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A14 Wednesday Ma ch 4 2020 The Da es Chron c e TheDa esCh on c e com Geriatric nurse fills crucial role Rural areas nationwide lack practitioners Drew Myron ■ By Columbia Basin Care/for the Chronicle F ROM A SMALL CLINIC AT Columbia Basin Care in The Dalles, Val Hiveley Blatz works as the Gorge’s only provid- er specializing in the care of older adults. Want to make an appointment with the most popular health care provider in The Dalles? She’d like to see you, but there’s just one catch: you may be too young. Valerie Hiveley-Blatz spe- cializes in a demographic many medical professionals avoid—old people. Val, as her patients call her, is the only provider in the Columbia Gorge caring exclusively for those 55 and older. And she’s busy. From her clinic at Columbia Basin Care, Hiveley-Blatz carries a load of 450 patients. Columbia Basin Care is the re- gion’s only independent, nonprofit facility for short-term recovery and long-term care. It’s also the only nursing home in the Columbia Gorge providing residents with an on-site geriatric nurse practitioner. She and her team—Nina VanEs (nurse practitioner and partner), Donna Troxel and Sara Beedie (medical assistants) and Traci Waddington (clinic manager)— assist and support patients and their families through persistent problems, difficult diagnoses, and painful transitions. “We help them navigate through the complex medical system,” explained Hiveley-Blatz. “We’re guides.” Hiveley-Blatz spent her under- graduate years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and earned her masters degree from Oregon Health Sciences University, specializing in geriatrics and psychiatrics. She has lived in The Dalles for 30 years, and has practiced medicine for over 20. She initially worked as an emergency room nurse at Mid Va er e H ve y B a z cen er shares a augh w h Co umb a Bas n Care s D rec or o Nurs ng Leana Tenn son e and Execu ve D rec or Aubree Schre ner r gh shortage is compounded by the fact that the nursing workforce itself is aging. While last decade’s recession delayed the retirement of many nurses, the improved economy has seen older practitioners retire. This exodus puts pressure on hospitals and health care facilities around the country, and rural locations already facing limited services—such as Va er e H ve ey B a z sees a pa en n her c n c a Co umb a Bas n Care n The communities in the Columbia Da es Co umb a Bas n s he on y nurs ng home n he reg on w h an on s e Gorge—are feeling the impact even Ger a r c Nurse Prac oner Con bu ed pho os more. For those who choose to serve the ill and aging, the rewards can be Columbia Medical Center, then as As life expectancy increases, a home healthcare nurse, prior to there is a pressing need for special- profound. “I learn so much from my moving into her current role as a ists to address the specific needs of primary care provider. older adults. One of the challenges patients. I love what I do,” said While she’s in great demand of working in geriatrics is that older Hiveley-Blatz. “I love to listen to people’s stories. We get to know the locally, the work she does as a patients typically have more com- families. It’s important to connect geriatric specialist is also in short plicated care needs and are much with patients and their families and supply nationwide. more likely to suffer from multiple get to know who they are.” “We see a shortage in geriatric ailments. Geriatric nurse practi- While most physicians see care. We’ve got an aging population tioners are typically more involved patients on an annual basis, she and we don’t have enough special- with their patients than a general practitioner as they adjust medica- typically see her patients every 60 to ist nurses in geriatric care,” Cheryl 90 days—and meets them in nurs- Peterson, vice president of nursing tions, prescribe physical therapy, programs at the American Nurses and help them navigate long-term ing homes, assisted living facilities, Associatio, told the U.S. News & care. in her clinic at Columbia Basin and World Report. The geriatric nurse practitioner even makes house calls. “We communicate with our patients. We’re one of the last places that calls patients,” she says. “We still operate old school, with phone calls and home visits, because our clients need that.” But the work doesn’t end with the visit. To understand the full scope of each patient, Hiveley- Blatz consults with other provid- ers—orthopedics, cardiologists, dialysis centers, therapists, pharmacists, surgeons. With this comprehensive approach, patients are more likely to thrive, even in the face of a health care system that can feel overwhelming. “A good day is when you see that all the hard work you do behind the scenes works,” she said. And the good days often bear handmade gifts, with patients and their families bringing her home-grown toma- toes, crocheted blankets, knitted slippers. “A good day is when we help solve what matters to them.” Drew Myron is marketing direc- tor for Columbia Basin Care, locat- ed at 1015 Webber St., The Dalles; 541-296-2156, colbasin.com. you could win instant gas rewards! 250,000 Rewards Available MONOPOLY © 1935, 2020 Hasbro. All rights reserved. Hasbro is not a sponsor of the promotion. Series MON-13. See store or online at www.ShopPlayWin.com for official rules & odds chart. Online orders do not qualify for MONOPOLY game participation except for online orders for pick up at participating stores that offer Drive Up & Go™. Effective 2/5/20 - 5/5/20. Valid 3 3 20 thru 3 10 20 clip or CLICK 10 $ OFF $ 50 or more Dave s K er Bread 24 o 27 oz Se e ed va e e Save on your next grocery purchase of $50 or more* with your Club Card & this Savings Award. U Aw W W M O O D Aw W D w U m m G Aw m O w m m G w A OU ON ANNO w m A W mm A DOU A 3 49 ea Limit 2 W m D O Valid 3 3 20 thru 3 10 20 clip or CLICK w m m OU ON ANNO DOU D w m A w O Prices in this ad are effective fective 6 AM Tuesday, uesday, , March 3 thru Tuesday, uesday, , March 10, 2020 (unless otherwise noted) in all Safeway or Albertsons stores in Oregon and S.W. Washington ashington stores serving W Wahkiakum, Cowlitz, Clark, Skamania, W Walla Walla W and Klickitat Counties. Items Item offered of for sale are not available to other dealers or wholesalers. Sales of products containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine or phenylpropanolamine limited by law. . Quantity rights reserved. SOME ADVERTISING TISING ITEMS MAY Y NOT BE AVAILABLE AILABLE IN ALL STORES. Some advertised prices may be even lower in some stores. On Buy One, Get One Free (“BOGO”) of offers, customer must purchase the first item to receive the second item free. BOGO offers fers are not 1/2 price sales. If only a single item m purchased, the regular price applies. Manufacturers’ M coupons may m be used on purchased items m only — not on free items. m Limit m one coupon per purchased item. m Customer m w will be responsible for tax and deposi deposits as required by law on the purchased and free items. N N w A © w © A A m m O m PG 1 Common G 141129_030420_POR_ROP_SA_10 125 10 5_TheDa e Ch on e_V01_Common Stay up to date on the go: TheDallesChronicle.com
