BEAVERTON, Ore. — For the last 33 years, Oregon nonprofit ¡Salud! has provided Oregon vineyard stewards and their families with free health care in parts of the Willamette Valley. This is all in partnership with Hillsboro Medical Center.
And now, they're taking those services on wheels by meeting workers at their job sites with a second ¡Salud! mobile clinic unit.
“[This mobile unit has] a full exam room with all the things that we need to take care of our patients,” said Leda Garside, a registered nurse who also serves as the ¡Salud! Services Manager. "It has given us an amazing space to do all this, and we also created an electronic medical record for that patient."
Garside says these units give them the ability to run full exams, check for diabetes, provide medical consultations and more.
"It's the starting point of everything in this industry. It's how we grow the grapes and the people that grow the grapes,” said Luisa Ponzi, owner of Laurelwood Vineyard.
Ponzi says her vineyard workers have benefited from the ¡Salud! mobile site for many years, adding it feels great knowing her work crews and their families are getting the medical help they need without the fear of missing a day of work.
"It gives me the ability to feel as if our team is being taken care of so that they can focus on the work they need to do."
The nonprofit is fully funded through donations. Galas and fundraising events are what keeps the ¡Salud! mobile site going.
¡Salud! officials say the nonprofit serves over 2,500 people a year — with their mobile site running March through October, about two to three times a week.
"Many work, so many long hours and multiple jobs that we need to facilitate that,” said Garside. “And it's really hard for them to make an appointment to go to a clinic."
¡Salud! now also offers mental health services to workers and their family members. All they need is one full day of work to qualify for a year of free services.
This is especially a dream come true for ¡Salud! co-founder Nancy Ponzi.
"And now, you know, it's here, all official, and we have this fabulous staff that takes care of the program and all the people that have benefited throughout the years,” said Ponzi. “It's just been amazing."
If you’d like to support ¡Salud! services, their biggest fundraiser of the entire year is coming up. It’s the ¡Salud! The Oregon Pinot Noir Auction, which is a custom wine auction, on Nov. 8-9. Tickets are available on their online website.
Here are the details:
On Friday, the Big Board Auction & Pinot Party, features a fun and festive afternoon of music, wine tasting, and a silent auction. Bidders mingle with Vintners Circle winemakers and bid to win cases of these one-of-a-kind wines. Friday, November 8, 4 pm Domaine Serene, Dayton, OR.
On Saturday, The Gala features a wine reception and silent auction followed by an elegant dinner with the winemakers of the Vintners Circle and a dynamic live auction in support of ¡Salud! Services. Saturday, November 9, 5 pm The Ritz-Carlton, Portland.