‘Pasos de Salud’
La Clínica receives $375,000 wellness grant

News staff writer
May 6, 2006

La Clínica del Cariño, the community health center for The Dalles and Hood River, received word Tuesday that it will receive a new federal grant of $375,000 for a project called "Steps to Wellness."

The funding will allow a consortium comprised of La Clínica, The Next Door, and Providence Hood River Community Hospital to provide individual and group support and education to people affected by diabetes and obesity.

Margie Dogotch, nurse-manager of La Clínica's chronic disease program and one of the authors of the grant-winning proposal, described the project's goals: "We hope to improve our diabetic or overweight patients' health by increasing their wellness knowledge, improving their daily activity and exercise regimens, and addressing the mental health issues that often impact self-management."

"We also hope to increase community awareness of diabetes, obesity, and concurrent emotional issues through specially-designed educational materials," she added.

She explained that the "Steps to Wellness" or "Pasos de Salud" project will be directed toward people who struggle with weight management or diabetes, especially those whose depression, anxiety, or stress is interfering with their disease self-management.

According to Dogotch, the new grant funding will enable the three well-established community organizations to collaborate in innovative ways.

The project will be co-managed by Dogotch and Janet Hamada, of The Next Door's "Nuestra Comunidad Sana" (Our Healthy Community) program. Providence Hood River will contribute training and classroom facilitation, as well as social worker supervision and nutritionists, physical therapists, and other staff support.

The Next Door will provide mental health professionals to facilitate the psycho-educational groups. Health promotion staff from The Next Door's "Nuestra Comunidad Sana" program will join health promoters from La Clínica to provide home and community support for program participants.

Dogotch said that the project will offer education and support groups for 60 patients with specialized case management services for 35 more. She expects 5,000 people to be reached through the project's community outreach component, with another 500 people receiving one-on-one services. Project staff also will be trained to provide support for Spanish-speaking dialysis patients in the hospital's Yasui Dialysis Unit.

La Clínica's community health centers in Hood River and The Dalles treat overweight and obese patients every day. The medical staff knows first-hand that obesity disproportionately affects women, poor people, and Mexican-American people, a fact borne out by numerous studies.

For the first time in the Gorge community, this large-scale project will introduce an effective intervention for obese children, for children at risk of developing diabetes or life-long weight-management problems.

The three-year grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration. More than 200 proposals were submitted nationwide.

La Clínica del Cariño's non-profit community health centers, in Hood River and The Dalles, serve patients from a four-county, 73,000-people region that includes Hood River and Wasco Counties in Oregon, and Klickitat and Skamania Counties in Washington.

The community-owned health centers' purpose is to remove economic and cultural barriers that might otherwise prevent people from receiving necessary health care.