New mobile clinic will provide accessible and inclusive health care in transportation-challenged areas of the Columbia Gorge

Hood River, OR, March 14, 2022 – One Community Health (OCH) launched a new mobile clinic in the Columbia Gorge, expanding services to patients with transportation challenges. The newly renovated clinic, named “La Clínica”, brings affordable and inclusive health care into underserved Columbia Gorge communities, kicking off with a series of launch parties in March and April.

“We have many community members who have a hard time accessing health care due to barriers like lack of transportation, childcare, and working several jobs,” says Max Janasik, Chief Executive Officer for OCH. “The mobile clinic allows us to bring quality and affordable health care to the places that need it most. It’s an important step in increasing health equity in the region.”

The name “La Clínica” was chosen for the mobile clinic as a reference to OCH’s roots as La Clínica del Cariño. “We know that this name still means a lot to many of our patients and community members. We started as a small, grassroots organization providing health care to farmworkers in the Gorge. Now we’re excited that La Clínica is allowing us to bring our range of services to the communities where our patients live,” says Gladys Rivera, Director of Preventative Health for OCH.

La Clínica is staffed by a bilingual team that includes Family Nurse Practitioner Middy Tilghman, Certified Medical Assistant Alejandra García, and Certified Community Health Worker Gerardo Vasquez. La Clínica offers a range of services including:

• Urgent care and small procedures

• Preventative health care and primary care

• Pediatric care

• Basic vision exams

• Immunizations

• Referrals to specialists

• COVID, diabetes, and other basic testing

• Access to substance use support and medications

• Wound care

• Behavioral health care

• Diabetes and chronic disease management

• Insurance enrollment and financial aid applications

• Resource navigation

La Clínica will travel to communities throughout the Gorge that have disproportionate rates of social and environmental factors that affect health outcomes. The clinic will work to improve access to health care in the areas of Parkdale, Odell, Cascade Locks, Celilo Village, Lone Pine, and The Dalles. OCH is working with Washington State to be able to provide services in Klickitat and Skamania counties in the near future as part of an overall campaign to recognize the impact of these social determinants of health.

Launch parties will be held at La Clínica’s weekly locations and will feature music, free food, and prizes. Community members can take a tour of the mobile clinic and meet the health care team. An official ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place on Friday, April 1st in Odell. Dates and locations of the launch parties and ribbon cutting ceremony are as follows:

• Monday, March 21 1:00-5:00 pm – Celilo Village

• Wednesday, March 23 1:00-5:00 pm – Cascade Locks Elementary School

• Monday, March 28 3:00-5:30 pm – Lone Pine

• Tuesday, March 29 9:00-11:30 am – The Dalles Pallet Shelter

• Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony: Friday, April 1 1:00-5:00 pm – Wy’East Community Church in Odell

More information on the launch parties, as well as La Clínica’s regular locations, is available at onecommunityhealth.org/LaClinicaMobile.

About One Community Health

One Community Health (OCH) is a nonprofit, Federally Qualified Health Center with locations in The Dalles and Hood River, Ore. Formerly known as La Clínica del Cariño Family Health Care Center, Inc., it was founded in 1986 and today has evolved into an official Patient-Centered Primary Care Home recognized as the Best Primary Care Clinic of 2019 by the Central Oregon Independent Practice Association (COIPA).

OCH currently provides services to more than 23,000 patients. In addition, OCH excels in providing educational programs and support that reflect its integrated approach to health and wellbeing. Dedicated to advancing health and social justice for all its community members, OCH serves patients from the Mid-Columbia River Gorge Region: Wasco, Hood River, Klickitat and Skamania Counties.

Media Inquiries

Contact Name: Michele Shrum-Guerrero

Phone: (541) 256-4335

Email: mguerrero@onecommunityhealth.org