Many of those services already exist, but are scattered throughout the city, health care leaders said at a press conference this week. Services instead should be combined under one roof in Beaverton, especially at prices affordable to low-income residents and aging baby boomers, leaders said.
One potential site for the center could be the former Westgate movie theater land between Southwest Cedar Hills Boulevard and Rose Biggi Avenue, city officials said, because of its central location and proximity to light rail.
The city recently received a $1.6 million Community Transformation Grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The city will distribute the money among six health care groups, which will develop new programs to reduce the risks of obesity, diabetes, heart attack and stroke.
Those groups, called the Beaverton Community Health Partnership, include the Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center, Pacific University, LifeWorks NW and other agencies.
The grant also will pay for a two-year program coordinator and a consultant to oversee those programs and the preliminary work of finding a building with enough room for all of the planned health services.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said Wednesday during a press conference at the Round at Beaverton Central that the Beaverton project would help prepare health care providers for an influx of people benefiting from the national Affordable Care Act. Most of the new law's changes to health insurance will roll out in 2014.
"The focus is doing a better a job of integrating and coordinating services," Wyden said. "We've got to accelerate it, we've got to speed it up. ... This is a project that is going to serve as a model."
In June 2011, as leases were about to expire at their respective sites, a few health care groups envisioned moving into a single building to consolidate their skills.
Some were already partners, such as Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center, which has a location on the Pacific University campus in Hillsboro. Virginia Garcia also joined behavioral and mental health services with LifeWorks NW, a nonprofit that specializes in providing those programs.
Mary Monnat, president of LifeWorks NW, said she wanted to see more teams of professionals from multiple health groups. Instead of working in separate offices, employees can share their expertise.
"Just because they're side-by-side doesn't mean they talk," Monnat said.
Through these collaborations, Monnat hopes to start new programs that teach people how to identify first signs of mental illness and educate families on parenting methods.
Other programs could include prenatal parenting classes and more home visits to patients, which lower the frequency of health-related emergency calls, said Gil Mu?oz, CEO of Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center.
Health care leaders particularly want to help the underserved population of Beaverton. The central city is dense and has a high number of fast-food restaurants, said Priscilla Lewis, executive director of community services and development at Providence Health & Services, another of the health partners.
The health center could serve about 150,000 people in the greater Beaverton area, according to data in a grant application. About three-quarters of that population reported that they don't receive proper dental care, vision care or treatment for a mental health condition.
A one-stop health center also would provide more training for professionals, health care leaders said. Students at Pacific University could gain hands-on learning.
The city is looking for a site that could house 350 professional clinicians from Pacific University and treat about 800 clients a day, said Don Mazziotti, the city's director of community and economic development
Ideally, the location would be about 4 acres and near public transit, such as light rail, city officials said.
One potential location is the vacant 3.9-acre Westgate lot, which is jointly owned by the city and Metro, the regional government. The city is considering rent from tenants, new markets tax credits and grants among ways to pay for developing a new location.
So far, no sites have been confirmed. In coming months, city officials will divide the grant money among health care groups. The city's comprehensive plan, a framework that guides land-use projects, will be revised to include health care policies.
Wyden said more money and attention should focus on the overall well-being of people, not just fighting chronic diseases.
"Prevention is the centerpiece to keeping people well," Wyden said.
-- Dominique Fong
Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/beaverton/index.ssf/2012/10/beaverton_community_health_par.html
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