Three separate federal Rural Health Outreach grants were obtained: one that founded Waterfall Clinic, in partnership with a coalition that involved Coos County Public Health and Bay Area Hospital; another that shored up the Port Orford Clinic operated by Curry General Hospital District; and a third that expanded capacity at Coquille Valley Hospital District, with partners including Waterfall Clinic and the Powers Health District.

Secured a federal Rural Health Outreach grant through HRSA’s Office of Rural Health Policy, valued at $750,000 over three years, to merge the Rural Health Networks that had been formed between 1989 and 1996. The AHEC of Southwest Oregon served as the grant applicant and managing partner for the initiative that led to the creation of South Coast Ruralhealth Integrated Provider Team, or SCRIPT. SCRIPT was created as a membership-based, not-for-profit corporation, that went on to secure tax-exempt status pursuant to IRS 501c3. Founding members of the corporation included:

AHEC of Southwest Oregon Barbara Grigsby, Director
Coquille Valley Hospital Dennis Zielinski, CEO
Powers Rural Health District Betsy Moe, Manager
Waterfall Clinic Kathy Laird, Director
Coos County Public Health Frances Smith, Administrator
Curry General Hospital Gary Short, CFO
Curry County Public Health Georganne Greene, Administrator

Secured a federal Community Access Program grant through HRSA’s Bureau of Primary Health Care, valued at $1.2 million over four years, to deploy Community Health Outreach and Eligibility Assistance Workers, among other initiatives. The AHEC of Southwest Oregon served as the grant applicant and managing partner. Secured a federal Rural Health Network Development grant through HRSA’s Bureau of Primary Health Care, valued at $750,000 over three years. This project helped to provide some operating support to Waterfall Clinic, while it was waiting to secure status as a federally qualified health center.

During this period, SCRIPT administered several small projects and was relatively inactive. Board membership changed over time due to changes in employment and the retirement of board members.

SCRIPT’s board members convened in 2017 for reorganization. Changes in by-laws were approved in 2019, and the organization’s general purpose was changed to address the social determinants of health. In January of 2020, SCRIPT received a grant from Advanced Health to work on a housing initiative and also to support the organizational efforts of the networking group called Social Services Connect. The outcome of the housing initiative included the development of another 501c3 organization, which could administer a housing trust fund. This organization, the Coos Housing Access Program (CHAP), received its determination of 501c3 status by the IRS, retroactive to August 28, 2020. At the end of 2020, Social Services Connect moved under the umbrella of the United Way of Southwestern Oregon.
From 2020 through 2022, SCRIPT undertook an initiative with Advanced Health to help address the social determinants of health in Coos & Curry Counties. SCRIPT’s work included studying health data, setting priorities to improve community health, and making recommendations to the Advanced Health Board of Directors on their SHARE Initiative (SI) Spending Plan. SCRIPT board members mentored the new SI projects in Coos and Curry Counties which had been funded to address child care, nutrition, and the houseless populations. SCRIPT completed an evaluation of the SI projects in 2022.

After several sessions for strategic planning, the board changed the organization’s name (doing business as) to Coos Health Initiatives, and agreed upon a new mission and purpose. Our current project is Coos Fights Cancer, with a focus on addressing the high rate of death from pancreatic cancer in Coos County. A grant from the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute Community Partnership Program has provided funding to assess the needs of our community and develop an action plan.
Projects section