Volunteers in Medicine Clinic goes virtual

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- For the safety of patients, volunteers, staff and the greater community, Volunteers in Medicine Clinic of the Cascades has made the difficult decision to close our physical office and move to a virtual clinic model.

Things look a little different right now, but we are continuing to provide access to healthcare for our patients. 

We made this decision with a focus on our patients and volunteers, most of whom are over the age of 65. However, we will remain a resource to help decrease visits to the ER, keep our community safe, and provide access to care for our patients. 

We have created a nurse triage program and our staff and volunteer providers have secure access to Epic, our electronic medical record system, from the safety of their homes. If patients have questions or concerns they can call the clinic at (541) 585-9001, and we will be there to help.

In the next week, we will establish routine and follow up care with volunteer providers and interpreters. We are ensuring we remain available for urgent needs and questions and will continue to help our patients stay as healthy as possible.

Our pharmacy will remain open, with procedures to protect against COVID-19 for those picking up medications, in addition to 90 days of medication being dispensed whenever possible to limit exposure.

Although we miss seeing all our volunteers every day, we know it is important for all of us to maintain social distancing to prevent spreading the Coronavirus. We are taking this opportunity to deep clean the clinic so it is prepped for patient visits when we resume our regular operation.

We are doing all we can to optimize our resources so we can best serve our patients while keeping everyone as safe as possible. During this time, we will remain a reliable source of healthcare services for those in need. VIM remains dedicated to the health of our community.