Local Stories
Local Public Health in Oregon
Local health departments protect and improve community well-being by preventing disease, illness and injury and impacting social, economic, and environmental factors fundamental to excellent health.
The local health department is the foundation of the local public health system (comprised of public- and private-sector health care providers, academia, business, the media, and other local and state governmental entities). To learn more about local public health in Oregon, read on. To learn more about the whole public health system in Oregon and how it works together, see:
- OHSU-PSU and CLHO: Oregon’s Public Health System webinar recording and slides
- Marion County’s Public Health System’s in Oregon online training
Local health departments adapt their strategies to protect and improve community well-being to fit local contexts and circumstances. However, there are some standard activities that all public health departments do in their communities.
Local health departments gather and analyze data on the community’s health to determine risks and problems. This information drives specific programs and activities designed to control multiple threats: both communicable and chronic diseases; food, water, insect, and other “vector-borne” outbreaks; biological, chemical, and radiological hazards; and public health disasters.
As a result of extensive and ongoing preparation, local health departments respond quickly and effectively to disease outbreaks and other public health events—they are intensively trained to respond to increases in the incidence of diseases, natural disasters, and acts of terrorism. They coordinate the delivery of drugs, supplies, and provisions to victims and populations at risk. They keep the public informed and serve as the network hub for community hospitals, physicians, and other health care providers.
Acting on their knowledge about their community, local health departments create data-driven policies to meet health needs and address emerging issues. They help craft sound health policies by providing expertise to local, state, and federal decision-makers. Local health departments also inform individuals and organizations about public health laws while monitoring and enforcing compliance.
With local and state government agencies, businesses, schools, and the media, local health departments spearhead locally organized health promotion and disease prevention campaigns and projects. They galvanize the community to tackle disease prevention and personal health care needs. Local health departments also educate and encourage people to lead healthy lives through community forums; public workshops and presentations; and public service announcements.
Local health departments connect people with personal health services, including preventive and health promotion services, either in the community or as close to the community as possible. They also advocate for the development of needed programs and services in underserved populations and continuously monitor the quality and accessibility of public health services.
Welcome to Tim Lynch!
Please join CLHO in welcoming Tim Lynch as the new local health administrator of Coos Health & Wellness in Coos County!
Tim brings a wealth of expertise to Coos County - he holds a Doctorate in Public Health from Walden University and a Master’s in Healthcare Administration and Management from Colorado State University.
He has over two decades of experience in direct patient care leadership and management roles with EMS, ambulatory outpatient services, community hospitals, orthopedics, and pain management providers. He is also a certified Opioid Treatment Specialist and is skilled in bringing partners together across the healthcare system to address opioid use.
He’s recently led projects aimed at convening partners to combat the opioid crisis in rural Colorado, creating effective resource pathways for individuals with opioid use disorder, and training medical providers on using medicated assisted treatment. Throughout all of this, Tim’s goal is to build resources tailored to community needs and ensure everyone has access to quality healthcare.
Outside of work, you will find Tim in the wilds - he is an avid enthusiast of wilderness and backcountry activities and has volunteered and worked in Mountain rescue in Vermont and Colorado for over 15 years. He is excited to explore the wonderful outdoors of Oregon.
Welcome, Tim - we are happy to have you here!
Healthy Rural Oregon Celebrates One Year!
The Oregon Office of Rural Health (ORH) and CLHO recently concluded the first year of a three-year award from HRSA’s Rural Public Health Workforce Training Network grant. The funded project, called the Healthy Rural Oregon (HRO) program, aims to grow the public health and healthcare workforce in rural Oregon by training, engaging, and supporting the employment of community health workers (CHWs) and community EMT/paramedics (CPs) in both core and supplemental skill sets that meet rural communities’ needs.
Since the start of the HRO project in August 2022, it has made great strides toward meeting grant objectives and developing a stronger landscape for long-term, sustainable growth. The following are HRO’s accomplishments to date:
- Engaged 48 partner organizations, including public health agencies, health care providers, community-based organizations, and professional associations.
- Supported 29 students to enroll in and complete state-certified programs to become new CHWs. HRO will continue training new CHWs at a similar pace over the next two years in response to the high demand for core CHW training from network partners.
- Supported 41 certified CHWs to complete cross-training or continuing education units, informed by employer and community needs (such as medical assistant training, health care interpretation, birth doula training, postpartum support, social drivers of health, and mental health first aid). HRO has also partnered with existing training programs to be offered in rural areas of need. These trainings include mental health first aid, diabetes education for non-clinicians, and an end-of-life doula certification.
- Focused on building a new Community EMT program at Treasure Valley Community College in Malheur County. This program was designed in collaboration with the Malheur County Ambulance Service District and Malheur County Public Health Department and first rolled out in June 2023 with five students. Students are now certified and practicing EMTs.
In year 2, HRO plans to offer new cross-training and continuing education for CHWs, including a peer support specialist training program with Klamath Basin Behavioral Health and six new continuing education modules (three in English and three in Spanish) at Central Oregon Community College, designed as open-access, online educational resources and provided free of charge.
HRO will also develop a Community Paramedicine (CP) program in Malheur County. This program aims to enroll students not currently practicing as EMTs or Paramedics and will include CP principles in their base paramedicine curriculum. Through this format, the program hopes to address a significant shortage of EMTs and Paramedics practicing in the region while equipping them with the community health principles and skills incorporated into CP programming.
Find more information about the Healthy Rural Oregon program here. You can also contact the Grant Project and Data Manager, Madison Riethman, or the grant’s Workforce Navigator, Janessa Wells.
This update first appeared in the ORH September Newsletter. Subscribe to ORH’s Newsletter here.
Local Public Health Authorities in Oregon
There are 33 Local Public Health Authorities (LPHAs) in Oregon (Wallowa County and Curry County relinquished their authority to OHA in 2018 and 2021, respectively). This includes 27 county-based public health departments, 1 district health authority, and 5 public-private partnerships that provide subcontracted services for the Local Public Health Authority. Each of the 33 LPHAs works to provide services and resources needed by the communities they serve.
Please note that the map below may take several seconds to load, especially if you are on a mobile device. It can also be viewed by following this link.
Reflecting on National Public Health Week
We’re proud to say that National Public Health Week was a huge success! Thank you to all of our partners and supporters who came to Salem and shared their experiences about working in public health. It was great for legislators to hear directly from their County Commissioners and Local Public Health Administrators about the public health needs in their own communities. We had many impactful meetings with legislators and were able to connect with long-time and newly identified legislative advocates. These relationships are critical as legislators are tasked with identifying their budget priorities, and we want public health to make their shortlists!
One of the lessons we took away from our National Public Health Week advocacy is the power of a compelling public health story. “Public health” as a phrase doesn’t convey the impacts on our communities, the power of preventative care, or the unique ways that well-funded public health organizations can interact with vulnerable community members.
Humanizing our work is profoundly impactful. Behind every statistic we cite are stories, people, and the reasons we do this work. Reminding legislators of these very real human impacts will be critical as we continue to fight for public health budget priorities. If you are willing to share an impactful story that you or your team has recently experienced please reach out to CLHO. We’d love to work with you to elevate your voice and tell your public health story to decision-makers.
The 2023 Legislative Session - March Update
Before we dig into what the legislature has been up to so far, we wanted to flag that CLHO’s legislative toolkit is now live on our website! There is a public-facing section that contains a lot of helpful information about how to interact with legislators, and links to CLHO’s Lunch and Learn series. And for members, you can find additional strategic resources in the Member Legislative Toolkit, found in the Legislative Committee Library.
The legislature was in full swing in February, as committees met during the first full month of the 2023 session. CLHO and our partners at CFM are tracking 76 public health-related bills, and where appropriate intervening to provide testimony and resources. The number of new bills has dropped since we passed the February 21 deadline to introduce new bills. That number will continue to decline in the coming weeks, as March 17 is the deadline for bills to have a work session scheduled. Of course, as they say, nothing is really dead until Sine Die, and there’s a lot of session left during which things can change!
Below are a few of the public health highlights from the past month:
On February 1, HB 2773, CLHO’s Workforce Incentives Bill generated some good press during its first hearing.
On February 2, the OHA budget bill was introduced as SB 5525. CLHO continues to advocate for the full $286 million for Public Health Modernization. The OHA Public Health Division is scheduled to testify on SB 5525 on March 14 from 8:00-9:30, with public testimony on March 15 and 16 from 8:00-9:30.
Throughout the month, Sarah Lochner and Ryann Gleason met with legislators to discuss Public Health Modernization and Workforce Incentives, and share the updated PHM and Workforce Incentives one-pagers.
On February 14, Sarah Lochner testified in support of HB 2128, which would release $40 million in tobacco manufacturer dollars for use in Oregon.
Also on February 14, Deschutes County Health Officer Dr. Richard Fawcett testified in support of HB 2574, the PEP rural hospital access bill.
On February 15, Dr. Jocelyn Warren visited the Capitol and spoke with Representatives Conrad, Nelson, Nathanson, and Nosse, as well as Sen. Prozanski.
In mid-February, Ryann Gleason and Sarah Lochner met with Rep. Reschke to discuss including Public Health Nurses in his rural provider tax credit bill, HB 2602.
On February 20, Ryann and Sarah met with the Senate President’s Chief-of-Staff to discuss CLHO’s budget requests.
On February 21 the Economic and Revenue Forecast was released, which indicated legislators may have $700 million to allocate above continuing service levels if nothing changes.
Also on the 21st, the opioids package CLHO supports, HB 2395, moved out of committee and is scheduled for a House vote on March 2. Due to their cost, two pieces were pulled out of the bill and will receive separate consideration: the public education campaign and the naloxone bulk purchasing program.
Snow mostly shut down the Capitol during the last week of February, but we anticipate a busy start to March.
Ryann has been working to get legislators to sign onto a letter supporting moving the workforce bill, HB 2773, out of the policy committee and into Ways and Means for funding consideration.
We’re in the early planning stages of Public Health Week, which is when we will be engaging legislators about a variety of Public Health topics. This year Public Health Week is April 3-9. Please be on the lookout for additional information, and opportunities to engage with legislators in the coming weeks!
The 2023 Legislative Session
The 2023 Legislative Session is off and running! Over the next five months, CLHO staff, with the help of CFM Advocates, will strive to keep you apprised of the significant happenings that could impact public health as thousands of bills move through the legislative process. Here are some of the major highlights from January and early February.
On January 9th, Tina Kotek was officially sworn in as the 39th Governor of Oregon. The same day, she issued three executive orders to address the housing and homelessness crisis. On January 31st, she released the Governor’s Recommended Budget (GRB), Mission Forward, which named housing and homelessness; mental health and addiction services; and early learning, child care, and K-12 investment as her key priorities.
The GRB is not binding, but it lays out the Governor’s vision for the state and is a starting point for the Legislature as they craft the 2023-25 budget. Notably, the Governor included a record $50 million for Public Health Modernization (see page 64). While CLHO will continue to advocate for the full $286 million request for Public Health Modernization, this public declaration of Governor Kotek’s commitment to public health infrastructure is worth celebrating!
The 2023 Legislative Session officially opened on January 17th. Each caucus announced its new leadership and released its priorities for the session. There are significant changes among the leadership in both bodies, with Tina Kotek and Christine Drazen stepping down from their roles to run for Governor and Peter Courtney retiring after 20 years as the Senate President. Oregon’s legislative leaders for the 2023 session are:
- Speaker of the House: Dan Rayfield
- Speaker Pro Tempore: Paul Holvey
- House Majority Leader: Julie Fahey
- House Minority Leader: Vikki Breese Iverson
- Senate President: Rob Wagner
- President Pro Tempore: James I. Manning Jr.
- Senate Majority Leader: Kate Lieber
- Senate Minority Leader: Tim Knopp
And more good news - the Senate Democrats also named Public Health Modernization a priority in their Oregon Works agenda! The Legislature is working through over 2000 bills introduced thus far - with more bills trickling in until February 21st (see the graphic below). In general, bills must be scheduled by March 17th and have a committee work session by April 4th to keep moving forward. This rule doesn’t apply to joint committees, Ways & Means, Revenue, or Rules, but these are important dates for most bills. CLHO and CFM Advocates will be tracking all of CLHO’s Legislative Priorities and a handful of other bills that impact public health or partners.
Our lobby team has been busy planning events, organizing partners, meeting with legislators, reviewing bills, and testifying at hearings this past month. Highlights from our work thus far include the following:
- January 4: CLHO and its partners held a pre-session Public Health Town Hall to orient new lawmakers to public health issues
- January 17: On the opening day of session, Sarah Lochner and Ryann Gleason presented the challenges facing the public health workforce to the House Committee on Behavioral Health and Health Care (watch the recording here)
- February 1: Sarah also testified before the same committee at the public hearing for CLHO’s Public Health Workforce Incentives Package (HB 2773) and organized a host of members and partners to testify in support, too
A huge thank you to CLHO members in Jackson, Multnomah, and Lane Counties; our partners at the Oregon Nurses Association and the Association of Oregon Counties; and Representative Ruiz for their testimony in committee supporting HB 2773! And another thank you to all of our partners who submitted written testimony for HB 2773!
The amazing testimony at this hearing also generated media attention; the Lund Report released an article on February 2nd quoting Jackson and Sarah and referencing the CLHO Workforce Report - read the article here.