Welcome to New CLHO Members!
CLHO is pleased to welcome two new health administrators to Oregon: Naomi Adeline, our new Public Health Administrator in Polk County, and Jiancheng Huang, our new Public Health Director in Clatsop County!
Naomi comes to us from the small island nation of Seychelles off the east coast of Africa where she grew up enjoying the warm beaches and competing on the National Seychelles Swimming Team. She attended Manipal University and completed her medical degree through a twinned program in India and Malaysia. She completed her Master of Public Health through the University of Glasgow, in Scotland.
Congratulations and Best Wishes!
Please join CLHO in wishing two members, Nancy Staten and Nic Calvin, good luck and best wishes as they take their next steps!
Nancy Staten, Health Administrator at the Baker County Health Department, is retiring on May 2nd! Nancy started her career in public health in 1986 when she began working part-time with the WIC program at Baker County while she raised her two young children. She slowly increased her hours and helped establish the grant-funded Baker School-Based Health Center program in 1991.
2022 Legislative Session Recap
The 2022 Legislative Session ended Sine Die on March 4th after a busy month of activity. There were a few key bills CLHO tracked and supported, including a funding request for ongoing COVID response, workforce funding, emergency heat relief, and funding for mobile clinics.
CLHO led the charge in requesting an additional $50 million in public health COVID-response funding. Sadly, even with a twenty-six-member coalition, including all nine federally recognized tribes, counties, all the state’s major health care associations, and some CBOs, the legislature did not fund this request. CLHO staff, Board, Legislative Committee, and Oregon Health Authority are discussing other options if the need arises.
The 2022 Legislative Session
The 2022 Legislative Session officially begins today, February 1st! Here are some things to expect:
CLHO’s Work:
The Oregon Legislature holds a short session on even-numbered years, so the 2022 Legislative Session will adjourn on March 7th (just 35 days). CLHO does not put forth a policy platform during short sessions but will be supporting partners and tracking/assisting with bills relevant to public health.
Washington County Passes Ban on Flavored Tobacco Products
December 2021
On November 2, the Washington County Board of Commissioners voted to ban flavored tobacco products, becoming the first county in Oregon to do so.
Ordinance 878, which bans the sale of all flavored tobacco products such as menthol cigarettes and vape pens, was a culmination of nearly four years of work by Washington County Public Health that evolved significantly over this time. Gwyn Ashcom, MPH, the tobacco prevention coordinator for Washington County, took the lead beginning in 2018.
“This work began as a local TRL [tobacco retail licensure] proposal,” said Ashcom in a recent Zoom interview. “We approached city councils across the county to gauge support, and most were surprised TRL didn’t already exist. A lot of city partners were in favor because of the youth vaping epidemic that was getting national attention. It was something they could connect with.”
Public Health Spotlight: Thank You for 11 Incredible Years for CLHO, Morgan!
Please join CLHO in congratulating Morgan Cowling on her new opportunity as the Executive Director of the Oregon Community College Association (OCCA)!
Morgan has been the Executive Director of CLHO since 2010. During the last 11 years of service, Morgan has transformed CLHO from a non-profit with one part-time administrative staff with a part-time contract lobbyist to an organization with two full-time staff.
“This change has significantly increased support structures for local public health and has increased the visibility of CLHO to the Oregon Legislature, academic partners, and the County Boards of Commissioners,” Morgan said in a recent interview.
Local Health Department Spotlight: Clackamas County Uses GIS to Vaccinate Homebound People
When the COVID-19 vaccines first became available and were a scarce community resource, Oregon counties faced a challenge: how to get these vaccines to eligible, homebound people without wasting doses that required careful handling and storage. To navigate this challenge, Clackamas County Public Health turned to GIS technology to help with planning and tracking.
“This work began in mid-January when there was a clear need for in-home vaccinations,” said Kim LaCroix, Public Health Programs Manager. Clackamas County started with an email link for appointment requests and spreadsheets to track appointments, but the number of requests was overwhelming, and the spreadsheets quickly became unwieldy.
Local Public Health Spotlight: The Marion-Polk CHIP Builds on Partnerships and Equity
Throughout this pandemic, local public health departments have had to go above and beyond to continue performing public health roles outside of COVID response. The Marion-Polk Community Health Improvement Plan 2021-2025, released on June 30th and built on partnership across the community, is an example of such work.
Marion and Polk Counties have collaborated on their Community Health Assessment (CHA) and Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) since 2015 and have expanded over the past six years to work with a variety of key health system and community partners. The Core Executive Committee for the 2021-25 CHIP was made up of representatives from Marion County Health and Human Services, Polk County Public Health, PacificSource Marion-Polk CCO, Willamette Health Council, Salem Health, Legacy Silverton Medical Center, Santiam Hospital, and Kaiser Permanente.