PORT ANGELES – North Olympic Healthcare Network (NOHN) presented State Rep. Steve Tharinger with the 2022 Legislative Champion in Community Health award last Friday in Port Angeles.
NOHN CEO Michael Maxwell said the award was for Tharinger’s championing of legislation to improve healthcare access in our community and his passion for protecting what he called “the fragile rural healthcare ecosystem.”
Maxwell referred back to 2018 when Rep. Tharinger, as a ranking member of the Capital Budget Committee, helped push legislation that ultimately created access to dental care for people with Medicaid benefits. He said NOHN is now able to provide dental care to thousands of people who previously had no access to that care.
Tharinger received the honor during a tour of NOHN’s new Eastside Health Center at 1026 E. First Street in Port Angeles, formerly known as Edna’s Place. Construction of the new facility is in full swing and it’s scheduled to open in January.
North Olympic Healthcare Network is a Federally Qualified Health Center which serves more than 16,000 patients on the North Olympic Peninsula.
(NOHN-provided photo of Tharinger touring new facility)