Hood River

May 14, 2012 -- The idea behind Project Access NOW, a network of 2,800 volunteer physicians providing care to low-income patients in the Portland metro area, is spreading up the Columbia Gorge.Hood River County officials have been meeting with Project Access organizers to replicate the program’s success and keep people who are uninsured out of hospital emergency rooms.Trish Elliott, nursing supervisor for the county health department, hopes the fledgling program can serve 1,000 people starting June 1.