|
Most of us spend a lot of time thinking about our health. We try to eat right, exercise and stop bad habits. Occasionally, though, even those of us who invest a lot of time and effort in preventative health care get sick. We need health care options to help us get better, and we need them today.
Voters in the Union, Cove and North Powder areas may have a chance to weigh in on the South County Health District in May. The county commissioners held a public hearing on the proposal this morning. The special taxing district would be established in hopes of keeping the doors open on the Union Family Health Clinic, which had been operated by OHSU since 1994. An Oregon Supreme Court decision impacting tort claim caps impacted OHSU’s budget by a reported $300 million over a five-year period, resulting in its decision to withdraw support.
The clinic gets a lot of use, and not just from Union residents. In 2005 when the clinic was open five days a week, with two nurse practitioners, the service stats looked like this: 748 patients from Union, 78 from North Powder, 133 from Cove, 885 from La Grande and 39 from Baker City. Many of these patients used the facility multiple times. Cove-Union-Powder Medical Association (CUP), local owner of the clinic, believes the clinic’s practice, when it is open five days a week, will have 4,200 patient visits a year, which with the shortage of family doctors in the area is a very significant number.
By approving the special taxing district, voters would allow the clinic to be open five days a week plus some evening hours and also expand to some dental service. Sure, it is tough to vote for more taxes in these challenging economic times, but we have to remember that health care is not an option. When you need it, you need it now.
Here’s a salute to the individuals working with CUP for the betterment of the community to save the clinic. These folks realize, and a lot of the people surveyed in the communities served realize, that an investment is required to reach these long-term health care goals. A thorough exam of costs and benefits of keeping the clinic doors open shows that the benefits far outweigh the costs.
Those who care should get involved in helping CUP get the South County Health District on the ballot in May and help get the measure passed. It’s a prescription for regional health that needs to be filled.
|
Opinion 
