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The INDEPENDENT, July 5, 2001
Health Notes
ByAudeen Wagner
Chris Polich:
Providence Family Medicine-Vernonia is happy to announce
the hiring of Chris Polich, Family Nurse Practitioner (F.N.P.), as a
new caregiver at the clinic. He will be working with Laura Nichols,
PA. and Mark Livingston, M.D.
Chris grew up in Banks,
received his BS in Nursing at Lin
field College, and worked for 10
years in the field of nursing, and
has experience in hospital and
outpatient clinic work. He then
decided to return to school, earn
ing a Master's Degree in Nursing
from Montana State University,
where he received his F.N.P. certi
fication. He chose the program at
Montana State because it offered
heavy training and experience in
clinic work, and for its focus in
rural medicine.
Chris Pölich, F.N.P.
He had received an academic
scholarship through the National Health Services Corps, and
through this program he was placed in a rural clinic in northern
New Mexico. He is Trauma Certified, and also trained in
Advanced Cardiac Life Support, so he feels comfortable handling
emergency situations. “While my primary focus is not in emer
gency medicine, it is vital in rural communities to be able to han
dle these kinds of cases when they come up,” Chris said.
Chris and his wife, Anne, recently moved to Vernonia with their
two small daughters, Caroline, age 2 and Eliza, 7 months. He
loves living in a small town...“How many people are lucky enough
to be able to walk to work?” he asks. They love the out-of-doors,
and until the daughters arrived, Chris and Ann did lots of hiking,
camping, mountain climbing and water sports. He and Anne, who
is an elementary school teacher, are looking forward to introduc
ing their little girls to all of the above when they are a little older.
Both Chris and Anne think that Vernonia is an excellent place to
live and to raise their family, and Chris is very excited about
opportunities at the clinic.
No Shows:
At the Airport and at the Clinic, when people don’t show up as
promised, it presents a problem. (No, they don’t “overbook” at
Providence Family Medicine-Vernonia!) This has been an
increasing problem, and the staff at the clinic ask their patients to
be courteous and give them a call to cancel, if they find they can
not keep their appointment. Please call at 9:00 a.m. or as early in
the day as possible—this frees up the schedule for others who
need to be seen that day. On a recent clinic day, NINE patients
did not show up for scheduled appointments, and did not call to
cancel. “This created a huge problem for us, and deprived other
patients of the opportunity to be seen,” says Laura Nichols, P.A.
This is frustrating to a staff that is very conscientious about their
goal to provide medical service to our community.
Due to an increase in this problem, Providence-Vernonia Clin
ic’s policy for the future will be as follows:
- The first time a patient does not keep an appointment (and
does not cancel), that patient will receive letter from the clinic.
- The second time this happens, it will be handled in the same
manner.
- The third time a patient fails to cancel and does not appear
for an appointment, the person will be notified that he/she will no
longer be able to schedule appointments; if that patient desires to
be seen at the clinic, they can come in and wait for an opening in
the schedule.
“We all realize that the Vernonia Clinic is seeing more and
more patients, and in order to serve everyone, we must make
use of all business time. This policy helps us serve more
patients,” said Darcy Bell, clinic manager. “We thank our patients
for their continued support, and hope that people will be under
standing as we continue to bring quality healthcare to the com
munity.”
Mammovan:
The next scheduled visit is July 18. Call the clinic at 503-429-
9191 for an appointment for a mammogram.
Disabled child care subsidy increased
Adult and Family Services
(AFS) manages the Oregon
child care subsidy program and
offers child care assistance for
low income working parents
and for parents involved with
the JOBS and TANF programs.
On April 1 AFS began
A new component of the
child care payment system
now allows enhanced rates to
meet the needs of children who
require very high level supports
in child care because of disabil
ities.
The majority of children with
disabilities can be served with
in the AFS “special needs rate.”
There are some children,
though, who cannot be in child
care without significant accom
modations on the part of the
provider (such as extra staffing
or a smaller adult/child ratio).
The new system was estab
lished to meet the needs of
these children.
Payments to the provider
will be based on individual
assessments of needs. A spe
cialist from the agency’s district
office will meet with the child’s
parents and child care provider
to complete the assessment.
This will provide a guideline for
deciding the child care rate.
The regular special needs rate
will continue for children who
require some special assis
tance, but do not require an
exceptionally high level of care.
To find out if a family is eligi
ble for the AFS child care sub
sidies, contact your local Adult
and Family Services branch
office. The office is listed under
Rural home repair loans
and grants for low-income
Home improvement and
repair loans for very low-
income homeowners in rural
Oregon are available from the
Rural Housing Service of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture
through the remainder of this
fiscal year, September 30.
Very low-income families
who qualify can receive up to
$20,000 at one-percent annual
interest, with a maximum re
payment period of 20 years.
Loans can be used to finance
general repairs, improve or
modernize a home, remove
health and safety hazards and
make homes accessible for
household members with dis
abilities.
The agency also has a grant
repair program for very low-
income rural homeowners. To
receive a grant, an applicant
must be 62 years or older and
unable to repay a repair loan.
Grant funds can be used only
Jamboree meet
Thursday night
The Vernonia Friendship
Jamboree Committee has
selected “Friendships Forever”
as the theme for the 45th
annual festivities. The winning
entry was by Zelma Wall of
Beaverton. Mrs. Wall empha
sized that six generations of
her family have called Vernon
ia home!
The next meeting of the
Jamboree Committee will be
held at Lew’s Place, Thursday,
July 7 at 7:00 p.m.
The public is invited and
your input is welcome. For
more information, call Randy
Parrow at 503-429-1093.
for repairs, to remove health
and safety hazards or to make
a home accessible for persons
with disabilities. Grant assis
tance cannot exceed a cumu
lative total of $7,500.
For more information, call
the USDA Rural Development
office at 503-414-3335.
the “State” heading of the
phone book’s blue section. If
you are already receiving a
child care subsidy and want to
know about the new rates, con
tact your AFS worker.
For general information on
the new rate system for chil
dren with special needs, call
Mark Anderson at 503-945-6110.
Vernonia Senior
Center News
It is with heavy hearts we
extend our sincere sympathy
to our Vernonia Transportation
head driver, Terri Baska, her
husband Gene, sons Greg,
Scott and Kelly, and family
over the passing of their
beloved son and brother, Rob
bie.
May the comfort and care of
God, their loved ones and
friends, carry them through
this difficult time.
From the Vernonia
ColCo Staff and
Senior Center
INFORMATION NUMBERS
COLCO Transportation
........................ 429-4304
Senior Advocate.. 429-9112
Senior Center..... 429-3912
Wiseman/Pierre vows scheduled
Mr. and Mrs. Monty Wise
man of Vernonia announce the
marriage of their daughter,
Jennifer Renae, to Douglas
Pierre, son of Daniel and
Denise Pierre of Winchester,
Tennessee.
The wedding will be held
Saturday, July 7 at 2:30 p.m.,
in the Vernonia First Baptist
Church. Pastor Scott McKin
ney of Provo, Utah, will offici
ate.
Both Wiseman and Pierre
are graduates of the United
States Air Force Academy.
Lt. Wiseman will be sta
tioned at Goodfellow Air Force
Base in San Angelo, Texas.
Lt. Pierre is a pilot stationed
at Travis Air Force Base in
Fairfield, California.
IS IT A SIN TO MOW YOUR LAWN ON SUNDAY?
In today’s society, this may seem like a silly question, but it
raises profound theological issues. It’s the kind of question that
people debate to mask the dark corners of the heart.
The Pharisees chided Jesus the same way. One
Sabbath, He and the disciples were in the grain
fields. The disciples got hungry and helped them
selves to some grain. When the Pharisees
saw it, they said, "Look! Your disciples are
breaking the law!”
Jesus knew the questioners were not
sincere. They rejected Him as the Son of God, and the motive
behind their attack was simply to discredit Him and His follow
ers. In the same way today, people raise "moral” issues that
take the focus off their own disbelief and hide their insecurity
about their non-existent relationship with the Redeemer.
The real question isn’t whether you mow your lawn on
Sunday, but whether you’ve reponded to the salvation
offer of the Redeemer.
We invite you to come join us for growth and worship
at Nehalem Valley Bible Church. All ages meet for Sunday
School at 10:00 a.m. and for Service at 11:00 a.m.
NfHMfM VALLfY BlBLf CHURCH
500 CALIFORNIA A V t., YFRNONIA • 50^-429-5578 • PASTOR JtRRY JAMFS
CURRfNTLY MHT1WG AT TTK YTRNONLA H£AD START BUILDING