Project Access NOW eNewsletter: March 2010
|
| Join us at Bridges to Healthcare, April 8th |
We
invite you to celebrate the generosity of physicians, nurse practitioners, other healthcare providers, and many
supporters, who in 2009 donated more than $10 million in health
care services to Project Access patients in our community.
Thursday, April 8th, 2010, 5:30-8 PM
The Hilton Hotel - Pavilion Ballroom, 921 SW 6th Ave., Portland, Oregon
Co-hosted
by Emily and Joey Harrington
5:30 Reception, no-host bar, silent auction
6:30 Dinner
7:00 Program and awards presentation
Only 50 tickets left!
Event sponsors: Adventist Medical Center, AlphaGraphics Hillsboro, CareOregon, Columbia United Providers, Hilton Portland, Kaiser Permanente, Legacy Health, Northwest Health Foundation, Nurse Practitioners of Oregon, The Oregonian, PacificSource Health Plans, Providence Health & Services, and Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Guests
will have the opportunity to
make a financial donation to Project Access NOW at the event.
Event provided in strategic partnership with United Way of the Columbia Willamette.
Learn more and RSVP online:
|
Patient story: Elizabeth and Salvador S.
|
 When Salvador got laid off, he lost health insurance and with it the means to take care of his diabetes. When his wife Elizabeth got laid off and lost her health insurance, she had to stop taking care of her thyroid condition. For a year they both went without care, until, in the summer of 2009, they found the Essential Health Clinic.
"It's great to know there are people out there caring for the uninsured," Elizabeth said. "Somebody with a big heart."
Care Coordinator Kari Halvorson enrolled Elizabeth and Salvador in Project Access. Elizabeth and Salvador went to Hillsboro Internal Medicine and Dr. Chowdhury, and now they both follow their respective treatment plans, honor their check-up schedules, and receive discounted medication through Pharmacy Bridge.
Read more.
|
Thanking Dr. Simon and Northwest Cancer Specialists
|
Dr. Miklos Simon, oncologist with Northwest Cancer Specialists, first heard about Project Access from his group's financial counselor, who told him about it in connection with a patient coming through the program. Because as a physician, Dr. Simon wants to treat patients, it is, in his words, "great to be in the position where I don't have to say, 'I can't help you.' It's very rewarding to not have to turn anyone away."
As an oncologist, Dr. Simon recognizes that cancer patients come with more than the terrible illness."Patients without insurance are usually in more difficult situations that those with insurance. Their circumstances often mean visits also deal with social and psychological issues - I have to be a social worker and a psychologist sometimes. Those are as important as the treatment itself."
It's because Project Access helps alleviate the patients' financial burden of health care that Dr. Simon felt assured in saying that the program "provides more help than one would think."
Continue reading about Dr. Simon.
|
2010 Cover the Uninsured Week in the Metro Area
|
Celebrations of this year's Cover the Uninsured Week will take place in the Portland Metro area during the week of April 12th
- 18th. Project Access NOW is happy to be in full
support of OHSU Health Policy Group, which has been coordinating the
Week's awareness and service activities since 2008. The Group's
"campus-wide
effort rallies not only medical students but also PA, nursing,
dental, and pharmacy students, as well as OHSU faculty and community
organizations."
Cover the Uninsured Week is a national program that focuses on education
and services for the millions of uninsured individuals across the
country. According to the Group, the weekday events occurring Monday
through Friday (4/12-4/16) will feature a variety of educational
speakers, discussions, workshops, and activities related to topics of
uninsured healthcare.
Our very own Mike Bonazzola and Linda Nilsen-Solares will give a
talk on Monday, April 12th
at 1pm at OHSU Old Library Auditorium.-
See the full schedule of events.
-
Read
the article about the Cover the Uninsured Week activities from the OHSU student paper Pulse (courtesy of Ashley
Tran at OHSU).
-
Watch
the video by TheVacuum.org (Voices and Concerns of the Uninsured and
Underinsured Millions), "a
group of first-year
medical students [at
OHSU] who are interested in finding the stories of
those who are uninsured and
those providers who care for
them, despite all obstacles".
|
Board member profile: Sia Lindstrom
|
If Project Access NOW were a plant, Sia Lindstrom would be the gardener.
As then-Executive Director of the Vision Action Network, a Washington County collaboration incubator, Sia launched a community planning group on healthcare. Access to care for the uninsured emerged as a top issue. Looking at the Project Access model, the group got a local program off the ground at the Essential Health Clinic.
Thanks to Sia's seed planting, Project Access thrives in Washington County and regionally. She said,"Project Access NOW is a relatively young organization that's come a long way quickly."
When Sia started a new position with Washington County, it made sense for her to be connected with the regional organization, Project Access NOW. Her portfolio as Senior Deputy County Administrator is fairly broad: health and human services, assessment/taxation, elections, extension services, and sustainability programs. It is through Project Access NOW board service that Sia continues to manifest her passion for health care access as an issue.
Read more about Sia Lindstrom.
|
Maria wasn't able to have a worrisome black spot on her foot checked out by a specialist because she "had no insurance and no one would see me anywhere." Luckily, the health department clinic referred her to Project Access, where Care Coordinator Kari Halvorson connected Maria with Dr. Koppula at the Cornell Dermatology Clinic.
It turned out not to be skin cancer. Maria's relief was palpable. "I was really worried before that it would be something serious. I feel better knowing it's not cancer."
Read more.
|
Raising funds with affiliate marketing
|
There are lots of different ways to support our work in expanding access to healthcare for low income uninsured folks in the Portland/Vancouver metropolitan area. In the current challenging economic times,
Project Access NOW and other nonprofits are finding the concept of affiliate marketing helpful in raising the much needed funds. We've found partnerships with the following businesses mutually beneficial:
- LionHeart Consulting provides leadership consulting, coaching, and education services to organizational leaders
- NedWater Liquid Change is "the world's first philanthrophic drinking water", providing office water services and supporting charitable causes in the process
If you or your organization have a need for leadership consulting or office water supply services, choosing these companies will generate financial support for Project Access NOW:
- Fifty-one percent of sales of LionHeart Consulting's Mastering Effectiveness course through this link and our website will go to Project Access NOW.
- NedWater Liquid Change will donate to Project Access NOW 20% of gross revenues from water service to all new customers who sign up mentioning Project Access NOW.
|
Support Project Access NOW and work on Mastering Effectiveness |
Fifty-one percent of salesof LionHeart Consulting's Mastering Effectivenesscourse through this linkand our websitewill go to Project Access NOW.
This month, consider LionHeart's perspective on Failure is a New Beginning.
|
In-kind donation wish list
|
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 March.
If you or someone you know would like to donate these items, call us at 503.413.5541.
|
|
