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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (June 20, 2018)
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2018 NEWS Armstrong to open new clinic By JADE MCDOWELL STAFF WRITER STAFF PHOTO BY JADE MCDOWELL. Eastern Oregon Telecom has moved into its brand new building at 2180 Kelli Blvd. in Hermiston. For photos of the celebration, see A15. EOT celebrates new building, ownership By JADE MCDOWELL STAFF WRITER Eastern Oregon Tele- com’s new headquarters are much larger than their pre- vious ones, but it was still crowded on Thursday night as dozens of supporters and employees gathered to cele- brate the new building. The building wasn’t the only change they were marking. EOT announced two weeks ago that its par- ent company, Umatilla Electric, had sold it to senior management. “This is exciting new times for all of us for a lot of reasons and I’m so grateful you’re here to celebrate,” Franell told the group. Longtime members of the “EOT family” came from as far away as Las Vegas, California and Pend- leton (which is “at least as far,” Franell joked) to cele- brate with drinks and hors d’voeurs and drawings for gift baskets from local busi- nesses who get their internet and phone service through EOT. The new building, located at 2180 S.E. Kelli Blvd. in Hermiston behind the old Hermiston Foods plant, provides more office space for staff, extra restrooms, a reception area, increased amenities like a mail room and a large shop that allows the company to park its vehicles and equip- ment indoors and on site. The extra room should come in handy as Eastern Oregon Telecom starts on the new, employee-owned leg of its journey. Franell said the new owners are still consulting with attor- neys and employees before deciding how that will work. The company also expects to do some strategic plan- ning before expanding into new service areas, which will likely result in addi- tional staff. EOT currently has about 3,500 customers. On Thursday Franell introduced the current staff to attendees before the rib- bon cutting ceremony, not- ing their roles in making EOT run smoothly. The senior management team includes Franell, Chief Financial Officer Paul Kee- ler and Chief Operating Officer Richard Holbo. Franell said when Kee- ler came to work for EOT he “changed the business forever” and got the com- pany on a strong financial footing. EOT has been pro- viding services since 2001, and Franell said those in the room who had been cus- tomers since the beginning knew that they had gone through some rocky times. “For those who have seen the early days, it’s astound- ing how well we have come along,” he said. He said after years on the Greater Hermiston Area Chamber of Com- merce board, it was fun to be the recipient of one of the chamber’s ribbon-cut- ting ceremonies for the first time. Chamber director Debbie Pedro said Franell and EOT have always been a “great partner” for the chamber and in the commu- nity and it was exciting to see them get such a beauti- ful new building. “We feel very fortunate, and proud of what you’ve accomplished,” she said. 0 % FINANCING ON 16 SELECT NEW TOYOTA MODELS! When her contract with the Umatilla Hospital Dis- trict ends on Oct. 29, Jen- nifer Armstrong wants her patients to know she isn’t going anywhere. Armstrong, a nurse prac- titioner, plans to open up a private wellness center in Umatilla after the hospital district board voted in May to not renew her contract to continue providing services at the Encore Wellness 4 Life clinic — the city’s only medical clinic. Danice McBee, who sits on the board, said the spe- cial taxing district wanted to “go in a different direc- tion” but they were still dis- cussing what that would look like and are not ready to announce anything yet. She declined to elaborate on what had prompted the deci- sion. They do plan to con- tinue using the tax money collected by the special dis- trict to provide medical ser- vices to the community in some form after Arm- strong’s contract ends, she said. Armstrong and her hus- band Mark Keith, who have already opened a sec- ond Encore Wellness 4 Life location in Kennewick, are hoping to open the new pri- vate clinic on Nov. 1 so that Umatilla doesn’t see any gap in services. They have purchased a three-acre lot just west of the intersection of Highway 730 and High- way 395. The abandoned white two-story house will be converted into a medi- cal clinic by November if all goes according to plan, while the “wellness com- plex” will add hospice hous- ing, walking trails and other features later. “It’s going to take a while to get all the other things built, but a lot of the same services (as the current clinic) are going to be here,” she said. “It’s not going to feel like a clinic, but we will STAFF PHOTO BY KATHY ANEY Nurse Practitioner Jennifer Armstrong stands in abandoned two-story home that is being remodeled into a medical clinic, just west of Highways 730 and 395. still do what patients are accustomed to.” Those extra services will include living quarters for hospice care, adult respite care and even longterm care, Keith said. They also plan to sell products such hemp- based CBD supplements and kombucha, a fermented tea (the Mayo Clinic’s web- site states that while kombu- cha does contain health-pro- moting substances such as probiotics, in light of health claims about things like preventing cancer, cur- rently “valid medical stud- ies of kombucha tea’s role in human health are very lim- ited”). They want to add RV spots for family members of patients to be able to stay overnight during visits if needed and create walking trails around the property. A group of practitioners who Armstrong currently contracts with have agreed to follow her to the new location, Keith said. He said there will be specialists who can consult patients on everything from allergies to hormones. “It’s going to be a desti- nation for wellness, not just sick care,” he said. Armstrong worked from 2000 to 2006 at Gifford Medical Clinic in Hermiston before coming to Umatilla, where she has provided free sports physicals to teens in the community and walk-in services for patients who said they couldn’t get seen for days or weeks at other clinics. “In April we had 62 (urgent care) walk-ins that got in in under an hour,” Keith said. He and Armstrong said patients come from all over, not just Umatilla — she even uses telemedicine to see patients as far away as Salem. While Keith said Arm- strong has built a loyal fol- lowing during her time in Umatilla, Armstrong said she wasn’t told by the Uma- tilla Hospital District why they had decided to not con- tinue to pay her to provide services in the district when her contract is up at the end of October. She said the upside of the hospital board’s decision is it has provided the opportu- nity to create an “amazing project” for the community beyond current services. 3 , 000 OFF $ ALL NEW 2018 RAV4’S IN STOCK! $2,000 rebates from Toyota Financial Services. $1,000 Rogers Discount. $3,000 total off MSRP. See dealer for details. Offer expires 6/30/18. See dealer for details. On approved credit. Offer expires 6/30/18. 289 CAMRY LE $ NEW 2018 /MO On Approved Credit 0 $ CASH DOWN! stk# 18H614. New 2018 Toyota Camry LE. MSRP $24,895. Sale $23,396.38. $500 Toyota Financial Service Rebate. 12k miles per year lease with $0 cash down = $289/mo. On approved credit. GFV $13,443. Net cap cost: $23,835.82. Plus tax, title and $75 doc fee. Offer expires 6/30/18. NEW 2018 COROLLA LE 235 $ /MO On Approved Credit 0 $ CASH DOWN! stk# 18H305. New 2018 Toyota Corolla LE. MSRP $20,195. Sale $19,091. $1,250 Toyota Financial Service Rebate. 12k miles per year lease with $0 cash down = $235/mo. 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