The Nehalem City Council has joined city councils in Wheeler and Manzanita in formally endorsing the Nehalem Bay Health District’s May 16 bond measure that will improve and expand local health and senior care services in north Tillamook County.
The Nehalem action came during the council’s regular meeting on April 10. Wheeler’s city council endorsed the bond measure on March 21 and the Manzanita council made its endorsement on April 5.
Nehalem Mayor Phil Chick said the effort to improve health and senior care in the community is “about the future and providing essential health care to the community.”
The Health District is seeking approval of a $10.25 million bond to address three community needs:
•Construction of an expanded, state-of-the-art Nehalem Bay Health Center and Pharmacy with adequate space to provide specialty care such as dental services and cardiology that are not current available in the community. The new facility would be constructed in downtown Wheeler on Highway 101 at Hospital Road.
•Renovation and modernization of the Nehalem Valley Care Center in Wheeler, the region’s only skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility. The Health District believes the Care Center, particularly given the closure of assisted living facilities in Tillamook County last year, will become even more important to the community in the future. A major renovation will help create a safer more inviting environment for patients and staff.
•And site preparation for workforce housing particularly geared to health care and other essential workers. Between the Care Center and Health Center nearly 80 people are employed in health care jobs in north Tillamook County.
“It is extremely gratifying to receive the endorsement and support of all the communities in the Health District,” said Health District board president Marc C. Johnson. “I believe the city councilors and mayors of Wheeler, Manzanita and Nehalem understand, as the Health District surely does, that maintaining and improving health and senior care is an essential part of continuing to have vital, thriving communities.”
More information on the bond measure is available at: www.nehalemhealthcare.com