TILLAMOOK, Ore. — Ivy Avenue Wellness Center, sponsored by Columbia Pacific Coordinated Care Organization, is scheduled to open Oct. 1 to help Tillamook County residents suffering from chronic pain.
More than 500,000 Oregonians are estimated to suffer from persistent pain, robbing them of a full and active life, according to Dr. Safina Koreishi, Columbia Pacific CCO medical director.
“We are very excited to offer this resource in Tillamook County,” said Dr. Koreishi. “Going into the project, we used insurance claims data that showed seven out of 10 diagnoses for our CCO members were for pain-related conditions, and that the most commonly prescribed medications were opiates for pain management. At that point, we realized that we had a big opportunity to get at the root cause of persistent pain, which we’re learning very often is adverse childhood events, such as trauma, homelessness or abuse. These events can lead to a lifetime of chronic medical and mental health problems. The Ivy Avenue Wellness Center is a first step in drawing health care providers together in our community to improve the lives of those with persistent pain.”
Open to all patients, including those on Oregon Health Plan (Medicaid), the nonprofit center will focus on providing information, counseling, coping skills and community resources to help people reduce and better manage their pain, allowing them to return to doing the things they enjoy. The center seeks to care for the whole person, not just their pain.
The center is similar to the North Coast Pain Clinic, which Columbia Pacific CCO opened last summer in Astoria as a pilot project. With more than 150 graduates to date, 91 percent said that program was “very helpful” and the other 9 percent said it was “somewhat helpful.” As a result of the success in Astoria, two additional centers will be opening Oct. 1 – the Ivy Avenue Wellness Center in Tillamook and Revitalize Wellness Center in Scappoose.
Patients must be referred to the center by their primary care providers. The center will not provide or prescribe medications, but will work with patients and their primary care providers to design the best, most appropriate treatment plan for each patient. If it proves effective, the CCO plans to open similar clinics or programs in other counties it serves.
With more than 35 years of experience as a licensed professional counselor, Bud Perschek will serve as team leader of the center. He obtained a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Illinois State University, and has worked as a clinical psychologist, program manager,clinical director of a mental health agency and in a pain clinic. He has developed and implemented many successful clinical programs during his career.
The new center is part of a growing movement within the healthcare industry to replace prescriptions for addictive, and not always effective, narcotics with a more holistic approach to pain management.
For more information about Ivy Avenue Wellness Center, visit www.colpachealth.org/for-members/pain-clinics. The center is located at 1105 Ivy Avenue in Tillamook. Once the clinic opens on Oct. 1, it will be accessible by phone at 503-815-2704.
Established in September 2012, Columbia Pacific CCO coordinates health services for more than 27,000 Oregon Health Plan members in Columbia, Clatsop and Tillamook counties.
