Project Access NOW eNewsletter: April 2010
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Thank you for a wonderful Bridges to Healthcare event
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 The inaugural Bridges to Healthcare event is history. If it weren't for the big-event intimidation factor, we'd have organized a big event when we first started accepting patients, back in March 2008. To get in the same room nearly 400 people who are committed to the same thing was truly powerful.Particularly for physicians who have been involved with Project Access from the very beginning, seeing how many people they know and respect are also involved may have come as a surprise. I overheard one person say, "When I looked up at the Hilton mezzanine, I thought, that can't be us, that's too many people!"
Indeed, when you're in the trenches, working to ensure access to care for the most vulnerable among us, you may not see the growing capacity and support Project Access NOW has been garnering. The event was symbolic of a lot of people taking advantage of a unique environment created by Project Access NOW. This environment allows for simple involvement in donating care in a way that it can be best utilized. It is our hope that this first Bridges to Healthcare event will instill in our providers and supporters a sense of community around healthcare access.
I would once again like to acknowledge a small but hearty group of volunteers who pulled the event together: Debbie Rieke, Kathi Misner, Vicki Cameron, Janet Williams, Larlene
Dunsmuir, Linda Leis, and many others. A huge thank you goes out to the event sponsors, whose contributions covered the event cost. Sponsor support means that all of the $25,000 raised at the event will go toward service provision.
If you were there, thank you for coming. We could not have done it without you and your support. If you missed it this year, we hope you can join us next year -- it's a really wonderful event. Either way, I invite you to take a look at the following:
Sincerely,
Linda Nilsen-Solares
Executive Director
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 Three years had passed before Silver learned the sickness that had forced her to quit her job and spend $93,000 in health care was cancer. By that time, she was so sick with high temperatures, vomiting, severe bloating, diarrhea, and fatigue, she had shuttered herself in her home, unable to leave. "I tried to deal with it," Silver said. "I tried to get better on my own."
Out of other options, Silver went to the Free Clinic of Southwest Washington. She remembers the moment vividly. "I was skeptical because I knew they only provide basic health care. I was number 26 out of 35 in the waiting room. But they kept passing me up until the place emptied out.
"Finally the nurse told me they waited for everyone to leave because mine was a bigger problem. 'We needed to spend all of our time with you,' he said. Before that, most doctors treated me like a number. I came to a free clinic and there were people that cared? I was floored."
Continue reading Silver's story.
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Thanking Dr. Johnson and Surgical Associates
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Dr. Nathalie Johnson heard about Project Access NOW through the American College of Surgeons. So when her colleague Dr. Katherine Morris told her about it, Dr. Johnson was "more than happy to participate".
After she learned more about Project Access, Dr. Johnson spoke with administration staff at Surgical Associates and then with the group partners. After they learned they themselves could set the number of patients they wanted to see, they jointly agreed to see 6 patients a year each for a group total of 36.
"We started seeing Project Access patients right away,"Dr. Johnson said. "I don't think we've turned anyone away."
Continue reading about Dr. Johnson.
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Community volunteer highlight: Molly McGuire
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 Twenty-seven years in the medical equipment field gave Molly McGuire more than enough material to work with as a Project Access NOW community volunteer. Having worked in medical products manufacturing and distribution, "I know the ins and outs of the medical world."
With a bachelor's in business, Molly decided to get a second degree in Spanish. Afterward, she spent two years marketing a diabetes product line. One of her projects entailed developing a program for uninsured Latinos to get diabetic care equipment.
It was at that time that Molly heard from a friend about the then-launching Project Access NOW. Soon after, in October 2008, she signed up as a community volunteer, working up to 20 hours a week while juggling her other commitments (she teaches Spanish to grade school kids and helps a local greeting-card company with sales).
Molly's main focus is phone surveys of patients: she developed the program, wrote the script, and created a Spanish-language version as well. The initial, or entry, phone survey evaluates every patient's overall healthcare experience, particularly access to care. Six months later, patients go through the exit survey, which asks the same questions following care as well as feedback on Project Access NOW.
Continue reading.
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Board member profile: Jill Ginsberg, MD, MPH
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 Dr. Jill Ginsberg had been a family physician for more than 20 years when, together with a local pastor, she co-founded the North by Northeast Community Health Center, a free medical clinic for low-income uninsured adults in North and inner Northeast Portland. Before the clinic opened its doors, she knew she had a lot to learn from others in the community who were doing this successfully. One of those she turned to for advice was Linda Nilsen-Solares, then-Executive Director of the Essential Health Clinic.
When Project Access NOW started, Dr. Ginsberg immediately saw the benefit to the uninsured patients at North by Northeast who needed specialty care as well as to the community at large. She continued to meet regularly with Linda and followed the early development of the program with interest.
The collaboration shifted to higher gear in late 2008 when, after working as a family physician in a Kaiser Permanente medical office for 14 years, Dr. Ginsberg became Kaiser Permanente's Physician Lead for Community Care. She's now responsible for physician engagement in the company's community programs, including Project Access NOW.
Read more about Dr. Ginsberg.
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When Cipriano fell ill in 2003, his daughter Olga brought him to the Essential Health Clinic. On their way home, they got a call from the Clinic, advising he be taken to the emergency room because of his blood test results. He left the hospital after a week with a colostomy bag, no job, and no way to pay for the bills.
Cipriano's post-colostomy recovery went anything but well. He and his family had no money to see a specialist, so he put off care hoping for things to get better on their own. Finally, in the summer of 2009, Olga took Cipriano to the Essential Health Clinic again, and he enrolled in Project Access.
According to Olga, "Since 2003 my father was saying, I want to get well. It was an impossible dream to get the operation he needed. Now it seems that thanks to Project Access we're going to get there. It's like a dream come true."
Read more.
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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 April.
Auto-feeding scanners (we REALLY need these!)
Printer/copier - for medium to heavy use
Headsets (Avaya compatible) 10 key calculators Copy paper Cleaning service - 4 post server rack or cabinet
If you or someone you know would like to donate these items, call us at 503.413.5541.
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Support Project Access NOW and work on Mastering Effectiveness |
Fifty-one percent of sales of LionHeart Consulting's Mastering Effectiveness course through this link and our website will go to Project Access NOW.
This month, consider LionHeart's perspective on Powerful Listening.
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2010 Cover the Uninsured Week in the Metro Area
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Celebrations of this year's Cover the Uninsured Week in the Portland Metro area took place last week. We were happy to be in full
support of OHSU Health Policy Group, which had been coordinating the
Week's awareness and service activities since 2008. The Group's
"campus-wide
effort rallie[d] 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. The Group's events featured a variety of educational
speakers, discussions, workshops, and activities related to topics of
uninsured healthcare.
Our very own Mike Bonazzola and Linda Nilsen-Solares gave a
talk on Monday, April 12th
at 1pm at OHSU Old Library Auditorium.
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Phone: 503.413.5541
Fax: 503.413.5932
Email
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