A Natural Path and Dr. Kathleen Flewelling (Dr. Kat) have been serving Clatsop County, Oregon for almost 19 years.
Our mission is to provide quality comprehensive patient focused healthcare tailored to the patient’s unique situation and health goals. A Natural Path is a small health clinic in Seaside, Oregon. We are looking to add more providers and a small laboratory once we expand to a larger facility and complete our nonprofit application status.
More than 50% of our patients are low-income and/or Medicaid patients. They are unable to pay much for quality healthcare. In Clatsop County the bulk of Medicaid providers are in Astoria and North Clatsop County. In South Clatsop County, A Natural Path is the only OHA Primary Health Care Home besides the local Providence hospital. We are only one of two healthcare providers in the South county to take Medicaid. Many of these patients are unable to travel outside the immediate area and this limits the care they currently receive.
As a naturopathic clinic, we are unable to get the incentives and tax breaks regular medical doctors and clinics get, despite giving equal or better care. For many years Dr. Kat has not taken a salary beyond what the business covered for the mortgage and utilities, as A Natural Path operated out of her home.
In the fall of 2016, Dr. Kat’s husband was transferred to Fort Collins, CO for work. Dr. Kat decided to continue seeing patients in Seaside, OR. She spends the first and third weeks of the month in Seaside. She is available by phone or computer when in Colorado. The home the office is in will need to be sold so she and her husband can buy a home in Colorado. In order to sell the home, the office has to move. Because of traveling expenses and increased costs of doing business, it is pretty impossible to come up with first, last and security deposit for an office. We would like to stay in south Clatsop County because of the need of low income patients. We are also attempting to get nonprofit status and will need to hire a lawyer soon to help with the paperwork.
We have big goals for the future that include bringing in more physicians and medical providers, having a laboratory or draw station for diagnostic testing and eventually a larger clinic building. We would like to raise $10,000 at this point for moving expenses, travel expenses and nonprofit paperwork expenses. We are going to try youcaring.com as it does not charge for using it's platform. However they ask for a donation for their site which you can put $0 if you wish and there is the bank charge of 2.9% plus 30 cents for each donation. Look for more details here or on Facebook once it's all ready to go.
If you wish you can send a donation through the mail or in person or by phone with a credit card.
Thanks for your support.
