Portland, March 20th. The third annual Bridges to Health Care benefit offered a platform for Project Access NOW (PA NOW) to honor six medical clinics. Emcee Kimberlee Jo Buckingham, Jaileene Eubanks, Mrs. Oregon International 2012, and Linda Nilsen-Solares, executive director of PA NOW thanked guests for supporting the organization. (Photo credit, Andie Petkus) The event drew over 400 people and recognized providers for the volunteer medical care of thousands of low income and uninsured families. The event at the Hilton raised over $43,000.
A light moment came when football favorite, and good sport, Joey Harrington donned a crown and sash to help raise money for the nonprofit.
Trent Green congratulates Honoree Robert Quintos
Honorees included: The Oregon Clinic, Pacific Heart Associates, Urologic Consultants, NW Rheumatology Associates, NW Gastroenterology Clinic, and Gastroenterology Specialists of Oregon. These six clinics provided services for 500 distinct referrals for specialty care.
In 2011, more than $12 million in health care was donated to PA NOW clients at no cost to them. More than 3,500 cases were managed by local medical volunteers.
“It was a very difficult process to select our honorees,” said Linda Nilsen-Solares, executive director of PA NOW. “There are nearly 3,000 medical providers working through well over 100 individual clinics that provide critical services to the most vulnerable among us. We have enough worthy clinics to honor for many years to come!” Award winners were recognized for clinic size, number of referrals accepted per provider and exceptional generosity by specialty.
Project Access NOW is supported significantly by a number of health care stakeholders, the United Way of the Columbia Willamette as a strategic partner, philanthropic foundations and generous individual donors.
Sharon Meieran, Joy Conklin and Betsy Boyd-Flynn
Emily Harrington, Kimberlee Jo Buckingham and Joey Harrington
Those health care providers honored included:
The Oregon Clinic–the largest clinic that volunteers with PA NOW, provided care for more than 250 cases in 2011. The Oregon Clinic was also the first multi-specialty clinic to sign up with Project Access NOW. All physicians volunteer.
Pacific Heart Associates is the medium sized clinic honored this year. Every physician at PHA is available to accept one referral per month from PA NOW, resulting in more than 80 cases donated in 2011
Urologic Consultants and NW Rheumatology Associates round out awards based on clinic size with seven and five providers in each of these clinics respectively. Both provided critically needed specialty services to 40 clients in 2011. Urology and Rheumatology are high need specialties among the population served by PA NOW and have relatively few volunteers participating in these specialty areas, we are especially grateful for the generosity of these clinics in areas of scarce resource.
The final award category for exceptional generosity was given to the gastroenterology provider community. Nearly 200 referrals were made to GI specialists in the tri-county area last year—the highest volume of referrals by specialty. More than half of these referrals were accepted by two clinics: NW Gastroenterology Clinic and Gastroenterology Specialists of Oregon.
Each of these clinics has pledged to accept more than 100 cases per year. The Oregon Clinic was also a major provider of these services.
About Project Access NOW:
Project Access NOW is a broad based community initiative that builds access to health care for low-income and uninsured people in the Portland metropolitan area by coordinating a network of volunteer physicians, clinics, hospitals, and other health care providers. By helping people navigate the healthcare system, we can get them the care they need – today.
Project Access NOW (Northwest Oregon & Washington) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which facilitates collaboration for local Project Access initiatives in Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington, including those in Clackamas, Clark, Multnomah, and Washington Counties. Project Access NOW and its participating local initiatives are part of a nationally-proven model of care.
