November 21, 2019 3:50 a.m. 
The National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health is celebrating Thursday as Rural Health Day.
Information from Aviva Health said as a rural and Federally Qualified Health Center, they are one of 4,500 rural health clinics across the country that provide “the backbone” of the primary care infrastructure in rural communities.
The release said the care provided by rural health clinics like Aviva Health is crucial to small communities where unemployment, low wages, chronic disease, food insecurity and other factors, contribute to poor health. Those factors are over-represented in the Umpqua Valley, according to the release.
Aviva Health says poverty is a significant barrier to health. The median household income in Douglas County is just over $42,000 compared to a statewide average of over $53,000. The Umpqua Valley has one of the highest rates poverty rates in Oregon, with an overall rate of 18.6 percent. For children, the rate is higher at 23.2 percent, compared to 17.2 percent statewide.
The release said last year Aviva provided care to nearly 14,000 children and adults at seven clinic locations around the county. As a Federally Qualified Health Center, the organization provides its clinical expertise to local residents regardless of their ability to pay or health insurance status.
To help address the shortage of primary care physicians, Aviva Health is partnering with CHI Mercy Medical Center to establish the Roseburg Family Medicine Residency Training Program. The first cohort of residents will arrive in July of next year, when eight residents from medical schools across the country and abroad, will begin the program. At full capacity, the RFMR will train 24 residents. The release said studies have shown that 56 percent of family physicians will practice within 100 miles of the community where they completed residency training. Additionally, evidence shows that a high percentage of physicians who trained in underserved areas continue to serve underserved communities.