Just in Time for Christmas Eve: Providence Vernonia Clinic Reopens

Dec. 24, 2007

VERNONIA, Ore. – First came the flood, then the cleanup, then the temporary tents. Now, the permanent doors are open again at Providence Medical Group’s Vernonia clinic. With new equipment, sheet rock, furnishings and exam tables in place, the clinic moved back indoors today.

“It’s great to get back into our home,” said Craig Wright, M.D., chief executive, Providence Physician Division. “This has been a real team effort since the flood hit, and we are grateful for all the people who worked so hard to repair the clinic and get it ready for our patients.”

At the peak of the storm, three feet of water and mud flooded the clinic – but Providence continued to provide care in Vernonia. Dr. Phyllis Gilmore - Vernonia’s only doctor – and the Providence staff initially set up services at the Vernonia fire station, and later moved to the city’s learning center. Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital also sent a three-person team in its Mobile Health Unit to the scene to provide support.

For the past two weeks, the Providence clinic has been operating out of heavy-duty emergency tents - equipped with four private exam rooms and everything else the clinic needed, from heat to electrical power to running water.

The Providence team has provided care for hundreds of patients in Vernonia since the storm hit, and Providence leaders have pledged continuing support to the people of Vernonia and surrounding communities as they recover from this crisis.