Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center

Providing high quality health care for those who need it most

The VG Voice

Filed Under: Uncategorized
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COVID-19 ACTIVITY UPDATE

With the goal to do our part in reducing the positivity rate as well as to provide treatment and support to the most vulnerable communities, responding to the COVID-19 pandemic remains Virginia Garcia’s top priority.

Reducing the incidence of COVID-19.
We continue to screen for COVID-19 at all of our clinics. In the past year we have screened more than 12,000 patients and community members. We have seen how structural racism and the incidence of positive results landed squarely on the shoulders of our Latinx community, making up 84% of our positive test results but only 61% of all persons we screened for the virus.

Public Service Announcements addressing safety over the holidays, mental health resources and vaccine hesitancy.
We developed a series of animated public service announcement videos in English and Spanish to reinforce messaging about the importance of social distancing and safe practices during the holidays. We are reaching out to the broader community and engaging in dialogue about vaccine hesitancy. We are holding listening sessions as well as Ask an Expert sessions, in Spanish and in English, in the coming weeks. You can find details about our listening sessions here. Please join in on the dialogue, everyone is welcome.

Supporting equity by vaccinating.
We know that Virginia Garcia, and other Federally Qualified Health Centers like us, can play a unique role in distributing the vaccine more equitably. We continue to work with the Oregon Health  Authority and the Federal Government to ensure our patients have equitable access to this life-saving protection.

Please let us know if you would like to be added to our weekly COVID-19 newsletter providing weekly updates about our efforts.

SUPPORTING VIRGINIA GARCIA

Give!Guide Breaks All Records

A big thank you to all who gave to Virginia Garcia through this year’s Willamette Week Give!Guide Campaign. With your support, we were able to raise $84,223, a new record for Virginia Garcia.
 
We also want to thank our amazing business partners, Casa Bruno Wines, Bob’s Red Mill, and ¿Por Qué No? Taqueria for their generous matching gifts and incentives.
 
Thank you all for a historic effort – we couldn’t have done it without you!

2020 Annual Report Goes Digital

Much like every other aspect of 2020, the pandemic required the team at the Foundation to think a little differently about how we would do our annual report.
 
There was no doubt we had some inspiring, amazing stories to tell, but how did we ensure everyone had a chance to read them when no one was going into the office?
 
Meet the 2020 digital Annual Report. This digital magazine gives all the accomplishments of the Health Center the attention. Sure, we all miss the calendar, but this year the star of the annual report are the individuals and teams of the Virginia Garcia Memorial health Center.
 
If you haven't already, be sure and check out the 2020 Annual Report.

PDX Diaper Bank steps up in a big way

Since November, PDX Diaper Bank has delivered over 85,000 diapers and over 250,000 wipes to Virginia Garcia. Our outreach teams have been thrilled to share them with our patients, as well as patrons of our free food banks. This partnership will continue for at least a couple more months, and we couldn’t be more grateful.
 
This partnership was also made possible by Help Me Grow, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, and The JPB Foundation. 

Donate to Virginia Garcia

Your support means Virginia Garcia will be able to continue providing the critical services and care our patients rely on.

The past year has served as a stark reminder to the barriers our patients experience every day.

Please join us in the fight against COVID-19.

SAVE THE DATE

  • 12th Annual Health Care Symposium

    The Covid Truth: Examining racial, social and health injustice
    Thursday, April 8, 2021
    12pm-1pm

    Register today

  • 2021 ¡Prospera!

    Friday, October 1, 2021
    6:30pm

    Presented by CareOregon

    Information and details on this virtual event will be available soon

ADVOCACY ALERTS

VG Supports Critical Community Initiatives

Over the years, Virginia Garcia has supported legislative priorities that focused on increasing access to care, reducing racial and ethnic health disparities and defending the rights of our patients. This year VG lent our voice to supporting two legislative priorities developed by coalitions of community-based organizations and leaders from across the state. 
racism

VG encourages you to support the legislative priority HB 2337, Declaring Racism as a Public Health Crisis, and the legislative priority, Universal Legal Representation.

HB 2337 will help create sustainable infrastructure that is responsive the unique needs of Black, Indigenous, People of Color, Tribal and Immigrant communities. Universal Legal Representation would expand a program that has provided immigrants and unaccompanied children facing deportation with legal representation.

Oregon Worker Relief Fund Providing Support Again

Virginia Garcia continues to help community members facing hunger, homelessness and economic hardships access this needed financial support as one of the navigating agencies supporting individuals applying for the Oregon Worker Relief Fund. To date, we have helped complete over 750 applications accounting for nearly $1.2 million dollars in temporary aid distributed to community members.

OWRF

The need for a response like this has been significant. It provides temporary financial relief to thousands of immigrant workers who contribute to the collective prosperity of Oregon, despite experiencing disproportionate harm due to wage loss caused by COVID-19.

Our recent advocacy efforts helped secure a temporary extension of the Oregon Worker Relief Fund. However, the need far exceeds the available funds. Please consider donating and help immigrant Oregonians pay their rent and feed their families. You can lend your help by donating through the OWRF website.

CareOregon

Partners in our Work

careoregon

CareOregon, a nonprofit providing health insurance services that supports nearly 450,000 members statewide, is at the forefront of meeting the needs of Oregonians with economic challenges. 
 
For more than 26 years, CareOregon has remained committed to ensuring high-quality health care for all Oregon’s residents. The organization relies on key partnerships as it works with members, providers and the community to protect and improve health and well-being. CareOregon truly believes that good health care is more than just access to health care and understands the power of investing in our community, which has included $10 million in support over the past 10 years, to help increase access to food, housing, education, and more. This is the CareOregon Effect – understanding that the lives of those they serve touch countless other lives throughout our community. And when CareOregon members are stronger, we are all stronger.

At Virginia Garcia, we also believe the lives of those we serve touch others and our patients bring valuable contributions to our communities. This shared belief is one of the reasons Virginia Garcia counts on CareOregon as a true partner and champion of our work and mission.

At Virginia Garcia, we also believe the lives of those we serve touch others and our patients bring valuable contributions to our communities. This shared belief is one of the reasons Virginia Garcia counts on CareOregon as a true partner and champion of our work and mission. They have been by our side advancing medical-dental integration, supporting mental health services to underserved populations, and investing in critical workforce development for our dental staff. This past year, their support was critical to our ability to bringing high-quality health care to those hit hard by this pandemic and to bring screening services to where it is needed. As we begin vaccinating our patients, we know we can count on their partnership and support to increase outreach and access.

“We’re proud to call Virginia Garcia our partner and work alongside them to deliver high quality healthcare to those who need it most,” said Jeremiah Rigsby, chief of staff, CareOregon. “Our organizations have grown together. We’ve innovated together. And we’ve taken steps to best serve our members together. I know that we can count on Virginia Garcia as a community pillar and voice for all Oregonians trying to live their best and healthiest lives.”

CareOregon’s leadership and generosity helps us inspire and engage others in the vital services we provide. Thank you, CareOregon, for believing and investing in our patients and our community.

Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center