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Bridges to Healthcare
Join us at our annual appreciation and fundraising dinner!
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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)
- 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.
Thank you for your support!
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 I'm writing this update as the Project Access NOW board chair because it's a really busy time for staff. We're only a week away from Bridges to Healthcare, our annual recognition and fundraising event.
In the midst of all the busy-ness, it's important to stop and remind ourselves why we do this. The answer is simple: it's about people.
It's first and foremost about the people we serve. It's about the people we connect to care; it's about the patients. We believe everyone deserves access to healthcare.
It's also about people providing care for patients. Everyone working at our safety net clinic partners, supporting patients and doing amazing work with sometimes serious limitations. Our physician, nurse practitioner, physical therapist, pharmacist volunteers donating their time and their skills with generosity and grace. Our health system partners providing resources for lab and radiology and medications. All of them are working together to make care available and efficient.
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Ultimately what matters is that we are connecting people to the care they need and that we're doing it in a way that, we hope, is supportive and uplifting for people who donate that care. Bridges to Healthcare aims to celebrate that. The event's primary purpose is to thank everyone who makes this effort possible. We will also be raising funds to support the program so we can connect even more people to care.
Be sure to register for the event and invite your peers to do so as well. Thanks to our generous sponsors, the event is free to attend and all the money raised will go to connecting people to health care. We'll have a silent auction (preview the list of items here), and we will be selling Golden Tickets again for a chance to win a trip to Puerto Vallarta including a week-long stay in a condo. We look forward to hosting you!
Sincerely,
Mark Rosenberg Project Access NOW
P.S.: This month Portland Woman Magazine featured our Executive Director Linda Nilsen-Solares. As an organization we are fortunate to have such a talented, energetic leader. Read the article in full here. (We wish all of our partners had been named, but alas, the editors found the list too long and the partners too numerous to all fit into the article.) |
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 Heide S. calls herself "the new poor." When the construction company she co-owned with her husband had to lay off all their employees and struggled just to keep the lights on, she couldn't even go to the doctor when her scalp itched so intensely it was bleeding. She was also unable to treat her diabetes and lupus.
"We needed to eat and make house payments, so we were selling off our stuff," Heide said. "But the pain wouldn't go away, so I had to go to a free clinic to get help. It was my first ever experience asking for help. I couldn't handle being given something. I had to let go of my shame."
The staff at Wallace Medical Concern in Gresham, Oregon, helped Heide enroll in Project Access NOW.
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Thanking Dr. Bunten and the Vancouver Clinic
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 When she joined The Vancouver Clinic as gynecologist and obstetrician in 2004, Dr. Carol Bunten wanted to know what she could do to help provide care for people who haven't been able to get it otherwise.
"Fortunately The [Vancouver] Clinic was getting involved in Project Access NOW in 2006," Dr. Bunten said. "[Dr.] Sally Williams approached me to ask if I'd be willing to participate, and Dr. John Nusser also encouraged me to do it. I've since been able to donate my time to meet some of the large unmet need in the community."
A few of Dr. Bunten's colleagues in her department have also joined the effort to provide care to the under- and uninsured.
"[We] get a lot out of the ability to feel that [we're] righting some of the wrongs of the health care system and provide care for those who don't have any other options,"
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Partner highlight: Nurse Practitioners of Oregon
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 Nurse Practitioners of Oregon (NPO) represents more than 450 nurse practitioners in the state. It emerged as a special interest group out of Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) in 1977, and in two years achieved independent practice authority.
Larlene Dunsmuir has been a member of ONA since graduation from nursing school, and became active in NPO as a student Nurse Practitioner in 1991. "I quickly realized the importance and benefits of being involved in our professional organization. Over the years, I have served NPO as board secretary, treasurer, and president."
According to Larlene, "Oregon's nurse practitioners enjoy one of the country's most progressive practice authorities in the country. We have opportunity for independent practices, great career opportunities, and liberal prescribing laws, all thanks to the strengths of our organization and our effective lobbying the legislature."
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Staff profile: Cristina Tobon
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 Cristina Tobón has dedicated herself to helping people adjust to "living in America." After moving from Colombia to Miami she experienced the common assimilation difficulties. She said, "Having the privilege of education and language skills, I thought others without those would struggle even more, so I decided to help."
For the following six years, Cristina worked as a program manager for the Family and Children Faith Coalition of South Florida, which provides after-school services, prevention education, and mentoring. In mid-2010, the organization was forced to severely cut its budget. Cristina decided to visit her daughter in Portland. She quickly fell in love with the city and decided to stay.
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Community volunteer highlight: Vicki Cameron
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 When Vicki Cameron retired in 2008 from Legacy Emanuel Medical Center following a 40-year career as a registered nurse, she "still wanted to do something." Her friend Kathi Misner told Vicki about Project Access NOW, which was just starting up at the time.
"It sounded interesting because it was healthcare but not as physically demanding as nursing," Vicki said.
Vicki first worked with our Pharmacy Bridge program, helping patients get much-needed medications.
"I liked the medical assistance program," Vicki said. "It was amazing to see how many steps there were for patients to get free medications."
Later Vicki joined the Bridges to Healthcare event-planning team. Both last year's inaugural and this year's upcoming Bridges to Healthcare event bear Vicki's stamp. She said, "It's always fun to work on events and bring people together. You get to know other people who are involved. I look forward to the next Bridges to Healthcare on April 7th!" |
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