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
