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Office of Rural Health Apple A Day Campaign Reflects Health Care Debate

CONTACT: Robert Duehmig at duehmigr@ohsu.edu or Jenifer Hood at 541-335-1246. The Oregon Office of Rural Health announces the Apple A Day Campaign. The Campaign is designed to support rural Oregon in meeting the health care needs of its citizens. While the debate on healthcare reform continues, this is an opportunity for Oregonians to act now.

The "Apple A Day" campaign is built on a dollar a day contribution to train rural EMTs and assist health care providers throughout Oregon in meeting the needs of their rural communities. The need for these services is great and growing in rural Oregon, a situation made worse as the economy continues its slump.

The Campaign will focus on two primary goals: covering training costs for rural volunteer Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) and helping cover the cost of uninsured care in rural clinics. 

Health care in rural Oregon is an issue that reflects the national debate about accessibility to care.  Rural Oregon has a higher percentage of uninsured patients than the urban areas of the state, and far fewer physicians and other providers.  The Campaign will reimburse clinics through a grant program designed to cover some of the cost for care given but not paid for by the patient.

Most Oregonians don't realize there is a shortage of EMTs in rural communities where they go to partake of the state's natural wonders.  It is critical to the survival of a patient that trained personnel are available to respond to an emergency.  Most are volunteers, and the out of pocket costs for EMT training are becoming too much for those volunteers.  The Apple A Day Campaign will help pay for EMT training in rural Oregon to help ensure that there is an emergency response in every corner of the state.

To kick off the Campaign, The Oregon Office of Rural Health will hold the 1st Annual Apple a Day dinner/auction November 6, 2009 at the Salishan Resort in Gleneden Beach, Oregon.  The dinner/auction will include a concert by renowned jazz artist Nancy King and silent and live auctions of items from around Oregon.

"We are talking about the basics here," says Scott Ekblad, Director of the Oregon Office of Rural Health.  "All Oregonians deserve trained responders to assist in an emergency and clinics able to offer basic care.  This Campaign will be a great opportunity for people to show they care."

For more information on the Apple A Day Campaign or to make a contribution, visit the Office of Rural Health website at www.ohsu.edu/oregonruralhealth and click on the "Apple A Day" icon or contact Jenifer Hood at jenifer_hood@earthlink.net or 541-335-1246 or Robert Duehmig at duehmigr@ohsu.edu.

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