Thanking Brenda Abraham, MSN, FNP-C, and Gastroenterology Specialists of Oregon
After moving to the Portland area about five years ago, nurse practitioner Brenda Abraham joined Gastroenterology Specialists of Oregon. When the practice began seeing patients referred by Project Access NOW, she was happy to participate from the very beginning. She and her colleagues see several Project Access NOW patients each week.
After patients undergo a procedure, they meet with Ms. Abraham to discuss the findings and come up with a plan for treatment. This often involves education, medications, and a plan for lifestyle changes.
Of the patients she sees from Project Access NOW, Ms. Abraham says, “They are very appreciative, receptive to instructions, willing to go through with recommended procedures, and they follow up as instructed. They are very easy patients to work with.” She definitely feels they have really helped the Project Access NOW patients.
She is especially appreciative of the interpretation services coordinated through Project Access NOW. Having this particular barrier removed makes her job so much easier. She can feel confident that she will get all the information necessary to work with the patient and that the patient fully understands the diagnosis and course of treatment.
Project Access NOW helps remove the barriers to health care that so many providers and patients find frustrating, especially for things that are usually easy to diagnose and treat but because of inadequate access are not discovered. She cites examples of acid reflux and the bacterial infection, H. pylori. Patients can easily be treated for these two often very painful conditions and come away feeling like a new person.
She is glad that she can be of help and says, “The service that Project Access NOW provides is very much needed to provide care for a large population, especially when so many people have found themselves out of work and uninsured.”
(January 2012)
