2012 was a great year for North by Northeast, which means it was a great year for our patients. We often share patients' stories as a way to tell the North by Northeast story, but at least once a year we like to tell the story in numbers, because the numbers are so telling and inspiring. Special thanks to our Physician Quality Assurance Lead, Dr. Louise Clark, whose tireless efforts and "fire in the belly" to improve health outcomes and reduce health disparities make North by Northeast a better place to get care every day.
What kind of care are we providing?
Who are we seeing?
How do the patients feel about our service?
What are our plans for 2013?
Thank you for your ongoing support. Together, we are building a stronger community.
"What's different about North by Northeast is that it's personal, one-on-one. You really matter to everyone and it shows. I have the utmost respect for these doctors and nurses and administrative people who give of their precious time. They are people helping people and that's what keeps our community together." - a note from a grateful patient
Abigail L. has a dream: to open her own theater company and help build local youth theater opportunities. Pursuing her dream meant leaving a steady job at a state university – and the health insurance she relied on – and moving back to Portland and a variety of jobs that didn’t provide health coverage. When she came to us for her first visit in mid-September, it was for follow-up of a leg wound that she worried could turn into something serious. She didn’t know there was a far bigger threat to her health. Our volunteers discovered that Abigail’s blood pressure was 209/143. With a family history of hypertension but no obvious symptoms, Abigail knew she might have problems with her blood pressure someday but didn’t imagine it would happen until she was older. By the end of her first visit, Abigail had a prescription for free blood pressure medication from volunteer Dr. Debbie Murphy, an order for lab tests donated by Legacy Health System and a follow-up appointment. With frequent visits and medication adjustments, Abigail’s pressure came down from dangerously high levels to near normal within six weeks. Her decision, as she says, “to get busy living,” has also been critical to her success. The theater company is putting on their first production in the summer of 2013. When they make it big, says Abigail, she plans to give back to North by Northeast for the care and dedication of our volunteers and staff and all we have given her. We’ll be right there, cheering her on!
On July 6 our Board of Directors and staff spent the day at Kennedy School for our annual Strategic Planning session. We got to know each other a bit better (including what everyone would choose for a superpower!) and shared our vision for how we can provide great care to our neighbors in North and Northeast Portland by continuing to do what we do well and expanding to do even more.
We kicked off the day with a presentation from Dr. Ann Curry-Stevens. Ann has been working with us for the past 10 months on a Community Value Assessment that included patient and volunteer focus groups, a survey of our patients, interviews with community leaders and a conversation with board members and staff. Ann set the stage with a demographic overview of North and Northeast Portland and the changes these neighborhoods have gone through over the past twenty years as well as an explanation of the serious health disparities experienced by our community. She shared the overwhelming gratitude that our patients feel for the services they receive and for our commitment to their health, and then she proposed recommendations for us to consider as we think about how to expand and how to react to healthcare reform on the national and state level.
From there we were given the opportunity to do some "Blue Sky Visioning," of areas North by Northeast could strategically move into over the next 5-7 years. We thought big and got lots of incredible ideas out for all to see! This session was led by North by Northeast board member Richard Howells, to whom we're incredibly grateful for donating his expertise and skill in facilitating the entire day. Thank you Richard!
We also had the opportunity to thank and commend two of our founding board members - Dr. Jill Ginsberg and Ray Robertson - who are leaving the North by Northeast board after six years of board service! They have both contributed great time, energy and, most of all, love to us over the past six years. Dr. Jill will continue to serve as North by Northeast's Medical Director, and we know Ray won't stray too far either.
