lune II, 2014
Antilani» (Dbserüer
IN S ID E
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photo by M ark
W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
The accredited staff at the free North by Northeast Community Health Center at 3030 N.E. Martin
Luther King Jr. Blvd. includes Dolly England; Dr. Jill Ginsberg, health center co-founder; Sharetta
Butcher; and Danielle Tucker.
Saving Lives
Clinic expands
services to fight
health inequities
C lassifieds
F o o d
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pages 16
The North by Northeast Commu
nity Health Center just might be one
of the best-kept secrets in north and
northeast Portland. And they say
it’s time for that to change.
“W e’re not just a free clinic any
more. W e’re taking on new patients
and we’re able to offer a lot more
services,’’ said Dr. Jill Ginsberg, the
health center’s co-founder and medi
cal director.
North by Northeast, at 3030 N.E.
Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., was
created in 2006 when the Rev. Mary
Overstreet Smith of the Powerhouse
Temple Church enlisted Ginsberg, a
family physician formerly with Kai
ser Permanente, to help start a free
clinic.
For over seven years the health
center served low-income neighbor-
hood adults with no health insur
ance, focusing on preventing the
deadly consequences of high blood
pressure, asthma and diabetes.
Now the staff and volunteers at
North by Northeast are continuing
in their mission to serve the African
American community and other dis
advantaged populations to reduce
health inequities that cause illness
and death.
Under a new partnership with
CareOregon and the Affordable
Care Act, the clinic accepts Health
Share/Oregon Health Plan and is
more focused than ever on manag
ing chronic conditions so they don’t
spiral into more serious health prob
lems.
“As a nation we are failing in our
treatment of high blood pressure -
especially among African Ameri
cans. That’s one reason for the high
rates of stroke and heart attacks in
our community. W e’ve made it our
highest priority to help our patients
get their blood pressure under con-
trol,” Ginsberg said. “And it’s work
ing. W e’re saving lives.”
“It’s different here,” said Sharetta
Butcher, community health worker
at North by Northeast. “People are
known by their names and they feel
the love we have for them. They’re
not just an insurance number.”
Butcher describes her job as
“meeting people where they’re at”
both physically, in their homes or at
their jobs, and emotionally. “W e’re
reaching people who haven’t been
to the doctor in a long time,” she
said. “It takes trust for them to make
that first step.”
Much of Butcher’s job involves
helping patients to keep their ap
pointments, get their prescriptions
refilled and remember to take their
medications. “If you have meds to
take twice a day, putting the bottles
with your toothbrush is one way to
remember,” she said.
Sometimes it means helping pa-
co n tin u ed
'y f
on p a g e 5