BUSINESS
Wednesday, september 15, 2021
HermIstOnHeraLd.COm • A7
HERMISTON
Rivercrest Behavioral Health hires two new nurse practitioners
nurses mcCartney and
Grimm come to the area
at a ‘pivotal’ time
By ERICK PETERSON
editor/senior reporter
Two new nurse practi-
tioners are coming to Herm-
iston. Rivercrest Behavioral
Health & Wellness is add-
ing Carrie McCartney and
Alexis Grimm to its Herm-
iston location. This comes
at a time when demand has
grown for mental health
professionals, according to
Heather Bacon, Rivercrest
founder.
McCartney and Grimm
join a team which includes
Bacon and Jennifer Cooper,
also is a licensed clinical psy-
chologist. Bacon said McCa-
rtney and Grimm are two
expert professionals, whose
skills and backgrounds com-
plement one another and the
rest of the Rivercrest team.
McCartney was in family
medicine, before returning to
school to obtain a psychiat-
ric nurse practitioner license.
She has experience in inpa-
tient and outpatient care.
Grimm, a recent Vanderbilt
University graduate, has out-
patient experience.
“I really like the combi-
nation of their skill sets,”
Bacon said. McCartney
treats primarily adults for
medication
management.
Grimm is experienced with
childhood problems, specifi-
cally attention-deficit/hyper-
activity disorder, as well as
depression and anxiety.
Bacon and Cooper are
psychologists and cannot
prescribe medication. The
new nurse practitioners,
however, can make prescrip-
tions. Bacon and Cooper will
continue to counseling and
assessing patients, and they
will send them to the nurses
for medication.
Grimm also has experi-
ence in therapy, so she may
help with that.
Bacon likes the “per-
sonality fit” with the two
nurses, as a big part of men-
tal health is building rap-
port and therapeutic bonds.
She felt an immediate con-
nection to McCartney and
Grimm, so she said said she
believes the community will
feel likewise.
These newcomers were
hired from a surprisingly
large pool of applicants,
Bacon said. Ultimately, she
interviewed six people who
were all interested in rural
care. She concluded people
are trying to escape cities
and they wanted to move to
Hermiston. This represents
a shift, she said. In her nine
years of private practice,
she encountered many more
people who favored cities.
Having more medical
professionals, particularly
mental health providers, in
Hermiston is terrific, Bacon
said. So many people are
seeking help, a lot of them
are being turned away or
have been redirected to far-
away cities and virtual ser-
vices. There are just not
enough local providers and
nurses to help all the people
in need.
Rivercrest is turning
away an average of six
referrals per day.
“We’re sending them to
Pendleton, but Pendleton is
sending them to us,” Bacon
said. Patients are being
placed on waiting lists, and
this is not good. Some peo-
ple, particularly suicidal
individuals, cannot wait.
Even when she is able to
connect patients virtually
with providers in Portland,
problems remain. Bacon
has found many people in
the community do not like
virtual services that con-
nect patients with profes-
sionals through the internet.
There are privacy and con-
nectivity issues with virtual
services.
“So, a lot of people did
not receive care last year,
during a pivotal time,”
Bacon said. Mental needs
are increasing, partially
because of COVID-19, but
also the “political culture”
of our day.
McCartney will start
in October. Grimm, who
is
transitioning
from
Texas, will begin after she
achieves Oregon approval.
This should be in Decem-
ber, Bacon said.
Rivercrest is looking to
hire a new medical assistant
and a clinical psychologist.
Even with the new addi-
tions, our community is still
underserved, she said. She
hopes to grow even further.
Umatilla couple go out on their own, together
Fish and mix open two
stores next to each other
By ERICK PETERSON
editor/senior reporter
Techla Fish and Travis
Mix have had some ups and
downs during the pandemic.
On a sad note, they have lost
family. They also have got-
ten sick with COVID-19,
twice. In short, this has been
a trying time. Still, there has
been something good during
this time. They started new
businesses.
A flower shop, called
Uptown Floral, and a game
store, Game Forge, occupy
side-by-side storefronts on
Sixth Street in Umatilla.
They are not new to busi-
ness, as they have owned
stores in the past. Fish even
grew up in a florist family, as
her mother and grandmother
had a shop under the same
name she has for her store.
Flowers
It is a family tradition, she
said. Advised by her sister on
the name Uptown Floral, Fish
said the store had to be named
after her family’s old store.
“It could not be any other
way,” she said.
The pair had been work-
ing. Fish was employed at
H&R Block. Mix was at
Amazon. During the pan-
demic, they were suddenly
unemployed. And it was
during this time, they started
thinking about what they
wanted to do with their lives
— not what they had to do,
but what they wanted to do.
They wanted to follow
their passions, so that is what
they did.
They took their savings
and money from pandemic
checks, and they put it into
a new business. They started
the floral business first, plac-
ing it in their garage. It was a
safe bet, they figured, because
Fish had a lot of experience.
Also, a major florist in the
area was closing, which would
mean less competition. They
knew it would not take long
to develop a clientele.
They were right. Busi-
ness took off, Fish said, and
they quickly built a solid cus-
tomer base. This allowed them
to purchase leases on the two
spots in Umatilla, stores that
would be next door to each
other.
Fish was ready to move her
flowers into the building, so
it opened first, around Octo-
ber/November 2020. It took a
little longer for Game Forge,
because Mix still had to build
an inventory. Its grand open-
ing was July 17.
Games
“These are vastly different
businesses,” Fish said. She
spends her days arranges
bouquets, while her hus-
band sells games and orga-
nizes game events next door.
Still, they enjoy being
close to one another. Their
stores are joined by a door
in the back. They even share
a bathroom.
“That part can be a little
stressful, actually,” Fish said,
laughing about the bathroom.
Erick Peterson/Hermiston Herald
Erick Peterson/Hermiston Herald
Travis Mix, owner of Game Forge in Umatilla, sells figurines,
games, cards and more.
Mix said one of the best
things about this arrange-
ment is being close together
and to their son, Rodger, who
spends much time in their
stores.
“It’s really, really fun,”
Rodger said. Spending time
in the store, he gets to play
games and paint miniatures.
He also likes meeting cus-
tomers and recommending
games, such as Zombie Kids,
Ticket to Ride, Pandemic and
Small World.
Mix said he enjoys doing
something he likes — work-
ing for himself, rather than
working for someone else.
A gaming fan, he is sur-
rounded by Risk, Dungeons
and Dragons and more.
“I like board games,” he
said. “Now, I don’t have
to spend much money
on them.”
Store owners Debora and Techla Fish, mother and daughter,
have been in the flower business for years. They now operate
Uptown Floral in Umatilla.
One other bonus: He
buys games for himself at a
discount.
But Mix also said he is
happy to contribute to his
community. He likes to pro-
vide fun for people who
might not otherwise have
much to do. At his shop, he
hosts various gaming tourna-
ments and activities. Some
days, people even bring their
televisions and consoles to
play at tables in Game Forge.
Dollar General now open in Umatilla
Hermiston Herald
The Dollar General in
Umatilla now is open.
The company in a press
release Monday, Sept. 13,
announced the opening.
“Dollar General plans
to create new jobs in the
Umatilla community as the
store is expected to employ
approximately six to 10 peo-
ple, depending on the indi-
vidual needs of the store,”
according to the press
release.
To commemorate the
opening of the new Umatilla
store, Dollar General plans
to donate 100 new books to
a nearby elementary school
to benefit students ranging
from kindergarten to fifth
grade. Through the partner-
ship with the Kellogg Com-
pany, the donation will be
part of a planned donation
of more than 100,000 books
across the country to cele-
brate new Dollar General
store openings.
The addition of the Uma-
tilla store also opens the
opportunity for schools,
nonprofit organizations and
libraries within a 15-mile
radius of the store to apply
for Dollar General Literacy
Foundation grants. Since its
inception in 1993, the Dollar
General Literacy Foundation
has awarded more than $197
million in grants to nonprofit
organizations, helping more
than 14 million individuals
take their first steps toward
literacy or continued educa-
tion, according to the press
release. For more informa-
tion about the Dollar Gen-
eral Literacy Foundation
and its grant programs, visit
www.dgliteracy.com.
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