Eugene, OR – The tribe said the clinic will provide health-care access to thousands of Native Americans and Alaska Natives who currently are unserved by any tribal clinic.
Brenda Meade, chairman of the Coquille Indian Tribe, said:
“We are excited to be able to serve our own tribal members as well as other indigenous people. The project follows the potlatch tradition celebrated by West Coast tribes. Potlatch is about sharing our resources with our friends and neighbors. We are very fortunate to be able to do that with health care.”
The news comes as the tribe continues work on the Coquille Wellness Center in Coos County. The clinic will offer limited services starting this month. A full complement of outpatient medical care is scheduled to begin in early 2021.
This clinic will be located near the intersection of River Road and Division Avenue, between the Albertsons and Fred Meyer supermarkets. The tribe said it will share an existing building with three current tenants: Gentle Dental, Axis Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation, and Willamette Valley Mammography.
The tribe has reported:
The tribal clinic will offer primary and same-day care to all Native American and Alaska Native patients, as well as to members of the general public. The tribe emphasizes that its venture doesn’t aim to compete with existing medical providers. Instead, the tribe’s wellness center will provide another option not only for Native Americans, but also for other community members who have struggled to access medical care. Lane County is home to many Coquille Tribal members, whose families resettled after the tribe was driven from its traditional homeland on Oregon’s South Coast. The Eugene area also is home to an estimated 6,000 Native Americans and Alaska Natives, constituting one of the Pacific Northwest’s largest indigenous populations lacking access to a tribal clinic.