New board recruits, new program, and an event to boot
The transition from one year to the next has left little time for resting. We have two pieces of good news and an invitation to share.
New board recruits
About a year ago, the Project Access NOW board of directors assessed its capacity, identifying two gaps: fund development and marketing. Shortly after, Frank Betzer, of Special Olympics Oregon, joined us as a development volunteer, helping our organization move forward significantly in that area. Then, a few months ago, Frank’s role became more formal as he joined the board of directors.
Prior to Frank’s work, the only fund development components we had were grants and partner asks. We’re now working to grow our individual donor base and increase support on the community level. So far, thanks to Frank’s work, we’ve seen a five fold increase in the number of individual donors and a 150% increase in individual donations from 2008 to 2009. Going forward, Frank is helping us figure out who cares about our work and how we can connect with them in meaningful ways.
Which is where marketing comes in. Liz Rabiner Lipoff, of Liz Ink, is the latest board recruit, bringing with her skills we didn’t have. As a medical marketing and public relations professional, she’s helped us identify a number of areas for improvement. We look forward to Liz taking the lead on our board’s marketing efforts.
We’ll be profiling Frank and Liz in the near future.
Clackamas County Project Access launches
Clackamas County Project Access just completed its second month of enrolling patients: In December 2009 the program enrolled three patients, and in January of this year 17 patients.
Folks from Clackamas County had been working with Project Access NOW since our beginnings. For various reasons, the local program only took off at the end of last year. Katie Ulin, Essential Health Clinic’s manager of Project Access Washington County, will be working as dual program manager with Care Coordinator Paula Vasquez to run and grow the program.
We’re particularly proud about launching Project Access Clackamas County for three reasons:
- Thanks to Katie, we were able to replicate a successful program model from Washington County in Clackamas County. What a great example of a collaboration within a collaboration!
- Paula Vasquez is a Care Coordinator who gets care coordination and how important it is for healthcare access.
- Now that people around the region recognize the Project Access NOW brand, it’s easier to recruit physicians and other healthcare providers. So far, we’ve had an amazing response in Clackamas County, with physicians signing up for the program in a brisk pace, and some even calling us to volunteer. Give Katie a call at 503.846.3627 to get a list of Clackamas County providers.
Read more about Clackamas County Project Access.
Bridges to Healthcare
Finally, we cordially invite you to an evening celebrating the generosity of physicians, nurse practitioners, other healthcare providers, and many supporters who make a difference in our community. In 2009, more than $10 million in health care services were donated to Project Access patients by our many generous partners.
We’ll be honored to welcome you on Thursday, April 8th, 2010, from 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm, at the Hilton Hotel Pavilion Ballroom in downtown Portland. The event will be hosted by Emily and Joey Harrington.
For more about the event, please see below. If you’d like to attend, please let us know by RSVP-ing online:
Have a wonderful end of winter!
Linda Nilsen-Solares
Executive Director
(February 2010)
