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» A magazine for and about Oregon Community Hospitals.
Saint Alphonsus empowers low-income students to become health professionals
Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Ontario is a
major supporter of Malheur County’s Poverty to Prosperity
program.
Poverty to Prosperity is a grassroots initiative committed to
creating a robust, thriving economy by removing barriers to
overcoming poverty and empowering citizens to maximize
their potential.
Poverty to Prosperity focuses on expanding the county’s
current career technical education services for high school
juniors and seniors. Health classes are taught to high school
students to enable them to graduate with a certified nursing
assistant degree and basic health certificates.
The initiative is working on two fronts: ensuring that people
and families who are currently living in poverty have access
to critical resources, and addressing the root causes of
poverty, clearing systemic barriers to increasing prosperity.
“My mother died when I was 10 years old from cancer, and
her illness left a lasting mark in my heart,” said one student
at Vale High School who participated in the program. “Our
family has struggled to make ends meet and I have even
had to work in the fields to help out at home. No one in our
family has ever gone beyond high school. Because of my
mom, I have always wanted to be a CNA and help take care
of others. I was thrilled to be able to be in the program. As
I began to learn more about the health field, I became more
excited about my future.”
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Samaritan Health Services commits to tackling food insecurity
Les Adams jokes about the time he missed a St. Vincent de
Paul food pantry meeting. In his absence, he was promoted
to food buyer for the Lebanon agency that feeds 11,700
people a year.
The food pantry is supported by donations, fundraising
and grants, including a grant from Samaritan Lebanon
Community Hospital, which provides funding to purchase
food.
Salem Health removes barriers for diabetes patients
When Christina was admitted to
Salem Health for the third time in
one month with complications related
to diabetes, she had little hope for a
healthy life. Her diabetes was out of
control; she was losing her eyesight
and her kidneys were beginning to fail.
Christina had no insurance and
no doctor. The insulin and other
medications she needed cost more than she earned. Much
of the information she could get about her illness was not in
her native language.
She began to get some answers, though, as Salem Health
launched the Diabetes CARE Collaborative. This new
community care program aims to reduce the prevalence of
obesity and diabetes in areas served by Salem Health. Those
regions reported that 3 percent of all deaths within their
borders had been caused by diabetes. Christina became one
of the first people helped by the collaborative.
The Diabetes CARE Collaborative helps patients like
Christina by working with a network of community partners
that share Salem Health’s commitment to prevent and
control diabetes. All the partners work together to improve
the lives of people who have diabetes through education,
awareness and advocacy.
Salem Free Clinic provided Christina’s primary care and
helped her access specialty endocrine services through their
network of providers. A Salem Health Foundation-funded
medication assistance program ensured that she had the
medicine she needed. The Diabetes CARE Collaborative
provided diabetes education in a language Christina could
understand, coupled with culture-appropriate support.
Christina’s health improved dramatically within 90 days of
her first visit with her diabetes community case manager.
She will soon have cataract surgery and her kidney failure
is slowing down. More importantly, she hasn’t been
readmitted to the hospital since enrolling in the program.
The collaborative is co-chaired by Salem Health’s diabetes
community case manager and a nurse from Northwest
Human Services, a regional, federally funded community
health center. Other partners include the Salem Free
Medical Clinic, American Diabetes Association, Salem Clinic,
Willamette Valley Partners Health Authority, the YMCA,
Yakima Valley Farm Worker’s Clinic, Legacy Health and the
Marion County Health Department.
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SPECIAL SECTION: A COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY
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