Last year, Marlene Putman, administrator, Tillamook County Community Health Centers (TCCHC), had a glint in her eye and a very big idea. This idea was fueled by the vision of the patient driven Community Health Council and their a passion for improving patient access. Today, she is proud to announce a new member of the team that arrived by special delivery earlier this month.
“We are so proud to announce our new team member, which has yet to be named. But she came in at a whopping 22,000 lbs. She is 39 feet long and 12 ½ feet tall.” Said Putman. “And she’s a real beauty. I know that everyone who meets her will really love her.”
“We are very proud to announce the arrival of our new mobile community health center,” said Putman. “And we can’t wait to get her ready to start delivering dental, physical and mental health care to Tillamook County.
Please join us and tour our newest health center at the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony from 2 -- 4 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019, at Tillamook Bay Community College, 4301 Third St., Tillamook. Please RSVP to Donna Gigoux at dgigoux@co.tillamook.or.us.
The new mobile health center is built on a new Winnebago chassis and is the result of more than 4,000 man hours of custom work between Winnebago and ADI Mobile Health in Tualatin. The highly customized van was funded by a variety of grants, including U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration, Columbia Pacific CCO, CareOregon Dental and Oregon Health Authority. Columbia Pacific CCO also provides for much of the cost of staffing the van for the first year.
“This is an exciting new resource for the residents of Tillamook County,” Putman continued. “It’s the collaboration of many partners and resources, and provides for alternative access to care. This van can used in schools, clinics, churches and community centers to provide much-needed care.”
TCCHC has been a Federally Qualified Health Center since 1994, providing medical, dental, behavioral and public health services. “We have a fantastic team at our Health Centers, which serves all of Tillamook County.” Said Putman. TCCHC is also the proud convener and backbone organization for the nationally recognized Tillamook County Wellness.