Manzanita is the second north county community to formally endorse the May 16, 2023 health and senior care bond measure that has been advanced by the Nehalem Bay Health District.
The Manzanita City Council approved a resolution of support at its April 5 meeting. The Wheeler City Council approved a similar statement of support at its March meeting, and the Nehalem City Council is expected to consider formal support for the bond measure later this month.
The Manzanita resolution was introduced by Councilor Brad Mayerle, a retired dentist, who noted that the bond measure will lead to improvements in local health care. “I think it’s important that we recognize this bond measure. The city of Wheeler has already done so,” Mayerle said. “This measure checks a lot of boxes with respect to providing health care services and affordable housing for health care employees.”
The Manzanita resolution states, in part, “the City Council of the City of Manzanita do hereby endorse the Health District bond measure in the May 16, 2023 election and encourage residents to also support the measure and these critical local projects.”
The Health District’s plans for the new, state-of-the-art Nehalem Bay Health Center and Pharmacy that would be constructed in downtown Wheeler include provisions for dental care and other specialty services not now available in the community.
In addition, the bond measure will fund renovation and modernization of the region’s only skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility – the Nehalem Valley Care Center. The Care Center, also located in Wheeler, offers 24-hour nursing care to patients, as well as rehabilitation services.
In remarks to the Manzanita Council, Health District board president Marc C. Johnson said the Care Center will become even more important to the region in the future given the steady increase in the north coast’s elderly population. Johnson noted that two senior care facilities closed in Tillamook County in 2022 and that making upgrades to improve quality and safety for seniors, as well as improvements in the working conditions for care staff, would help ensure the facility serves the community into the future.
A third element of the bond measure would fund site preparation of Health District owned property as a necessary step to development of workforce housing for health care and essential workers.
The Yes For Local Health Care campaign has scheduled several town hall meetings before the election, including a “virtual town hall” on April 19 in order to provide information about the bond measure and what it would support.
Visit www.nehalemhealthcare.com for information about events and the growing number of residents who support the plan.
