In 2022 more than 130 nursing homes in the United States closed (skillednursingnews.com/2023/02/texas-nebraska-led-nation-in-nursing-home-closures-in-2022/). Nearly a dozen nursing homes closed in Montana alone (dailymontanan.com/2022/11/20/montana-nursing-homes-continue-closing-residents-families-stressed/), most in rural communities. And senior long-term care facilities closed last year in Tillamook County.
For 40 years the Nehalem Valley Care Center (nehalemcarecenter.com/) in Wheeler has offered skilled nursing and rehabilitation services to thousands of individuals who need such care. The Care Center, owned by the Nehalem Bay Health District, is the only facility of its kind in Tillamook County and the only such facility on the Oregon coast between Astoria and Newport.
Given our community’s growing elderly population it has never been more vital to preserve and improve senior care in the community. Such is the aim of the bond measure that will appear on your May 16 election ballot.
Passage of the bond measure will finance badly needed renovations and modernization of the Care Center, including:
• A top to bottom interior renovation, including remodeling all patient rooms
• Improved interior lighting throughout the facility
• Upgrades to kitchen equipment in order to create better dietary service and options for patients
• Refresh of public spaces in the building to better serve patients and those who visit them
• Air conditioning and air handling improvements (the facility was constructed in the early 1980s without air conditioning, perhaps a good decision at the time but given our warmer summers no longer appropriate)
• Life safety upgrades to enhance patient and staff safety, including modern fire doors
• Improvements to the exterior and grounds of the facility including patios and other spaces that are inviting for patients and visitors
The Health District board is also investigating the potential to repurpose a portion of the Care Center to offer new services needed in the community, including memory care.
The May bond measure will also support construction of a new Nehalem Bay Health Center and Pharmacy and allow site preparation for workforce housing for health care and other essential workers in the community.
Learn more about the Health District’s plans here: www.nehalembayhd.org/_files/ugd/f660da_c0bacfea8d874b93bbc28a7e3ba5a7cc.pdf
And to support the campaign to secure passage of the bond measure visit: www.nehalemhealthcare.com
Click the event link to find out more about our next Town Hall May 3, 5 PM at the NCRD Performing Arts Center: fb.me/e/2yExKHBKB
Follow the campaign on Facebook at Yes For Local Health Care www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090438080823.
