Community focuses on wellness

When you hear the term “healthcare” what comes to mind?

Does the term mean services provided by doctors and dentists, medical response by the fire department, air ambulance service, hospitals, urgent care, mobile medical vans, mental-health services, substance abuse treatment, support groups, or perhaps some other service or provider?

For the group that gathered in Sisters last week to discuss improving local healthcare options, the concept grew over the course of three hours to a point where the focus became the wellness — or well-being — of the community on all fronts.

Age Friendly Sisters Country (AFSC) convened a meeting and brought in Denise Bacon, field coordinator for the Ford Family Foundation, to lead a discussion on the healthcare challenges in Sisters. Bacon is also a city councilor in Newberg. (After the original publication of this story, Bacon noted, “