Free clinic
continued from page 1
need,” she said. “I didn’t have
high blood pressure until I found
myself in this situation.”
Currently Maria said she gets
the care she needs from the local
White Bird Clinic and the pre
scription drugs through programs
offered by pharmaceutical com
panies. But this haphazard
arrangement does not offer Maria
the security and dependability
she said she needs to make her
feel truly healthy. She has no
constant source for blood sugar
test kits or insulin, and this
added stress has given her even
more health problems.
But Maria will soon be able to
get the regular medical attention
she needs at a Volunteers in Med
icine Clinic when it opens in Oc
tober.
Volunteers in Medicine is a
not-for-profit organization that
helps communities establish free
clinics in their area that are pat
terned after the first one, which
was opened by Dr. Jack Mc
Connell in Hilton Head, S.C., in
1992. There are seven other clin
ics nation-wide, and six more are
also set to open.
The Eugene clinic will be
housed in a vacant medical
building at 3321 W. 11th Ave.,
and volunteer doctors will pro
vide free diagnosis, medication
and some basic treatment for its
patients.
More than $250,000 has been
raised for the clinic, which is
more than half the expected total
budget, said Jenny Ulum, a mem
ber of the clinic’s board of direc
tors. Once the clinic is opened,
Ulum said it will provide basic
medical services for “people who
fall between the cracks,” mean
ing those who are employed, but
can’t afford their own insurance
and make too much to be on the
state health care plan. She said
her group estimates there are
close to 30,000 of these people in
this situation living in Lane
County.
Ulum said the effort to open a
clinic began when local doctor
John Haughom attended a lecture
by McConnell discussing the
purpose of the clinics and how to
establish one. After the lecture,
Ulum said other health care pro
fessionals decided to support a
clinic.
Sister Monica Heeran, the re
tired president of Sacred Heart
Medical Center, has led the effort
behind the Eugene clinic and has
been one of its most vocal sup
porters. Heeran’s efforts to bring
affordable health care to Eugene
residents are almost legendary,
and Ulum described her as
“revered in some circles.” Heeran
convinced the owners of the clin
ic’s building, Peace Health hospi
tal group, to lease the building at
a philanthropic rate, and Ulum
said she has also has worked
hard to line up the many grants
and donations needed to cover
start-up costs. Gail Winterman,
the clinic manager, said the clinic
will offer primary care for a vari
ety of needs. She said more than
50 doctors and close to 100 other
health care workers have ex
pressed interest in volunteering
their services for the clinic. Win
terman said private donations are
expected to provide the bulk of
funding for the clinic, but also
said “there have been conversa
tions” with state and local organ
izations.
In addition to providing peo
ple with health care, Winterman
said the clinic will also provide
counseling and refer some pa
tients to services that will place
them in low-income housing.
The not-for-profit atmosphere
will also let the clinic foster an
approach to health care that will
place a patient’s needs before
business needs, she said.
“The needs of the person pre
vail,” she said, “Not the time
clock or the dollar.”
EWEB service
continued from page 1
by the Eugene Water and Electric
Board within three years if the
public utility’s goals come to
fruition.
After receiving the go-ahead
from voters on May 16, EWEB has
begun investigating the possibili
(i The telecommunica
tions business is certainly
growing and becoming a
very competitive environ
ment If EWEB wants to
compete with us, we are
certainly ready to
compete with them.
Brian Terrett
US West Spokesman
ty of constructing a citywide
telecommunications infrastruc
ture that would provide homes,
businesses and government agen
cies access to a fiber-optics system
carrying telephone, television,
data services and an Internet con
nection five times faster than the
dial-up connections most resi
dents have.
The system won’t be available
for at least two years, however,
while EWEB analyzes the market
demand and economic feasibility
for the network. EWEB officials
hope to place a measure on next
May’s ballot proposing a con
struction budget for the system.
The public utility envisions of
fering “universal access across the
community to a modern and ca
pable system” by leasing the fiber
optic infrastructure to phone, tele
vision and Internet providers
offering the lowest rates, said Ken
Beeson, EWEB telecommunica
tions project manager.
Thus far, EWEB’s proposal,
which would roughly cost $70
million, would not raise water or
electric rates.
“We have indicated all along
that we wouldn’t jeopardize our
traditional water and electric cus
tomers with a telecommunica
tions plan,” said Tom Buckhouse,
EWEB director of facilities servic
es division. “Users of the telecom
munication system, whoever they
might be, would pay for it.”
The infrastructure would be
funded by bonds, which would
be paid off with money from users
of the system and income from
leases. All bonds would be ap
proved by voters, according to
EWEB officials.
“Should any financing be nec
essary for EWEB, the board is
committed to taking the measure
to vote,” Buckhouse said. “It’s im
portant for people to have a say in
what EWEB does. It’s how we’ve
operated for over 90 years. It
works.”
Supporters of EWEB’s plans say
a city-owned infrastructure
would keep money in the local
economy, improve options for
customers and, because EWEB
proposes connecting all Eugene
residents to the system, make ac
cess equitable.
Those who opposed the May 16
ballot measure, however, have
said the publicly owned utility
shouldn’t enter the risky telecom
munications market, currently
dominated by AT&T and US
West, which together spent about
$70,000 opposing the measure.
The measure passed with 53.5
percent of the vote.
“The telecommunications busi
ness is certainly growing and be
coming a very competitive envi
ronment,” US West spokesman
Brian Terrett said. “If EWEB
wants to compete with us, we are
certainly ready to compete with
them.”
Terrett said US West, which
currently offers cable television,
telephone and Internet service in
Eugene, is considering providing
its own high-speed telecommuni
cations network. Terrett said
EWEB had an unfair advantage
because the public utility is fund
ed with tax dollars.
<?PE. <XA6AfEP6...
YOJ2. CAMPUA lv|AEj4C.TPLACt.
“It’s a lose-lose situation for us
if EWEB wants to be competitive,
but competitive using govern
ment subsidies,” he said.
EWEB officials, on the other
hand, say the utility isn’t intend
ing to dominate the market but
hoping to promote a fair and com
peting marketplace for telecom
munications service.
“The idea of having multiple
providers in the area means high
er quality service, lower costs and
nothing but good things for Eu
gene,” Beeson said.
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