ENTERPRISE — A $50,000 grant has been awarded to Winding Waters Medical Clinic to help fund a new charitable community pharmacy in Enterprise, Nic Powers, CEO of Winding Waters announced Thursday, Nov. 30.

The grant is one of 15 large-impact grants totaling over $850,000 awarded by the Lewis-Clark Valley Healthcare Foundation, according to a press release. The grants go to area nonprofits to promote the health, wellness or disease prevention of persons within the foundation’s service area, said Desiree Prohaska, executive vice president and chief wealth management officer of Idaho Trust Bank, trustee of the foundation.

The foundation’s service area includes nine counties: Wallowa in Oregon; Clearwater, Idaho, Latah, Lewis and Nez Perce in Idaho; and Asotin, Garfield and Whitman in Washington.

Wallowa County is included in the region otherwise dominated by North-Central Idaho and Southeastern Washington because the St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Lewiston came to realize the county should be included.

“There were enough people accessing their services they included Wallowa County in their mission,” Powers said. “We really appreciate how the Lewis-Clark Valley Healthcare Foundation continues to bring funding to help meet the health needs of Wallowa County.”

He said the grant from Lewis-Clark will not fund the entire pharmacy project, which he said will cost upward of $380,000. He said Winding Waters has applied for other grants and hopes to receive donations from local sources.

Powers said the new pharmacy will be in the former Video Buffs Pizza at the corner of West North Street and Northwest Roberts Street in Enterprise, which Winding Waters bought earlier this year.

“We’re getting it ready for remodeling,” Powers said, adding that the work should begin in the spring.

Called a “charitable community pharmacy,” Powers said, it will help area residents who may have had difficulty affording the ever-increasing cost of medicine. He said he doesn’t know the exact amount of the income level someone must be under to obtain the maximum benefits, but if they do so they’re likely to only have a $5 co-payment. The income level is about 200% of the federal poverty level, he said.

Powers said the pharmacy won’t be limited to Winding Waters patients.

“It’s an open-door pharmacy,” he said. “We’re trying to make sure we can serve the whole community.”

He also emphasized that while Winding Waters is making progress on the new Enterprise pharmacy, work continues on the new one in Wallowa.

“The Wallowa pharmacy will be open very soon,” he said.

Earlier this year, the foundation awarded about $330,000 in fast-track grants, bringing the combined total awarded for fast-track and large-impact grants during 2023 to over $1,180,000, the press release stated.

The large-impact grants are intended for grant requests up to $100,000 and priority is given to applicants that demonstrate a commitment to long-term vision, and projects that address the root causes that affect health, wellness and help in disease prevention. The fast-track grants are usually smaller projects, Powers said, of about $5,000.

St. Joseph Hospital was founded in Lewiston in 1901 and sold in 2017. A trust was created after the sale by the Idaho attorney general to provide funding for projects such as the grants.

In addition to the $50,000 going to Winding Waters, Enterprise’s Helping Hearts Child Advocacy Center will receive $30,000 for the Wallowa County Child Abuse Intervention and Youth Empowerment Project.

Another 13 health care facilities and programs throughout the nine-county region also are beneficiaries of the grants.

For more information on the foundation or the grant process, visit the foundation’s website or contact Idaho Trust Bank at 208-664-6448.