PORTLAND, Ore. — The Regence Foundation announced today it awarded two grants to health care nonprofits in Douglas County. Both grants address the financial and geographic barriers uninsured rural residents face to access medical care.

The Foundation awarded a $30,000 grant to Umpqua Community Health Center to open a new clinic in Myrtle Creek and a $20,000 grant to Mercy Foundation to put registered nurses in rural schools to provide basic health care.

“At The Regence Foundation, we believe that access to quality, affordable medical care is the foundation for healthy communities,” said Michael Alexander, Regence Foundation board chair. “For many uninsured rural Oregonians, however, that care isn’t readily available and traveling to access care simply isn’t feasible – especially in today’s difficult economy. That’s why one of the Regence Foundation’s focuses is funding organizations that connect people to care close to home.”

The $30,000 grant for Umpqua Community Health Center will help finance a new clinic in Myrtle Creek, a medically underserved community where poverty and geographic isolation create significant health care disparities. Umpqua Community Health Center is the only federally qualified community health center in Douglas County, and in 2007 it served almost 7,000 patients. The new clinic is expected to open at the end of this month.

The Mercy Foundation’s $20,000 grant will help fund a mobile medical clinic to bring registered nurses to Douglas County rural schools to provide basic health care and health education to students. The program’s goal is to reduce the barriers families face in obtaining medical and dental treatment for their children. About half of children in Douglas County lack health insurance and live in households at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty line.