From The Editor's Desk: True civic nature
By Pat Caldwell
Wednesday, March 18, 2009 10:37 AM PDT
If there was ever a local program that has ducked under the collective radar but still managed to do a whole lot of good for a whole lot of people, it is Ontario’s Four Rivers Health Clinic.
Now going on nine years, the clinic has become one of those examples of community outreach that is simply unprecedented in Eastern Oregon.
The clinic, spearheaded by doctor Jody Stark, offers free medical care to people once a week in Ontario.
Unlike many programs and agendas that exist in America now, there is no “catch” to this program. Believe it or not, it is all about helping out people.
What a concept.
The medical care, the medicine, all the necessities to make a health clinic function are donated. The time of medical care professionals is donated. Volunteers, regular Joes from the community, donate their time for free. That’s right, free.
People arrive at the clinic once a week and line up to be checked. Many suffer from simple maladies, others may have more serious aliments, but they are all there because they cannot afford health care or cannot afford health insurance.
They are a faceless multitude for many of us ” just another group of people we’d all rather pretend occupy a niche in some other society ” but their need is as great, or greater, than any of us can imagine.
If the clinic had a slogan, it would be a simple one: provide basic health care to every person, regardless of his or her ability to pay.
And the need is growing.
Ontario resident and businessman Joe Recla, who volunteers at the clinic, told me Tuesday that the clinic has seen an increase in people seeking health care recently.
“We’re up about 40 percent in the last six months,” Recla said.
Currently, the clinic occupies a building at 640 S.W. Fourth Ave. in Ontario and is open Wednesdays at 1 p.m.
But what the clinic really needs, what it always needs, is more assistance from the community.
Supporters of the facility are hosting a no-limit Texas Hold ‘em Poker Championship March 28 at the Holiday Inn in Ontario to help raise funds for the clinic.
Registration will be between noon and 1 p.m. March 28, and the tournament ” with a buy-in of $50 ” goes from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Those seeking more information about the event can contact Recla at (208) 739-5521.
The clinic already receives help from the community ” such as Bi-Mart, churches and caring residents ” but the fact is, the need far outstrips the resources of the clinic.
Rarely in this day and age does a program come along that is based on such noble sentiments as the Four Rivers Health Care Free Clinic. It is just as rare, too, for a community to have such an opportunity to make a real difference.
We talk a lot about helping our fellow man. We hear the speeches from politicians and hear the sermons on Sunday, but often words are just that ” words.
The Four Rivers Health Care Free Clinic offers every resident who has the means an opportunity to make a difference instead of just thinking about it.
The people who come to the clinic are from all walks of life. They are the working poor, young families just starting out and seeking a hand, or they are older folks who need a boost, or they are single parents who cannot afford health insurance.
They are part of us, part of our community.
Stark and her supporters and the Four Rivers Health Care Board of Directors are not in this for the money. They are not in it to look good. They are in it because they care.
They are behaving along the lines of true civic virtue. And they need our help.
Pat Caldwell is the editor of the Argus Observer. He can be contacted at PatC@argusobserver.com
