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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 11, 2012)
december11 2012 VERNONIA’S reflecting the spirit of our community Vernonia Health Clinic Set to Re-Open The Vernonia Health Clinic is sched- uled to re-open its doors and begin seeing patients on February 1, 2013, according to Vernonia Health Board President Marie Krahn. According to Krahn, The Public Health Foun- dation of Columbia County, a non-profit agency locat- ed in St. Helens, and the Vernonia Health Board have reached an agreement and are finalizing a Memoran- dum of Understanding and a lease agreement. The clinic will be operated as “The Vernonia Health Center,” with The Public Health Foundation overseeing the daily operations. The Public Health Foundation is also the umbrella organization for the School Based Health Center, scheduled to open in Jan- uary on the new Vernonia School campus. According to Krahn, The Vernonia Health Board and The Public Health Foundation will enter into an agreement to provide medical services in Vernonia. A Nurse Practitioner will be on staff. Oregon Health and Sciences University (OHSU) will provide the med- ical oversight for the clinic. There is a new phone num- ber to schedule appointments beginning in January: 800-244-4870. Hours of operation will be as follows: Monday 1:00 – 5:00 PM Tuesday 3:00 – 7:00 PM Wednesday 1:00 – 5:00 PM “As the schedule fills up we will extend those hours and add another day, probably Friday.,” says Krahn. According to Krahn, the same health provider will initially work at both the Vernonia Health Center and the School Based Health Clinic, providing some continuity of care. The Vernonia Health Center is currently going through the accreditation process so they will be able to see Medicare and Medicaid patients. They are also working to become accredited with between twelve and twenty other insurance carriers, so they will be able to bill most client’s insurance. Krahn says that the Vernonia Health Center is receiving assistance with their accreditation from the newly formed Columbia Pacific, the Coordinated Care Organization for Medicaid in the region. “Working in partnership with this agency now helps us be posi- tioned for 2014, as the new health reform unfolds,” says inside Krahn. The Vernonia Health Board has been in con- versations with several entities looking for a solution to the health care issue in Vernonia ever since the Verdura Health Clinic discontinued operations on July 30, 2012. Vernonia has partnered with the communities of Clats- kanie and Rainier to form the North Columbia Access group to look at how to provide long term, sustainable access to quality medical services in remote areas. One of the things being considered is collaborative model that would share administrative costs and overhead ex- penses between clinics in all the communities. The plan would allow for sharing of resources but also allow each clinic to be adaptable and meet the needs of each specific community. According to Krahn this coordinated project is looking for long term solutions. In the meantime, Ver- nonia is moving forward with re-opening their local clinic with the idea that it could expand seamlessly into a new model that could come forward in the future. “The Health Board felt that since we were al- ready looking at the bigger picture and building a part- nership with some of these people who are at the North County Access table, like the Public Health Foundation and The Vernonia School Based Health Clinic, why not see if we can put something together here in Vernonia now,” says Krahn. Krahn was clear that Vernonia is continuing to work with the North Columbia Access group to pursue the idea of a bigger collaborative that could provide a new model for providing medical services to rural com- munities. That model could include use of new tech- nology to provide things like telemedicine and instant access to medical records, additional providers and ad- ditional specialty services. “We will continue to look at how we can further expand and benefit the community in the future,” says Krahn. Krahn was also able to state that the Vernonia Health Board has been chosen as a FEMA buyout proj- ect and is awaiting final approval for some of the fund- ing needed to move their clinic out of the flood zone. Krahn was also pleased to announce that the project has been selected by Architects Without Borders and will receive assistance with site planning, engineering and moving the project forward. Spirit of Christmas in Vernonia 10 harlem crowns 16 vhs winter sports preview 23 spirit of christmas People in Vernonia heralded the arrival of the holiday season with an old fashioned, small town celebration dur- ing “The Spirit of Christmas in Vernonia” on December 1, 2012. There were Victorian Carolers, a Live Nativity scene, story telling, a Chili Cook-off and Cookie Baking Contest, a Lighted Parade, and the arrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus. The day was organized by the Vernonia Area Chamber of Commerce. Look for more photos and the winners of all the contests, including the Home Decorat- ing and the Store Front Contests on page 23. free volume6 issue23 Local Children’s Author to Publish Second in Series Local author Stacey Rech is getting ready to publish the second in her series of children’s books about her hero Miss Della Webb. Her first book, Miss Della Webb and the Wolf, is currently available at the Made In Vernonia store. Rech (pronounced “wreck”) says her stories are good for early readers at around the third grade level. Her second book, Miss Della Webb Meets Purdy Hen is due out any day. Author Rech is a transplant to Vernonia. She was raised in Montana and moved out to Oregon about ten years ago and to Vernonia four years ago. Last year she quit her job and decided to try writing as a career. “I asked my boyfriend to take a deep breath and trust me because I wanted to try this.” explains Rech. The first book is illustrated by Erin Gibson who lives in Seattle and works in a digital format. Rech says she choose Gibson because of her colorful style. “Her work is very eye grabbing for the kids and it is just so full and fun. And I just love her characters.” Rech also notes that her stories are country themed and include characters like farmers, wood choppers and animals and settings like rivers and berry patches. Rech says she never re- ally set out to be an author of children’s books. She took some college writ- ing classes many years ago and was recently working on two separate adult nov- els when she stumbled upon a friend who’s family member was just starting to publish children’s books through Red Heart Books. Rech decided to give it a try and had something written in a day. The pub- lisher liked what Rech had written and asked if she could write a series. “I was really amazed at how really blessed I have been,” says Rech. “Things have just stepped in my path and it has just really fallen together for me.” continued on page 6
