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By Linda Maxon
Monday, February 08, 2010 | No comments posted. Saturday, Jan. 23, brought about an amazing turnout for the Bandon Community Health Center open house. On behalf of our board of directors and staff, Dr. McClave and I would like to thank the many people who came by to support our center’s day of celebration.

More than 150 citizens from Bandon, Langlois, Port Orford and beyond visited our open house to learn about the services offered. Leaders of our faith and business community, local educators, governmental officials, and medical professionals visited with our staff and board members to discuss the center’s purpose and focus. Equally important was the number of local citizens who dropped by to ask questions about how to receive services and shared their stories about limited access to primary care, and specialized and preventative services.

The BCHC has evolved through the hard work of many committed individuals who hold a fundamental belief that our community young and old deserves the right to be healthy. Our mission is to provide an efficient, friendly, and caring environment for the delivery of high quality, affordable primary health care services for all residents of the Bandon area. Our goal is to support the community in being healthier by way of providing primary health care services, preventative services and education. We will accomplish this goal by moving forward carefully and thoughtfully in how we approach and implement services, by not duplicating the services already existing in the community but rather partnering with other service providers and health educators to build a stronger system.

Many rural communities in Oregon have already demonstrated success in their efforts to launch a rural health clinic.  Collaboration amongst the local health department, school district, hospital and the medical community to identify issues and disparities affecting the community was critical in the success of building the momentum to impact the issues. Bandon is no different than these other communities. I have quickly learned Bandon is place blessed by committed and active citizens, and the attendance this weekend demonstrated that commitment. Our team has a deep sense of responsibility to maintain the momentum which will produce success in building a healthier community.

We deeply appreciate the dedication of the volunteers and staff for their hard work and again thank the community for the ongoing support of BCHC.

(Linda Maxon is executive director of the nonprofit Bandon Community Health Center.)