Editor’s Note: Health District Bond approval will set up several more City Halls in the North County Recreation District on Sunday, April 23rd. See below for details.

Dr. Yvana Iovino, MD

I strongly support the Nehalem Bay Health District bond action in the May 16 elections. I hope my experience helps voters understand why.

First, it is important to know that Nehalem Bay Health Center (NBHC) is a FQHC (Federally Qualified Health Center).

FQHC clinics are outpatient, low-cost clinics that receive subsidies through the Public Health Services Act and have specific reimbursement systems under Medicaid and Medicare. To qualify for federal assistance, a health center must meet the following criteria:

• Serving everyone in the community regardless of ability to pay
• Offer a sliding fee program
• be a public or non-profit organization;
• Be community-based
• Have a board composed primarily of patients
• Serving underserved communities and communities
• Provide comprehensive primary care services
• Have an ongoing quality assurance program

In addition, Nehalem Bay Health Center (NBHC) has been recognized as a National Health Service Corps site by the Federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). These are sites where newly minted doctors or dentists coming out of residencies or fellowships can seek employment in exchange for loan forgiveness. applied for and granted.

When I came out of my residency, I wasn’t in a loan forgiveness program, but I wanted to serve underserved people. For example, urban areas, migrant farm workers, and Native Americans.

When clinics and hospitals see that you want to work in these fields, they start recruiting you in large numbers. Each clinic flaunts what it has to offer in terms of state-of-the-art equipment, friendly colleagues, housing possibilities, and more.

I was drawn to Navajo Area Indian Health Service because their recruiters were knowledgeable and responded quickly to my questions. I was drawn to Chinle, Arizona, a very remote area with excellent doctors working there. Additionally, me and another new doctor were given the opportunity to open his brand new OB/GYN wing in a brand new hospital with what it takes to run a modern ward.

We asked for and received new fetal monitoring equipment, new ultrasound equipment (at a time when it was not even available in regular hospitals), and so on. She also ran a maternity ward with seven midwives, providing incredible care to the Navajo. women in our area. She has one of the lowest cesarean section rates in the state and one of the lowest infant mortality rates.

It was my belief that the poor, like the rich, should receive the best medical care in beautiful surroundings.

To provide some context, this beautiful new modern health center in northern Tillamook County has an experienced medical staff who can serve as mentors to new doctors, attracting new doctors and other health care providers to the area. We already have the beauty of nature.

The health center also does amazing outreach to the surrounding communities. They build boxes of culturally appropriate groceries to distribute to families in need. They attend health fairs, educate people about benefits available under the Affordable Care Act in both Spanish and English, and help people sign up. I tried to apply for health insurance using an online site, but it can be difficult even with a college education.

NBHC also started a very successful school-based health center at Neahkahnie High School for students, teachers, and families and developed a transportation program to help people visit the health center. All of these efforts provide an incredibly valuable service to the community, but more is likely to be needed, and more will be needed in the future. A measure of bonding is not only about better addressing current needs, but also about long-term planning.

I hope this helps residents understand why I strongly believe that Nehalem Bay Health Center needs a new modern home. The new facility will improve quality and accessibility for everyone in the community, help attract more medical staff, and benefit seniors, families, and children.

We sincerely hope that the community will support this opportunity.

(Dr. Yvana Iovino is retired from OB/GYN. She received her medical training at Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn, New York, and has worked with Indian Health Services in Arizona and the Yakima Valley Farmworkers Clinic in rural eastern Washington. She practiced her specialty at Manzanita, where she serves on the board of directors of the non-profit Nehalem Bay Health Center and Pharmacy.)

Yes, Community Health Care – City Hall – 23 April and 3 May

join this Sunday, April 23 at 2:00 p.m. (or Wednesday, M.Ray 3 5 p.m.) At the NCRD Center for the Performing Arts, you’ll have the opportunity to hear more about bond measures and how they address improving community health and elderly care.
The plan includes construction of a new state-of-the-art Nehalem Bay Health District and Pharmacy. This is a medical facility that provides the necessary space to provide specialized medical services not currently available in the community.
The Health District also plans to renovate and modernize the Nehalem Valley Care Center, a skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility, to improve care and safety for older people requiring around-the-clock care.
The bond action will also help prepare sites for worker housing that will focus on the community housing needs of health care workers and other essential workers.
Learn more about fixed income measurement here www.nehalemhealthcare.com Follow our “Yes for Local Health Care” campaign on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090438080823.