Press Release

Release Date: October 6, 2008
HRCHC Contact: Communications Department
Telephone: (207) 861-3466
Email: Communications@HealthReach.org

Wendy Cowles, FNP, joining HealthReach Community Health Centers

WATERVILLE, ME – Wendy Cowles, FNP will be joining the per diem staff of HealthReach Community Health Centers in October 2008. In this capacity, Cowles will be traveling to many of the eleven community health centers located in Central and Western Maine that provide healthcare to 32,000 patients of all ages each year. She will fill in for medical providers on educational or personal leave.

Cowles recently returned to her home in Maine after working as a consultant, educator and member of the medical team in several hospitals in India that serve rural populations. Previously, she worked as a nurse practitioner in Tennessee in a busy primary care setting for immigrants, refugees and patients without insurance. In Maine, she was a charge and staff nurse in the Intensive and Critical Care Units at Central Maine Medical Center. “I am looking forward to living closer to my family and providing medical care in my home country once again,” states Cowles.

“Cowles brings a wealth of experience with patients of all ages in challenging settings and we welcome her to our medical team,” states Dr. Forrest West, who serves both as a physician at Lovejoy Health Center in Albion and the Clinical Medical Director of HealthReach. “We maintain a corps of per diem and float providers at HealthReach to ensure that patients continue to receive high quality care even when their regular providers are unavailable. We operate a system of eleven practices with over 40 doctors and medical providers spread over Central and Western Maine stretching from Rangeley to Richmond. At any given time, at least one provider is participating in a continuing education session, planned vacation or unanticipated leave, so employing experienced per diem providers ensures consistent medical care year round.”

HealthReach Community Health Centers is a system of eleven federally qualified health centers in Central and Western Maine. Dedicated providers deliver first-class healthcare to citizens in over 80 rural communities. To ensure access for everyone, HealthReach accepts Medicare, MaineCare, major insurances and offers an Affordable Care Program based on family size and income to uninsured and underinsured residents. A private, non-profit organization with a 30-year history, HealthReach is funded by patient fees, grants and individual donations.