Silverton Advantage Magazine October 2022

Technology Can Make Managing Health Easier.

The increased adaptation of the internet has impacted many industries and areas of life from video games, to sports, to TV and movie entertainment. It even appears in healthcare in the form of telemedicine. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the need for remote options, like meeting with doctors for checkups and prescription medicine fills. Now, many providers have solutions for virtual appointments from the comfort of your home using video call programs over the internet. This offers secure, private, and safe access to medical or mental health professionals for those that may not have the time or ability to make it to an in-person appointment. But there’s more to the advancements in telemedicine than simply saving one on drive time.

Telemedicine:

Advancements in technology and increased internet speeds have prompted innovations in the healthcare world, like a boom in connected health monitoring devices. This has given some folks more control over their wellbeing and independence. Here are a few examples of some devices that offer a tools for tracking and even reporting personal health data with a doctor:

Wearable devices like fitness trackers and smart watches can read heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory output, sleep quality, and more. Collected data can be saved and shared over a secure internet connection with medical personnel, caretakers, or family members.

Connected CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machines store and send data directly to physicians over a wireless service instead of sending in an SD card or USB stick.

Medical scopes and measuring devices with integrated visual and audio capabilities can take vital signs remotely. For example, a physician can use a digital stethoscope to examine and record a patient’s heart and lung sounds during a telemedicine call.

Smart motion monitors or pressure pads can send a signal over the internet to notify caregivers or family members that someone has accessed their medicine cabinet or gotten out of bed.

These innovative devices and methodologies can be game-changers for staying healthy at home. Fast, consistent internet download and upload speeds are needed to transfer live video and medical information from these devices to the intended professionals quickly and without interruption. DirectLink offers reliable internet and WiFi service with upload speeds up to 10 times faster than other providers in the area.

You may have heard of cooperative organizations in the form of farm and grocery co-ops, but some of the lesser-known ones are telecommunications co-ops, like DirectLink. DirectLink is proud to be part of a nationwide network of over 260 rural cooperative communications providers. Collectively, these companies provide internet service to more than 35 percent of the country’s land mass, contribute billions of dollars to the U.S. economy annually, and support tens of thousands of jobs.

The need for access to quality, reliable internet service has never been greater. Since 1910, the cooperative spirit has guided DirectLink’s commitment to serving members’ communication needs from a four-line telephone switch in the initial days to Fiber to the Home connections now. The company fiber build continues both in and around Mt. Angel. DirectLink steadily advances toward their goal to provide a high-speed fiber connection to all of their valued members.

Want to learn more? Visit www.DirectLink.coop/history to see an in-depth timeline of the cooperative’s evolution for well over a century.

Thank you for supporting your local cooperative provider and your neighbors.

Uploads at the Speed of

Linking Mt. Angel to the World Since 1910 Photo courtesy of Mt. Angel Historical Society

COMMUNITY FIRST

ANTHONY VELIZ, A WOODBURN LEADER

When it comes to community involvement, Anthony Veliz is somewhat of a poster child. The third-generation resident of Woodburn grew up under the influence of Cesar Chavez, the American labor leader and civil rights activist who started the United Farm Workers union. His parents were proud farm workers, and from the beginning, Veliz was getting involved, taking notes along the way.

“I’ve always been around communication, community outreach and engagement advocacy,“ Veliz says.

His passion for community and communications led him to earning a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the Portland State University, followed by a master’s in higher education administration from the University of Rhode Island.

Upon completion of his master’s, Veliz worked at Nike as the U.S. Community Relations Manager in the late ’90s. Subsequently, he became the director of Chemeketa Community College Access Programs and the coordinator of the college’s High School Equivalency Program. Continuing in education, he became the first elected Latino school board member of the Woodburn School District and its director of public and community relations.

In 2009, he forged his own path, starting a public relations and marketing firm. Adapted from Nike’s

With the motto, “People Focused Purpose Driven,” IZO is not your everyday PR and marketing firm. It’s an Oregon-based multicultural marketing agency designed to create strategies and creative content that reaches those who are underrepresented within communities. Veliz represents clients such as Portland Art Museum, Portland General Electric, Help organizations develop and creative that reaches the underrepresented

famous catchphrase “Just Do It,” IZO, when said aloud, means “I did it” in Spanish.

DISCOVERING OUR LOCAL AREA & BEYOND

Energy Trust, and many more.

In order to create work that reflects the many identities of its customers, Veliz made sure his company was not a homogenous group. Every member of the company is both bicultural and bilingual, representing various countries throughout the Americas. Veliz says, “[The Latinx community] is really a very diverse group. For example, there are 15-plus ways to say banana in Spanish.”

In addition to IZO, Veliz helped co-found OYEN Emotional Wellness Center, which began as a grassroots mobile clinic to help ease the mental effects of

Health Authority. With business partner Melinda Avila, MSW, Veliz helped establish a mobile crisis team of 15 bilingual and bicultural therapists to help people deal with the mental health complications of COVID. When funding came to an end, the need was still apparent, so the two started OYEN, now a private practice.

As the only bilingual and bicultural mental health clinic in Oregon, OYEN has touched the lives of many. Patients will not be

the pandemic. With the death toll rising, especially among the Latinx population, he realized there was a need for counseling in his community and a need for culturally responsive mental care.

“I started hosting these town halls, which were basically Zoom meetings, but quickly, I built momentum. Pretty soon, we went from six organizations to 100 and all over the state.” Through this journey, Veliz secured a $5 million Equity Grant from the Oregon

255 N Arney Rd., Suite #220 Woodburn, OR 97071 503-395-4224

turned away, even if they are unable to pay. For those who seek care beyond the nine-to-five business hours, therapy is available day and night, Monday through Friday.

With so many accomplishments on his resumé — including currently leading the funding effort for a $50 million Woodburn recreational community center — it’s clear that Veliz’s impact on the Latinx community is singular. An exceptional man for an exceptional community. 

255 N Arney Rd., Suite #230 Woodburn, OR 97071