Health happens here.

3030 NE MLK Jr. Blvd. Portland, OR 97212 503.287.4932 www.nxneclinic.org nxne@nxneclinic.org

“I really felt welcomed here. Everybody was so helpful and nice.” - a patient

December 2013

Change Ahead!It was only eight years ago, but it seems like forever. The vision for the North by Northeast Community Health Center was coming into focus. There were thousands

without health insurance who needed basic care for hypertension and diabetes. Even as we were just getting started, I remember looking forward to the time when our organization would no longer be needed. I imagined we could fill in some gaps until more people got “real” health coverage. Then something amazing happened.

The community came together to support our work. Our staff and volunteers created a center of community health where people felt welcome and cared for. Men and women from the neighborhood came for help getting their blood pressure under control. Then they came back, again and again, and they brought their friends and family members.

As word started spreading about health care reform and more people found out they would qualify for coverage, we heard a consistent message from our patients: “This clinic is like home. I don’t want to go anywhere else.”

In order to continue to serve as a primary care home for our patients (most of whom will qualify for Medicaid), we’ve established an innovative partnership with CareOregon, a local Medicaid health plan. Starting next month, we will have daytime appointment hours and add women’s health care to our services. We will continue to use our volunteers for our evening clinics and will further deepen our focus on serving the African American community. Our organization uniquely

fills a community need and we are not going anywhere.

Exciting times! And we need your support now more than ever. Adding hours and services means that our budget will take a big leap in 2014. For the first time, we will receive some revenue for the services we provide, but this revenue will cover only a portion of our costs. As in years past, we continue to depend on people like YOU as we take this giant step forward.

For an easy way to give, make a donation through the Willamette Week Give!Guide! For the past nine years, the Give!Guide has raised funds for hundreds of Portland organizations. This year’s Give!Guide includes 129 deserving nonprofits, including North by Northeast. We’re already off to a great start thanks to new and old donors as well as to CareOregon, who matched the first $3,000 donated. A $10 donation provides 3 months of vital prescription medication for one of our patients and awards you a few lovely incentives from Willamette Week: coupons for coffee, ice cream, cookies and more! For larger gifts, the incentives are even bigger. You can read more about North by Northeast, watch a video about one of our patients and find a link to the Give!Guide website at www.nxneclinic.org. Please give generously; thank you!

- Jill Ginsberg, MD MPH

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Our mission is to improve health outcomes in the medically under-served communities of North and inner Northeast Portland by offering basic medical services at no cost to low-income adults without health insurance.

Newsletter design by Annette SaboPrinting generously donated by Providence Health & Services

Connecting to Care

When a letter came telling Monica Spisak that she was approved for the Oregon Health Plan, she at first ignored it. “I didn’t respond to it because I was afraid I would have to go to a different clinic,” said Monica, who has received free treatment for diabetes and high blood pressure at North by Northeast Community Health Center since 2007. “This place is a miracle. This is like family here.”

Monica (pictured above at left, with NxNE Program Assistant Danielle Tucker) is just one of thousands of uninsured Oregonians who now have access to health insurance through our state’s healthcare marketplace, Cover Oregon. Even good news like this can be confusing, however, especially with the many changes occurring in health care nationwide. Without help from an organization she trusts, Monica said she would have missed out on the chance to get health insurance for the first time in years. Thanks to a grant from Cover Oregon and because of the trust we have built with our patients, North by Northeast is able to take on a new role: making sure our patients and community members get enrolled in coverage. Over 90% of our patients will be eligible for the Oregon Health Plan where they will not only have access to primary health services but dental services as well.

Our staff and an incredible team of new volunteers have already started reaching out to and enrolling our 800 current patients. This is a life-changing opportunity for so many in our community, and it is a privilege for us to be a part of it.

Culturally Specific Training for Community Health Workers

Dr. Jill with some of the training participants

Earlier this fall we had the joy of working with 16 Community Health Workers during our first ever “Clinical Topics for CHWs” training series. Our Medical Director, Dr. Jill GInsberg, developed the culturally specific curriculum and taught the classes. The 24-hour training covered topics like high blood pressure, diabetes, health communication, nutrition, safe medication use, and charting. Participants practiced writing chart notes, reconciling medication lists, debunking myths about diabetes and hypertension, preparing for medical visits, reading nutrition and prescription bottle labels, and problem-solving common challenges in managing chronic health conditions. Comments from participants include: “I am going to be a much better Community Health Worker for my community,” and “I have been to many trainings, but this has been by far the best training ever.”

As we include Community Health Workers in our own efforts to improve the health of our patients and eliminate health disparities, we’re excited to help develop this pool of vitally needed healthcare professionals for our community. The training was such a success that we plan to offer it twice in 2014. We are seeking funding so we can provide it at no cost to participants in need. Let us know if you are interested in becoming a training sponsor!