Health & Wellness
Producing Paper ... and More Making value-added paper and packaging products is the forte of our large Longview operations, which have been a major contributor to the Cowlitz County and region’s economy since the mill’s startup in 1927: • Employs about 1,700 men and women. • Payroll nearly $90 million annually. • Local purchases and taxes paid about $80 million annually. • Produces containerboard for seven Longview Fibre box plants in West Coast and Intermountain regions for converting into corrugated and solid-fiber containers for packaging a broad mix of products, ranging from foods to computers to appliances. • A wide array of value-added kraft papers is made at Longview for conversion by other firms into countless end-uses, including retail bags, construction papers, food packaging and many specialty products.
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A Touch of Compassion COWLITZ FREE MEDICAL CLINIC AIMS TO ANSWER NEEDS OF AT-RISK INDIVIDUALS
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ince opening in November 2005, the Cowlitz Free Medical Clinic has touched thousands of lives and brought much-needed health care to some of the area’s most vulnerable residents. Doctors and nurses volunteer their time at the clinic to provide free medical care to individuals with no health coverage. It is the brainchild of Community Health Partners, a coalition of medical professionals in the county who saw a need and moved to fill it. The clinic operates out of PeaceHealth’s Workplace Wellness Clinic, allowing it to forego an expensive rent payment. The clinic has seen more than 1,600 people since Jan. 1, 2006, with more than 268 of those individuals returning for other treatments, says Kathryn Robbins, parish nurse coordinator for PeaceHealth and a board member of Community Health Partners. Robbins adds that businesses and residents continue to volunteer tremendous amounts of time to help the clinic succeed. “When we started putting out our newsletter, we got a lot more people involved; and since they can work in the area of their expertise, we just have to train them from our handbook so they’ll know exactly what we do and don’t do,” Robbins says. The clinic is open every Wednesday from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., which means that patients and volunteers alike have to be able to get there in the evenings. The evening hours have worked out well for all involved, Robbins says. She also points out that awareness of the health-care crisis faced by many families isn’t limited to medical professionals. “I think the whole community understands the level at which we have uninsured people in our community, so it’s not like just the hospitals and doctors knowing about it,” she says. “I’m not at all surprised by how involved the business community has become and how many people really want to volunteer their time to help.” – Joe Morris
COWLITZ CO U NT Y