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SWOCC nursing program grant

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Student Shaylynn Jensen tends to the needs of a ‘Chester Chest.’ Working with a realistic plastic torso helps future nurses build their skills and confidence before treating live patients.

Plastic patients help student nurses learn

Chester has one arm and no head, but he performs a valuable service for student nurses.

“Without tools like this, it would be really hard for us to learn,” said Shaylynn Jensen of Coos Bay, a second-year student at Southwestern Oregon Community College.

One recent morning, Jensen and seven classmates took turns treating the imaginary ailments of plastic patients. Sharing three simulated human torsos known as Chester Chests, they worked in teams to draw imitation blood and administer mock medication.

Opportunities to practice those skills will expand soon, thanks to a grant from the Coquille Tribal Community Fund. The fund granted SWOCC $11,300 to buy 10 new Chester Chests.

The grant is part of $366,126 awarded during the tribe’s 2020 Grant Week. Fueled by revenue from The Mill Casino-Hotel & RV Park, the grants help 71 community agencies in southwestern Oregon. Since 2002, the fund has awarded nearly $6.8 million in community grants.

“We’re glad to be able to help SWOCC educate future nurses,” said tribal fund Administrator Jackie Chambers. “More and more of our local residents are senior citizens – including tribal members. We’re going to need a lot more nurses in the years to come.”

Chester is a “vascular access simulator,” designed as a realistic practice tool. SWOCC has some head-to-toe mannequins for full-scale simulations, but Chester is cheaper, simpler and easier to maintain for routine use.

 “He can be very helpful,” said lab instructor Leigh Eswonia.

The new Chesters can’t arrive too soon. The old units are wearing out, forcing Eswonia to “MacGyver” them with temporary fixes.

She replaced one unit’s fluid reservoir with a recycled pop bottle, using adhesive tape to attach the simulated blood vessels. It works, for now.

SWOCC’s nursing program is growing to meet the rising need for health-care professionals. Jensen and 30 other second-year students will graduate this spring. Coming behind them is a first-year class of 50. Altogether, 100 future nurses will be enrolled next fall, as the college prepares to open its new health and science technology building.

Jensen, 20, will be this year’s youngest nursing graduate. Her all-business attitude is typical of the 2020 class – a group that Eswonia calls “very motivated.”

“We’re thankful for donations because some of this equipment is so expensive,” Jensen said. “This is what helps us practice safe patient care so we’re prepared for the clinical setting.”

A few months from now, Jensen and her classmates will be registered nurses, treating live patients in real hospitals. Most will choose jobs close to home, but their skills are also in high demand in bigger cities.

“These guys can go anywhere they want,” Eswonia said.

Wherever they go, they’ll owe their skills (at least partly) to a headless plastic torso.

Help for Education

SWOCC nursing is one of 20 education-related programs receiving grants from the Coquille Tribal Community Fund in 2020. Here’s the whole list:

  • Alternatives to Violence, $6,410
  • Aviva Health (formerly Umpqua Community Health Center), $5,000
  • Bob Belloni Ranch Inc., $7,000
  • Boys & Girls Clubs of Emerald Valley, $6,000
  • Brookings Harbor Education Foundation Inc., $4,300
  • Center for Nonprofit Stewardship, $2,000
  • College Dreams, $6,000

More about the Community Fund

COPS grant

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Tribe helps sheriff buy pickup

Aug. 28, 2019

The Coos County Sheriff’s Office has a shiny new patrol rig, courtesy of the Coquille Indian Tribe.

Because the county provides patrol help on the Kilkich Reservation, the Tribe is allowed to pass along the benefits of the federal Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant program.

“That gives us an opportunity to give back to the neighboring community,” said Tribal Police Chief Scott LaFevre.

LaFevre explained that the Tribe applies for a COPS grant every two to three years and usually receives about $300,000.  Though the Tribe’s own needs take first priority, LaFevre looks for opportunities to share. This year, the sheriff netted a four-wheel-drive Ford F-150.

“I think it helps immensely with our teamwork with the sheriff’s office,” LaFevre said.

Teamwork is important, because the Tribe’s four-person force can’t provide 24-hour, 365-day coverage on the reservation.

“That truck will be responding at Kilkich when we’re not here,” LaFevre said.

 

Tribe Supports Reading Program

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Grant Helps Madison Elementary

By Jillian Ward/The World

COOS BAY — The Coquille Indian Tribe has been recognized as a school sponsor for Madison Elementary.

The tribe awarded $5,000 to benefit the Start Making a Reader Today Program, better known as the SMART Program. The non-profit has provided almost 1,400 books to children at Madison where 101 children are served, including all of its kindergarten students in its K-SMART Program.

Read more in The World

 

 

2019 Community Fund Grants

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Coquille Tribal Fund supports 49 groups

NORTH BEND –  The largest was $20,000, the smallest just $1,110. Whatever the size, each of the 49 grants awarded by the Coquille Tribal Community Fund this year will improve life in a local community.

Grantees and local dignitaries gathered at The Mill Casino-Hotel on Friday to celebrate the work of the grantees. This year’s tribal fund grants totaled $261,762.50. The fund, consistently the leading source of charitable grants for South Coast nonprofits, has distributed more than $6.4 million since it was launched in 2001.

The fund’s largest 2019 grant was $20,000 to the Umpqua Community Health Center, to help buy a new ultrasound machine for expectant mothers. The machine will replace an obsolete model nearly three decades old.

The smallest 2019 grant was $1,110, awarded to the Lakeside Community Presbyterian Church’s warming center project. Operating on a frugal budget, the church opens its doors to homeless people on nights when the temperature dips below freezing. The $1,110 will cover its costs for a whole year.

Money for the fund comes from a share of the tribe’s casino revenue. Each year an appointed board of tribal members and community leaders meets to review applications and decide on the awards.

The year’s board consisted of Coquille Tribal Council Secretary Linda Mecum; Coos County Commissioner Melissa Cribbins; state Rep. Gary Leif; Chelsea Burns, Coquille Economic Development Corp. Board of Directors; Joe Benetti, mayor of Coos Bay; Jon Ivy, tribal member; and Scott LaFevre, tribal member.

The tribal fund’s next application cycle will begin Sept. 1. Learn more at www.coquilletribe.org, or call fund Administrator Jackie Chambers at (541) 756-0904.

Here’s a list of 2019 grants:

  • ACCESS, $5,000
  • Bandon Historical Society Museum, $2,500
  • Bandon Showcase Inc., $1,500
  • Bear Cupboard, $7,500
  • Boys & Girls Club of Southwestern Oregon, $5,000
  • Brookings Harbor Education Foundation Inc., $3,500
  • Camp Myrtlewood, $10,000
  • CASA of Lane County, $5,000
  • Charleston Fishing Families, $5,000
  • Charleston Food Bank, $5,000
  • Chetco Activity Center, $5,000
  • Community Presbyterian Church Warming Center (Lakeside), $1,110
  • Conference of St. Vincent de Paul Society of Myrtle Creek, $2,500
  • Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Southern Oregon, $5,000
  • Coos Art Museum, $3,500
  • Coos Bay Area Zonta Service Foundation, $5,000
  • Coos Bay Seventh-day Adventist Food Pantry and Community Service, $5,000
  • Coos County Friends of Public Health, $4,500
  • Coos Watershed Association, $2,000
  • Coquille Indian Tribe Community Health Center, $10,000
  • Coquille Watershed Association, $3,525
  • Curry County Historical Society, $1,500
  • Florence Food Share, $3,000
  • Friends of Coos County Animals Inc., $5,000
  • Harmony United Methodist Church, $5,000
  • HIV Alliance, $5,000
  • Junction City Local Aid, $5,000
  • Knights of Columbus Council 1261, $5,000
  • La Clinica del Valle, $10,000
  • Little Theatre on the Bay, $5,000
  • Mapleton Food Share, $5,000
  • Oregon Childrens’ Foundation dba SMART Start Making A Reader Today, $5,000
  • Oregon Coast Community Action – Court Appointed Special Advocates, $5,000
  • Oregon Coast Community Action – South Coast Food Share (SCFS), $10,000
  • Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, $3,000
  • Peter Britt Gardens Music & Arts Festival Association, $2,000
  • Rogue Retreat, $10,000
  • Roots & Wings Community Preschool, $7,000
  • ShelterCare, $5,000
  • Smith and Bern VFW Post 6102, $10,000
  • South Coast Clambake Music Festival, $3,000
  • South Umpqua Historical Society, $5,000
  • Southwestern Oregon Veterans Outreach Inc., $4,500
  • Southwestern Oregon Workforce Investment Board, $7,000
  • Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County, $5,000
  • Sumner Rural Fire Protection District, $6,128
  • Triangle Food Box, $2,500
  • Umpqua Community Health Center, $20,000
  • Youth 71Five, $5,000

2019 Community Fund Grant List

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2019 Grants

Coquille Tribal Community Fund

 

  • ACCESS, $5,000
  • Bandon Historical Society Museum, $2,500
  • Bandon Showcase Inc., $1,500
  • Bear Cupboard, $7,500
  • Boys & Girls Club of Southwestern Oregon, $5,000
  • Brookings Harbor Education Foundation Inc., $3,500
  • Camp Myrtlewood, $10,000
  • CASA of Lane County, $5,000
  • Charleston Fishing Families, $5,000
  • Charleston Food Bank, $5,000
  • Chetco Activity Center, $5,000
  • Community Presbyterian Church Warming Center (Lakeside), $1,110
  • Conference of St. Vincent de Paul Society of Myrtle Creek, $2,500
  • Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Southern Oregon, $5,000
  • Coos Art Museum, $3,500
  • Coos Bay Area Zonta Service Foundation, $5,000
  • Coos Bay Seventh-day Adventist Food Pantry and Community Service, $5,000
  • Coos County Friends of Public Health, $4,500
  • Coos Watershed Association, $2,000
  • Coquille Indian Tribe Community Health Center, $10,000
  • Coquille Watershed Association, $3,525
  • Curry County Historical Society, $1,500
  • Florence Food Share, $3,000
  • Friends of Coos County Animals Inc., $5,000
  • Harmony United Methodist Church, $5,000
  • HIV Alliance, $5,000
  • Junction City Local Aid, $5,000
  • Knights of Columbus Council 1261, $5,000
  • La Clinica del Valle, $10,000
  • Little Theatre on the Bay, $5,000
  • Mapleton Food Share, $5,000
  • Oregon Childrens’ Foundation dba SMART Start Making A Reader Today, $5,000
  • Oregon Coast Community Action – Court Appointed Special Advocates, $5,000
  • Oregon Coast Community Action – South Coast Food Share (SCFS), $10,000
  • Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, $3,000
  • Peter Britt Gardens Music & Arts Festival Association, $2,000
  • Rogue Retreat, $10,000
  • Roots & Wings Community Preschool, $7,000
  • ShelterCare, $5,000
  • Smith and Bern VFW Post 6102, $10,000
  • South Coast Clambake Music Festival, $3,000
  • South Umpqua Historical Society, $5,000
  • Southwestern Oregon Veterans Outreach Inc., $4,500
  • Southwestern Oregon Workforce Investment Board, $7,000
  • Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County, $5,000
  • Sumner Rural Fire Protection District, $6,128
  • Triangle Food Box, $2,500
  • Umpqua Community Health Center, $20,000
  • Youth 71Five, $5,000

Tribe Supports ‘Girls Who Code’

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Volunteer Kendall Smith, left, coaches Kiyanna Day and Mackenzie Thompson during a “Girls Who Code” session at the Boys and Girls Club. The program, sponsored by the Southwestern Oregon Workforce Investment Board, was one of 49 recipients of Coquille Tribal Community Fund grants in 2019.

Program empowers middle-school girls

 March 2019

 COOS BAY – If technology is the future, sixth-grader Jade Moon plans to be ready.

Every Wednesday afternoon, Jade logs onto a laptop and joins other girls to learn the fundamentals of computer programming. Their after-school class, “Girls Who Code,” encourages middle-school girls to explore careers in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

“I just love the fact that I’m learning all this stuff that I can use in the future,” Jade said. “If I decide to be a programmer, I can.”

Girls Who Code is a nationwide organization that aims to close the national gender gap in technology. With nearly 90,000 girls involved nationwide, the movement challenges the antiquated notion that math and science are mostly for boys.

The local chapter meets weekly at the Boys & Girls Club in Coos Bay. It’s being supported this year by a $7,000 grant from the Coquille Tribal Community Fund. Jackie Chambers, the Coquille Tribal member who administers the fund, is enthusiastic about it.

“Part of the Coquille Indian Tribe’s focus is to help our young people get an education and advance in life,” Chambers said. “We’re proud to make this contribution, and we can’t wait to see what these girls accomplish in their lives.”

The women who lead and teach the local group use words such as “empowerment” and “sisterhood” to describe the spirit of Girls Who Code. They say their goal is to break the cultural barrier that still discourages girls from pursuing STEM subjects.

The program’s website boasts of building “the largest pipeline of future female engineers in the United States.”

“It’s a huge tool for the future,” said Courtney DuMond, a volunteer in the local program.

On one recent Wednesday, the girls learned about using a simple programming language to create a quiz game. They also learned the real-world skill of establishing SMART goals. (SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.)

Each year the girls are asked to apply their technological lessons to a project with social implications. This year’s team chose anxiety and depression. They’ll address the subject with tools such as building a website or making a video. Thus they learn to use technology while practicing teamwork, problem solving and compassion.

“I’d like to get the people who have depression and anxiety — and sometimes both – some help,” Jade said.

About the grants

Girls Who Code was one of 13 education-related programs receiving grants from the Coquille Tribal Community Fund in 2019. The 13 grants, totaling $69,025, were part of the $261,762 being distributed to 49 organizations during the fund’s annual “Grant Week.” Since 2001, the tribal fund has distributed more than $6.4 million, using revenue from The Mill Casino-Hotel & RV Park.

Community fund aids FOCCAS

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Tribal grant aids cat overpopulation project

FOCCAS volunteer Sheila Ward loves cats, but she and others are working to limit Coos County’s feline population.

March 2019 

You can run out of gas. You can run out of money, time or patience.

Nobody ever seems to run out of cats.

“Cat overpopulation in this area is a terrible problem,” said Sheila Ward, a volunteer with Friends of Coos County Animals. “I think it’s a problem everywhere.”

Specifically, it’s a math problem. Cats aren’t far behind rabbits in the multiplication department. A female cat may get pregnant when she’s just 4 months old, and she can deliver as many as three litters a year.

So FOCCAS fights a perpetual campaign to reduce uncontrolled cat breeding. One of its allies is the Coquille Tribal Community, which this year gave the group a $5,000 grant to help cover vet fees.

FOCCAS was founded in 2006 to promote animal welfare and ease the strain on the county shelter. Its 35 volunteer foster homes have cared for thousands of animals awaiting adoption.

Cats in the group’s care consistently outnumber dogs, but the felines’ rapid reproduction is only one reason. Owner attitudes are another.

“They just don’t think of spaying and neutering their cats as much as they do with dogs,” Ward said.

When kittens arrive, people commonly advertise them on Facebook, give them away outside Walmart, or dump them along some rural road. Sometimes people move out of an apartment, leaving behind a cat and half a dozen kittens.

“Hundreds of cats just get thrown away,” Ward said. “Certain times of the year, we have dozens and dozens.”

Tribal fund Administrator Jackie Chambers said she’s glad for the chance to help.

“I feel like this is an issue that we can all relate to,” she said. “In receiving this grant, FOCCAS is giving people in our community the means to keep their pets healthy and safe.”

The Coquille Tribe’s grant will help cat owners who can’t afford the cost of spaying (for female cats) or neutering (for males). FOCCAS provides vouchers for the S/Nipped clinic in Empire.

Along with financial help, FOCCAS aims to change cat owners’ attitudes. Ward said some people who receive vouchers neglect to use them. She recalled a woman who forgot to fix her tomcat, only to face a big vet bill after a feline rendezvous led to a bloody fight.

“You reach some of them, and you don’t reach others,” Ward said. “The ones who really care about this, and they’re invested in their cat, they’ll take care of it right away — and they’ll tell their friends.”

About the grants

The Coquille Tribe’s $5,000 grant to FOCCAS was one of two environment-oriented grants the tribe will award during its 2019 Grant Week. The Coos Watershed Association received $2,000 for a project involving environmental murals and native plant species.

Overall, the tribal fund’s Grant Week awards totaled $261,762 to 49 grantee agencies. Since being founded in 2001, the fund has awarded more than $6.4 million to community organizations serving five counties.

Want to help?

FOCCAS needs donations, volunteers and additional foster homes for dogs and cats. Adoptable pets are on display each Saturday at Pony Village Mall. Learn more at http://www.friendsofcooscountyanimals.org, or call (541) 269-1989.