Adventist Health has expanded its mission to provide health care services to the community of Vernonia, Ore. Located between the Portland metropolitan area and the northern Oregon Coast Range, Vernonia is geographically isolated by 30 miles from health care in neighboring communities.
Adventist Health Tillamook Medical Group, which specializes in providing rural health care, is now providing expanded access to care in Vernonia by offering primary care, urgent care and laboratory services. Radiology services will be added this fall.
“We are thrilled to expand our reach in Oregon with much-needed access to medical care,” says Gina Seufert, vice president of physician and clinical services. “The people of this community are very welcoming and grateful for our emphasis on whole-person care.” Vernonia, a growing community deeply rooted in the timber industry, is home to a variety of businesses and recreational attractions. The community and its citizens are well-served by access to local health care.
The team of caregivers are building relationships in Vernonia by getting involved with the community and practicing the mission of living God’s love by inspiring health, wholeness and hope. This commitment is reflected not only by caring for the sick but by helping communities be healthier, have better and more affordable health care, and live better lives. It also reflects the rich Adventist heritage of providing physical, mental and spiritual care.
While the need for acute-care inpatient hospital services is shrinking throughout the nation, outpatient growth remains strong. Tillamook Medical Group already operates five rural health clinics on the Oregon coast — two in Tillamook plus one each in Manzanita, Pacific City and Lincoln City.
This rural health focus also delivers care through three urgent care clinics in the state, two primary care clinics near the base of Mount Hood in Hoodland and Estacada, and a clinic that serves Tillamook County Jail inmates. Expansion of services will continue with a new health clinic scheduled to open later this year in Banks, Ore.
There is currently no health care available in Banks, a community located east of the north Oregon Coast Range, 30 miles from Vernonia and 50 miles from Tillamook. The Banks clinic is under construction and will offer primary and urgent care, plus lab and imaging services. Tillamook Medical Group is actively building relationships in Banks in anticipation of the fall opening by introducing the community to the Adventist Health's mission and culture of compassion. Several communities in the Willamette Valley are also being considered for future clinics.
Adventist Health Tillamook Medical Group is part of Tillamook Regional Medical Center, which employs 536 people, including 60 physicians and providers. Tillamook Regional Medical Center has been recognized as a Top 100 Critical Access Hospital in the nation.
Adventist Health's Vernonia Clinic brings local health care to a community that had none.
