Community & Healthcare Resources
Community Resources
Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce – Find out more about the greater Grand Coulee Dam area and find local businesses, as well as visitor’s and tourism information for the area.
Grand Coulee Dam Area School District – Find out more about the Grand Coulee Dam School District, Lake Roosevelt High School, Grand Coulee Middle School and Center Elementary School here.
The Star Newspaper – The Grand Coulee Dam Area’s main news source, the Star Newspaper provides local news and information for the community. Offering online and standard subscriptions.
Healthcare Resources
Indian Health Services – The Indian Health Service (IHS), an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, is responsible for providing federal health services to American Indians and Alaska Natives. The provision of health services to members of federally-recognized tribes grew out of the special government-to-government relationship between the federal government and Indian tribes.
Washington State Department of Social and Health Services – The Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) is a helping hand and lifeline for one out of every four Washington residents.
Each year, more than 2.1 million children, families, vulnerable adults and seniors come to DSHS for protection, comfort, food assistance, financial aid, medical care and other services.
As a single agency, DSHS is able to provide services from several programs to meet the multiple needs of the majority of clients.
Washington State Department of Health – The Department of Health works with its federal, state and local partners to help people in Washington stay healthier and safer. Our programs and services help prevent illness and injury, promote healthy places to live and work, provide education to help people make good health decisions and ensure our state is prepared for emergencies.
Mayo Clinic – Mayo Clinic’s award-winning consumer Web site offers health information and self-improvement tools. MayoClinic.com’s medical experts and editorial professionals bring you access to the knowledge and experience of Mayo Clinic for all your consumer health information needs, from cancer, diabetes and heart disease to nutrition, exercise and pregnancy.
Grant County Health District – The mission of the Grant County Health District is to continually evaluate and improve the health of the people of Grant County by promoting health, preventing disease and injury, and protecting the natural and community environment.
Lincoln County Health District – Our Mission: To promote and protect the health of our community by preventing disease and injury through assessment and program implementation in cooperation with our community partners.
Okanogan County Health District – The mission of Okanogan County Public Health is to promote health, prevent conditions of disease and/or disability and to protect the health of residents of Okanogan County.
Douglas County Health District – Mission Statement: To improve the health status of individuals and the communities within Chelan and Douglas Counties through the promotion of health and the prevention and protection from communicable disease, injury, and environmental hazards.
Northwest MedStar – Northwest MedStar, a non-profit organization, is the region’s premier critical care transport service dedicated to the safe, compassionate care and transport of critically ill or injured patients to health care facilities throughout Eastern Washington, the Pacific Northwest, the United States and Canada.
From its bases in Spokane and the Tri-Cities, Northwest MedStar* provides over 3,200 helicopter, fixed wing and ground-based transports per year with the highest level of advanced care.
Direct links to helpful information:
Diseases and Conditions
Drugs and Supplements
American Diabetes Association
USDA Dietary Guidelines
Advance Care Planning Information
Washington State follows a surrogate decision-making hierarchy if you are unable to make your own health care decisions. The order of who will decide is:
• Guardian – appointed by court of law
• Named Health Care Agent – appointed by you and documented in advanced directive
• Spouse or registered domestic partner (even if separated)
• Adult Children *
• Parents *
• Adult Siblings *
• Adult Grandchildren *
• Adult Nieces & Nephews *
• Adult Aunts & Uncles *
• A close friend who meets certain criteria
Any group with * that has more than one person: all in the group must agree to the care
Advance care planning is for all adults age 18 and older. It is talking about the future health care decisions if you had a sudden event, like a serious accident or illness and could not make your own decisions.
Helps you to appoint a Health Care Agent.
It is important to write down your goals, values and preferences on a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care form and/or a Health Care Directive.
These documents should be updated regularly and shared with your health care providers and loved ones.
Advance care planning is about having the conversation.
• Think about your values and wishes.
• Consider future health care decisions that may need to be made on your behalf.
• Talk about choices with your loved ones and your doctor.
• Make a written plan designating your Health Care Agent.
A Health Care Agent, is the person you choose to make medical decisions for you if you cannot make them for yourself.
The person you choose should be:
- Willing and able to be your health care agent.
- Understand what you would want and speak up for your wishes when you can’t.
- Able to handle tough decisions at difficult times.
You should review your plans and choices whenever any of the 5 D’s occur:
- Decade
- Death of a loved one
- Divorce
- Diagnosis
- Decline in your health
A Health Care Directive is a form that lets you say what kind of medical treatments you do or do not want if you are terminally ill or permanently unconscious and cannot make decisions for yourself. A Health Care Directive also lets you write down your health care values.
For more information and fillable forms visit:
https://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/resource/health-care-directive-or-living-will
A power of attorney form lets you choose a trusted friend or relative to help you with your finances and/or health care decisions. After you sign it, the person you choose will take the power of attorney to your medical providers, bank, school, and other places to make decisions and sign contracts just as if they were you.
The trusted friend or relative you choose to help you with your finances and/or health care decisions is called your “agent.”
A power of attorney is “durable” if it says that your agent can use it even if you become sick or injured and cannot make decisions for yourself.
For more information and fillable forms visit:
https://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/resource/questions-and-answers-on-powers-of-attorney
Download and complete this authorization form for the use, disclosure or release of your protected health information.