Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/668668
www.goodfruit.com Good Fruit Grower MAY 1, 2016 33 New label by Washington winemaker supports health clinic for those in need. by Shannon Dininny A mong the hundreds of wine labels in Washington, one has been created solely to ensure health care services for farm workers and their families: Vital Wines. The new label by winemaker Ashley Trout, founder of Flying Trout Winery, donates all prof- its to SOS Health Services, a free health clinic serving patients who might otherwise have no access to afford- able health care in southeast Washington and northeast Oregon. The idea was born out of a significant rock-climbing accident Trout suffered in 2004 while visiting Japan. She endured five surgeries and was hospitalized for 42 days — all without health insurance. "Luckily, the accident happened while I was in another country," she said. "I started working in the wine industry in 1999, and during my 17-year stint, I've never gotten health insurance from an employer." Trout now has health insurance through her husband (winemaker Brian Rudin of Canvasback Wines), but she calls the wine industry a tough one for anyone who requires health benefits. "It's not that wineries are evil incarnate. It's just a tough scenario," she said. "Margins are tough. All the wineries in Washington state are still very young, and if you look at the capital it takes to build a winery building, or to sit on fruit that doesn't hit the market for two to three years, or to plant a vineyard that doesn't produce fruit for several years, you see you're just sitting on cash that you can't spend on benefits for workers. "To work within the industry is to understand that health care is not a given," she said. Filling a need In western Oregon's Willamette Valley, the ¡Salud! program works to provide quality health care services to seasonal vineyard workers and their families, under a collaboration between Tuality Healthcare doctors and Oregon winemakers. Hundreds of miles to the east, the SOS clinic serves a region that includes upscale Walla Walla, Washington, home to hundreds of wineries and surrounded by thou- sands of acres of wine grapes, and the neighboring farm worker-heavy community of Milton-Freewater, Oregon, which had an average per capita income of $15,000 in 2013. The clinic treated 1,064 patients last year. Volunteers donate their time to keep the clinic open two days each week — 10 local physicians, another 10 nurses, medical assistants and certified nursing assis- tants, and a handful of people to handle front desk duties and interpreting for the largely Spanish-speaking Latino population. The clinic operates similar to an urgent care clinic, offering a range of services. Most patients seek treatment for non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes and Healthy workerS and healthy vineYArdS Grapes courtesy of Ashley trout Ashley Trout is the founder of Flying Trout Winery.