
for improvement. We look forward to Liz taking the lead on our
board's marketing efforts.
We'll be profiling Frank and Liz in
this e-newsletter in the near future.
Clackamas County
Project Access launches
Clackamas County Project Access just
completed its second month of enrolling patients: In December 2009
the program enrolled three patients, and in January of this year 17
patients.
Folks from Clackamas County had been
working with Project Access NOW since our beginnings. For various
reasons, the local program only took off at the end of last year.
Katie Ulin, Essential Health Clinic's manager of Project Access Washington County, will be working as dual program manager with Care
Coordinator Paula Vasquez to run and grow the program.
We're particularly proud about
launching Clackamas County Project Access for three reasons:
Thanks to Katie, we were able to
replicate a successful program model from Washington County in
Clackamas County. What a great example of a collaboration within a
collaboration!
Paula Vasquez is a Care
Coordinator who gets care coordination and how important it is for
healthcare access.
Now that people around the region
recognize the Project Access NOW brand, it's easier to recruit
physicians and other healthcare providers. So far, we've had an
amazing response in Clackamas County, with physicians signing up for
the program in a brisk pace, and some even calling us to volunteer.
Give Katie a call at 503.846.3627 to get a list of Clackamas County
providers.
Please read a separate article about Clackamas County Project Access below.
Bridges to Healthcare
Finally, we
cordially invite you to an evening celebrating the generosity of
physicians, nurse practitioners, other healthcare providers, and many supporters who make a
difference in our community. In 2009, more than $10 million in health care services were donated to Project Access patients by our many generous partners.
We'll be honored to welcome you on Thursday,
April 8th,
2010, from 5:30
pm to 8:00 pm, at the Hilton Hotel Pavilion Ballroom in downtown Portland. The event will be hosted by Emily and Joey Harrington.
For more about the event, please see below. If you'd like to attend, please let us know by RSVP-ing online at http://bridgestohealthcare.eventbrite.com/.
Have a wonderful end of winter!
Linda Nilsen-Solares Executive Director, Project Access NOW
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| Join us at Bridges to Healthcare, April 8th |
We
cordially invite you to an evening celebrating the generosity of
physicians, nurse practitioners, other healthcare providers, and many
supporters who make a
difference in our community. In 2009, more than $10 million in health
care services were donated to Project Access patients by our many
generous partners.
Thursday, April 8th 2010, 5:30-8 PM
The Hilton Hotel - Pavilion Ballroom
5:30-6:30
- Reception, no-host bar, silent auction
6:30 - Dinner
7:00
- Program and awards presentation
Hosted
by Emily and Joey Harrington
Guests
will have the opportunity to
make a financial donation to Project Access NOW at the event.
The
expenses related to this event are generously covered by our
sponsors, including Adventist Medical Center, AlphaGraphics Hillsboro,
Columbia United Providers, Kaiser Permanente, Northwest Health
Foundation, Nurse Practitioners of Oregon, The Oregonian, and Regence
Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Learn more and RSVP online:
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 Isha's
dermatological condition made her so self-conscious she became
extremely anti-social; she'd hate even the thought of interacting
with people. Two days after she moved from Cleveland to Portland for
a job transfer, the local company department closed. Isha was out of
a job in a city she didn't know, and with no insurance to help her
get medical attention.
"It
actually turned out to be a blessing," Isha said. She found Wallace
Medical Concern, where her doctor connected her with Erin Cooley, who
enrolled Isha in Project Access.
Following
three months of antibiotic treatment and consultations with Dr.
Nathalie
McDowell Johnson, of Surgical Associates, and Dr. Daniel Zegzula, of
Portland Plastic Surgery, Isha underwent a successful surgery in
December 2009. She said, "They took out as much diseased tissue as
possible without leaving almost any scars."
Laughing,
Isha said, "It's over with. I'm healing. I smile more. I feel
comfortable getting out among people. Even my family commented on how
my personality changed." In her own estimation, Isha has "a
couple of months to go" with follow up visits and recovery.
Read more.
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Volunteer highlight: Ann Shim
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 How do you go from advertising to healthcare access? Ask Ann Shim. Her journey from an account manager with a San Francisco-based pregnancy-and-parenting website to a Project Access NOW community volunteer focused on access to health care.
When Ann moved to Portland in the summer of 2008, she was looking for a career change. She has volunteered at Project Access NOW since last summer.
"I discovered the organization through the Hands On Greater Portland website where I was looking for volunteer opportunities," Ann said. "It sounded like they were doing really important things. I visited with Lorraine [Williams] to inquire, and I got totally hooked."
Continue reading about Ann.
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American Marketing Association lends helping hands (and brains)
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We're thrilled to partner with the American Marketing Association as part of their Community Outreach Program. According to the AMA, the program exists to partner volunteers with nonprofit organizations in an effort to positively impact their mission.
We've started working with a group of passionate volunteers on three projects.
- The group is creating video clips of interviews with volunteer physicians and with patients, which will later be a part of a 3-5 minute video about our work in the community.
- The group is developing a marketing outreach plan to bolster our volunteer recruitment efforts.
- Team members are helping with the upcoming Bridges to Healthcare event.
We look forward to reporting on our progress and accomplishments.
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Board member profile: Kari Stanley
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 When Kari Stanley talks about health care, passion is what you hear. As director of community benefit for Legacy Health, she works with community-based organizations to increase access to care for the underserved. Kari's excited that Project Access NOW pursues that objective with great returns.
"People without insurance have to cobble their health care together themselves - they move from provider to provider in a very fragmented way," Kari said. "Project Access NOW allows them to move smoothly between providers within a single referral process - it's seamless."
Kari enjoys highlighting another benefit of Project Access NOW: it reduces the cost of health care. "People can get health care in earlier stages of acuity, rather than wait until something serious or highly acute happens. This way, they don't have to go to an emergency room where the cost is higher, or to get more services or treatment. It also improves the quality of care."
Read more about Kari Stanley.
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Clackamas County Project Access launches, enrolls patients
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Clackamas County Project Access is a late bloomer, but what a bloom it has been! Since its launch in December 2009, Clackamas County Project Access has enrolled 20 patients (3 in December, 17 in January). According to program manager Katie Ulin, "We're on a roll!"
Clackamas County saw a lot of community need from the outset. The regional system allowed for patients from there to be seen in other Portland metropolitan area counties. "Now we have the ability to care for Clackamas County patients closer to home," Katie said.
Katie confirmed that recruitment is going well, too. "A lot of partners, such as hospitals or health systems, had already been working with us in other counties. Physicians were signed up through each system and several private practice clinics have locations in Clackamas County. With this program we can finally make use of their volunteer contributions where their patients live."
Read more.
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Support Project Access NOW and work on Mastering Effectiveness |
We have really enjoyed the group of volunteers that has been meeting to study the "Mastering Effectiveness" curriculum provided to us as a donation by LionHeart Consulting. The Mastering Effectiveness curriculum has been designed and packaged for supported self study. LionHeart Consulting will donate 51% of sales of the Mastering Effectiveness curriculum sold through our website to Project Access NOW. This month, consider LionHeart's perspective on Winning the War on Waste.
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In-kind donation wish list
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As any organization, in addition to funds we have in-kind needs for items to help us better serve the low-income uninsured. Here's our list for January.
If you or someone you know would like to donate these items, call us at 503.413.5541.
Thanks SO Much to Dr. Sean Green for the donation of the projector and screen! We also thank the folks from Russell Street Counseling Center for their donation of computers and office supplies.
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Project Access NOW Quick Data: January 2010
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As of January 31st, 2010:
- Patients enrolled: 3,325
- Patients served
by Pharmacy Bridge receiving medication: 721
- Number of
prescriptions filled: 4,277
- Cost of prescriptions per patient: $65.64
- Cost per prescription:
$16.04
- Value of medication
received through MAP: $113,287
- Return on community investment: 786% (thru September 2009)
- Patient satisfaction: 9.1/10 (thru June 2009)
- Appointment show rate: 94%
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Phone: 503.413.5541
Fax: 503.413.5932
Email
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