REGION
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
East Oregonian
VA opens same-day clinic
A3
Fly, be free
New Walla Walla
clinic opened
in August with
positive response
By BEN LONERGAN
East Oregonian
WALLA
WALLA,
Wash. — Veterans seeking
medical care at the Johna-
than M. Wainwright Memo-
rial VA Medical Center
in Walla Walla will now
have the option of a newly
opened same-day clinic.
The same-day clinic,
also known as a sick call
clinic, offers veterans the
opportunity to meet with
a provider for same-day,
non-emergency
medical
care at the Walla Walla VA.
Dr. Mark Liu sthe program,
which offi cially rolled out
on Aug. 5, has received pos-
itive attendance and reac-
tions so far despite limited
advertising.
Liu, the chief of staff at
the Walla Walla VA, said
that the slow opening has
allowed staff members to
work out kinks in the pro-
gram and address any pre-
vailing issues before its full
opening. The same-day
clinic has averaged approx-
imately 10 patients a day.
Liu, however, expects that
number to rise quickly now
that the clinic is rolling out
marketing material.
“The problem before was
that the providers were get-
ting burnt out because a
walk-in patient would dis-
rupt the fl ow of the day,”
he said. “This new model
allows us to take that pres-
sure off and provide better
care.”
Liu said that even before
the same-day clinic, veter-
ans were never turned away,
however, it often meant that
providers were staying for
appointments after-hours or
not taking breaks to accom-
modate the additional
appointments. These after-
hours appointments often
meant that out-of-town
patients may have had to
spend the full day in Walla
Walla waiting to be seen.
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Contributed photo
The new same-day clinic at the Jonathan M. Wainwright
Memorial VA Medical Center in Walla Walla, Wash., features
private rooms for caring for veterans with non-emergency
medical concerns.
“There should always
be an emphasis on patient
care,” Liu said. “But I need
my providers to be healthy
so that they can provide
that.”
The same-day clinic
currently follows the same
schedule as the rest of the
Walla Walla VA, however,
Liu hopes the program will
be able to expand to serve
veterans 12 hours a day in
the future.
Central to expanding
the program will be track-
ing the use of the clinic to
see where people are visit-
ing from and how long they
have had to wait, said Liu.
He also acknowledged that
in order to expand the hours
of the same-day clinic, the
entire facility would have to
amend its hours in order to
support that portion of the
clinic with lab tests or other
medical procedures.
While the Walla Walla
VA used to offer similar
programs, changes to oper-
ating procedure shifted
to the current patient care
team model, which pairs
each veteran with a care
team consisting of a pro-
vider, registered nurse,
licensed practical nurse and
a clerk.
Linda Wondra, a spokes-
woman for the Walla Walla
VA, said while the same-
day clinic has a dedicated
provider, every effort will
be made to pair veterans
with a member of their indi-
vidual care team. Won-
dra said this pairing allows
easier access to medical
records and better continu-
ity of care for veterans.
“If you come to the
walk-in clinic there is a way
that we can see the veteran’s
records and be familiar with
their patient history,” Won-
dra said. “If they were to go
to a community urgent care
those records wouldn’t be
available to the provider.”
Despite the increased
access to care provided by
the clinic, Wondra explained
there is still a triage system
that veterans will have to go
through in order to be cared
for, and the care provided is
not necessarily immediate.
Wondra said if patients are
in need of immediate med-
ical attention for severe or
life-threatening emergen-
cies, they should still seek
out an emergency room or
call 911.
“I want veterans to know
the process and not be dis-
appointed,” she said. “We
just need to be patient while
this process works itself
out.”
Wondra encouraged vet-
erans to spread the word
about the same-day clinic
as well as the other services
offered by the Walla Walla
VA in an effort to educate a
wider number of veterans.
A red-tailed hawk fl aps to freedom after Blue Mountain Wildlife intern Addy Chamberlain
released the rehabilitated bird to the wild during Saturday’s open house at the wildlife
rehabilitation center near Pendleton.
Contributed photo by the city of Hermiston
Hermiston Avenue in 2016 and 2019.
Hermiston wins urban renewal award
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — The
opening of a new Holiday
Inn Express in 2017 kicked
off a transformation of one
of Hermiston’s most visible
intersections, bridging the
city’s east-west divide.
On Monday, the city was
awarded Urban Renewal
Project of the Year by the
Oregon Economic Develop-
ment Association for its work
in building a festival street
and supporting the $7 mil-
lion hotel and other private
development downtown.
“These projects have
changed the face of down-
town Hermiston for the bet-
ter, combining public plan-
ning and private investment
to create a more attractive
and cohesive core,” Mayor
Dave Drotzmann said in a
statement.
The hotel property on the
corner of Hermiston Ave-
nue and Highway 395 was a
former Tum-a-Lum Lumber
yard. According to a news
release, the city of Hermiston
invested $80,000 in assist-
ing the developer with mov-
ing a sewer main and vacat-
ing an adjacent portion of
West Ridgeway Avenue. The
Hermiston Urban Renewal
Agency then awarded the
hotel $36,000 in facade
grants.
Local developer Mitch
Myers sold the yard to Hol-
iday Inn, and after the hotel
was built he developed prop-
erties around it, including the
Maxwell Event Center, Max-
well Pavilion, landscaped
parking and the addition of a
second kitchen to the Herm-
iston Brewing Company in
order to cater to the hotel
and event center. The city
provided assistance to some
of those projects, accord-
ing to the release, including
a $10,000 grant for parking
development in exchange for
public use of the lot.
The city also constructed
a $1 million festival street a
block away, which has hosted
events this summer, such as
MelonFest and SpudFest.
Next to the festival street,
a private business recently
opened the Union Club cof-
fee shop and bar, assisted by
a $10,000 facade grant from
the urban renewal agency.
The projects fell in
line with results from a
2015 “Livable Hermiston”
community study, which
included the need for more
event space, restaurants and
hotels.
The Oregon Economic
Development Association
is a statewide nonprofi t that
supports economic devel-
opment professionals. The
city of Hermiston was rec-
ognized at its annual confer-
ence in Salem.
BRIEFLY
Lifeways announces
purchase of former
medical offi ce
PENDLETON — Life-
ways announced that it has
purchased the former St.
Anthony Medical Office
in Pendleton.
The press release said
that the behavioral health
agency plans to use the
building to combine all its
services into one location
in Pendleton and expand
its services. According to
the release, the agency will
renovate and move into the
building in phases.
“We look forward to
continuing to serve our
community from a loca-
tion that enhances the
environment in which the
community can receive
services,” the release said.
Also in a release
on Monday, Lifeways
announced that Aspen
Springs Psychiatric Hospi-
tal is open for public tours
ahead of its opening later
this year.
The facility, located
at 1212 W. Linda Ave. in
Hermiston, will provide
Eastern Oregon with 16
beds for inpatient services
for individuals experienc-
ing a severe and persistent
mental health crisis.
According to the release
from Lifeways, which
runs the facility, patients
“will receive high-qual-
ity, individualized care
in a state-of the-art facil-
ity designed to provide a
safe place for psychiatric
recovery and stabilization”
under 24-hour supervision.
Tours are available
by calling 541-289-2340,
Monday through Friday,
8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Pedestrian killed
in Stanfi eld
STANFIELD — A
pedestrian was killed by
a vehicle early Saturday
morning on Highway 395 in
Stanfi eld.
According to a news
release from Stanfi eld
Police Department, witness
statements and evidence at
the scene indicate Steven
Adam Gallegos, 30, from
Echo, was walking south-
bound in the lane of travel
at 12:58 a.m. when he was
struck by a vehicle also
traveling southbound. He
was pronounced deceased
at the scene.
The vehicle was a 2002
Chrysler Sebring operated
by Gregory Ayling, 44,
from Granger, Washing-
ton. He and his children,
who were passengers, were
not injured. Stanfi eld police
chief Byron Zumwalt said
Ayling immediately stopped
and did what he could to
render fi rst aid, perform
CPR and call 911.
He has been cooperative
with police, according to a
news release, and there is
no indication that drugs or
alcohol were a factor.
The southbound lanes of
Highway 395 were closed
for about three hours for
investigation but were later
reopened.
Stanfi eld police were
assisted on scene by Ore-
gon State Police, Umatilla
County Sheriff’s Offi ce,
Oregon Department of
Transportation, the medical
examiner’s offi ce, and the
Umatilla County District
Attorney’s Offi ce.
— East Oregonian staff
10/29
Cineplex Show Times
$5 Classic Movie
Join us for a retirement open house
Phyllis (Gilbert) Bracher
Saturday, Nov. 2nd
3-5:30pm
Phyllis attended Pendleton College of
Beauty in 1971 & ‘72 and received
her license in January of 1973.
She worked 6 months at The
Personality Coffures, 10 1/2 years at
Carol’s Carousel and then moved
to Buttercreek Salon, where
she has been for 37 years.
Pioneer Memorial Clinic & Hospital
Since 2019
“It’s not just what I do,
it’s who I choose to be.”
Excited to join the MCHD Family of Caregivers!
A Healthier Morrow County is Within Me.
My career has taken me to many places. From Illinois to
Colorado to Wyoming, each place I’ve had the privilege of
practicing medicine has been a rewarding experience. My
diverse background in family and emergency medicine, as
a hospitalist and director of palliative care, have prepared
me well for this next chapter. My family’s roots are in rural
and we’re so happy to now call Heppner our home, and
MCHD the place where I can make a difference.
Showing Wednesday @ 12p
Phantom of the Opera
Maleficent:
Mistress of Evil (PG)
4:00p 6:50p 9:30p
Read About How We are Working
Together to be a Healthier Community
Today and
Zombieland:
Double Tap (R)
5:00p 7:20p 9:40p
HealthyMC.org
The Addams Family (PG)
4:30p 6:40p 8:50p
Gemini Man (PG13)
4:10p 7:00p 9:40p
Joker (R)
4:20p 7:10p 9:50p
315 SW 11th Street
Hermiston, OR
541-567-2911
Dr. Jim Hejmanowski
* Matinee Pricing
wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850
Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216
Where healthier is happening...
Boardman | Heppner | Ione | Irrigon | Lexington
541-676-9133