Member Newsletter – Fall 2019

Welcome!

Umpqua Health Alliance is excited to launch our new Member Newsletter! UHA believes in open communication, and we look forward to sharing health tips and information about services and events that may interest our members. Through this newsletter, we hope to connect you with tools and tips to help you on your path to wellness. If you ever have any questions about this newsletter, call us at 541.229.4UHA (541.229.4842) or email us at info@umpquahealth.com.

Healthy Habits

Kick the Tobacco Habit

It’s no longer breaking news that smoking cigarettes and nicotine is bad for your health. But tobacco use is still the #1 cause of preventable death in Oregon. It causes more deaths than firearm accidents, alcohol, and illegal drug use combined. Almost 8,000 Oregonians die from tobacco and nicotine addiction every year.

Here in Douglas County, nearly one if four adults and 10 percent of 11th graders smoke cigarettes. But these numbers don’t include the use of e-cigarettes. Using e-cigarettes (also known as vaping) has gained popularity in recent years, but the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) is asking people to stop using all vaping products. Across the U.S. there have been more than 800 cases of serious lung injury tied to vaping and e-cigarette use. The OHA is asking people to stop using all vaping products until health experts can learn more about why people who have used vaping products have become seriously ill, and in some cases, died.

If you or a family member is looking to quit smoking and tobacco use, Quit for Life helps OHP members learn to life without tobacco. Trained experts will help you put a quit plan together, and you will also get free quitting aids. You will have expert support and assistance whenever you need it, over the phone, from coaches who specialize in helping people quit tobacco. For more details or to enroll in Quit for Life, call 1-866-QUIT-4-LIFE (1-866-784-8454), or visit www.quitnow.net.

Service Spotlight

Bay Cities Brokerage

Did you know that you can get a ride to your covered medical appointments? UHA has a partnership with Bay Cities Brokerage to offer what we call Non Emergent Medical Transportation, or NEMT, to all of our members. This partnership makes sure that all UHA members can get to all of their medical appointments completely free of charge.

Bay Cities will pick the right kind of transportation for your medical needs. This may include bus tickets, a car or van, a wheelchair van, or a stretcher van. Bay Cities will also pay for mileage if a friend or family member can drive you to your appointment. If you need help, Bay Cities staff can help you in or out of the vehicle, and can also help you into the building and get you settled for your appointment.

To schedule a ride, call 1-877-324-8109 Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm at least two days before your appointment. For more information, you can check out Bay Cities Brokerage website.

Community Events

  • Aviva Health is hosting the third annual Vets and Their Pets event on Friday, November 8th from 11am to 2pm at their Roseburg location. Click here for more information.
  • UHA is holding a public meeting on Wednesday, November 13th from 4pm to 5:30pm at the Cow Creek Health Center at 2371 NE Stephens Street in Roseburg. Everyone is welcome, and there will be free food and drinks.
  • The Roseburg City Library has a variety of events for toddlers on up, including a story time, a Girls Who Code group, teen activities and community lectures. Click here to learn more about what the library has to offer.
  • Umpqua Health is a proud sponsor of this year’s Zoobilee event at Wildlife Safari. Umpqua Health presents Zoobilee is taking place October 25th and 26th from 5-8pm. The family friendly Halloween festival will feature trick or treating, animal ambassadors and a special evening tour of the Asia section of the Wildlife Safari drive through. For more information, click here.

Umpqua News

In 2012, Umpqua Health Alliance got a contract to serve Oregon Health Plan (OHP) members in Douglas County. That contract will end in 2019. At the beginning of this year, Umpqua Health Alliance (UHA) staff worked on an application to keep serving OHP members in Douglas County. OHA announced in July that UHA would get a one year contract, starting January 1, 2020 and running through December 31, 2020. But UHA has the ability to get a full five-year contract, and our staff is hard at work to make sure UHA gets a full five-year contract. OHA is scheduled to notify all Coordinated Care Organizations on a one-year contract of OHA’s decision to increase contracts to a full five-year contract by the end of May 2020. UHA feels sure that we will get a full five-year contract, and we look forward to continuing to serve the Douglas County community.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this newsletter, please call UHA Member Services Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm:

541-229-4UHA | 541-229-4842
TTY: 541-440-6304 | Toll Free TTY: 866-672-1551

If you’d like to sign up to receive our email newsletter, click here.

OHP-UHA-19-076

Start typing and press Enter to search