JACKSON COUNTY, Ore. —$2 million in Federal funding was given to La Clinica for its Acute Care Center Expansion Project. Senator Jeff Merkley says this money will go to improve access to urgent care services for close to 80,000 low-income, uninsured and under-insured residents of Jackson County.
CEO of La Clinica, Brenda Johnson says La Clinica has been serving low-income and other vulnerable populations in the community since 1989. She says La Clinica has been running a $5.8 million capital campaign to build the Acute Care Clinic and an annex for lab and pharmacy services. But she says they wouldn’t have gotten this far without the help from the community.
“It’s really hard to see community members suffering, so if we can do one little part to help alleviate it, it makes our jobs so much better. Honestly, we wouldn’t be able to do this without this kind of community support. We’ve got our legislators, both Senators Merkley and Wyden who stepped up and really championed this effort,” said Johnson.
Johnson also mentioned her appreciation for Representative Cliff Bentz who voted yes on the funding. Johnson says this funding will allow them to add 12 exam rooms, on-site pharmacy services, an ancillary lab, and in-house imaging capabilities. She says La Clinica will also be able to offer X-ray services for the first time.
She hopes the project will help offset some of the extraordinary costs for community members when they need to access the emergency department.
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