Public Health Modernization

Public Health Modernization ensures basic public protections critical to the health of all people in Oregon and future generations - no matter where they live in Oregon. These protections include clean air, safe food and water, health promotion and prevention of diseases, and strong systems to respond to new health threats.

What is Public Health Modernization

Public Health Modernization is a framework for ensuring local public health departments (LPHAs) across Oregon can serve their communities through:

Tracking and preventing the spread of communicable (infectious) diseases
Promoting community resilience in the face of climate change
Responding to public health emergencies
Promoting health and well-being
Ensuring Oregonians have access to health care
Providing clear, timely, and culturally relevant communication to their communities on public health concerns
Building relationships and collaborating with community partners (such as community-based organizations, faith communities, health care providers, schools, and more) to deliver public health services
Building a well-trained, diverse public health workforce
Creating policies that support health and well-being
Advancing health equity by lifting up the voices of people who are harmed the most by the health issues we face and intentionally undoing systems that treat people differently because of their race, ethnicity, language, class, disability, gender identity, sexuality, or any intersections of these identities.

For more information, visit the Oregon Health Authority website and review some of the foundational documents listed below.

Image Source: Oregon Health Authority. (2019). Modernizing Oregon’s Public Health System. Retrieved from https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ph/About/TaskForce/Pages/index.aspx

Why it Matters

Oregonians flourish when communities are safe and healthy and when everyone has the opportunity to thrive, and public health is a key partner in making this happen. Public health works behind the scenes to protect and support communities so that people can prosper and live fulfilling lives. Public Health Modernization is a framework that ensures all people and communities in Oregon have the same level of protection and support from our public health system.

However, years of reduced funding have made it challenging for LPHAs to provide these services. Lack of funding means LPHAs have less staff to do this important work in their communities. Public Health Modernization is also a policy that ensures LPHAs across Oregon have the resources to protect and serve their communities.

What We Are Doing

During Oregon’s 2015 Legislative Session, CLHO actively worked with our public health partners to secure passage of HB 3100 (the Public Health Modernization bill). Since then, CLHO has worked with the Oregon Health Authority Public Health Division (OHA-PHD) and LPHAs to develop and define the functions and activities of a modernized public health system. CLHO has also developed a communication toolkit for building the support and understanding of public health modernization, held support sessions for LPHA staff as they’ve implemented Modernization, and continued advocating for additional funding for LPHAs.

In 2016, Oregon’s Public Health system conducted an assessment to find out how much funding a fully modernized public health system would need every biennium (2-year budget cycle). This assessment found that the Oregon Legislature would need to invest $210 million every biennium for Oregon public health to implement Modernization.

In 2017, the Oregon Legislature passed HB 2310 which describes how public health modernization will be implemented in the coming years and established metrics for tracking progress toward population health goals in Oregon. This includes a phased-in approach that allows LPHAs to build up their capacity over time (see image below).

Source: Oregon Health Authority. (2020). Public health modernization: Funding report to Legislative Fiscal Office. Retrieved from https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/ABOUT/TASKFORCE/Documents/2020-Report-to-LFO.pdf

This approach also provided the Oregon Legislature with time to invest the $210 million necessary to fully implement Modernization. Since the passage of HB 3100, Oregon Health Authority has also begun funding the federally-recognized tribes in Oregon and community-based organizations (CBOs). See the images below for a summary of this funding and a timeline of all Public Health Modernization-related policies and funding.

Recommended citation: Oregon Coalition of Local Health Officials. (2023). Cumulative Legislative Investment in Public Health Modernization, 2017-2025. https://oregonclho.org/local-health-departments/public-health-modernization

Recommended citation: Oregon Coalition of Local Health Officials. (2023). Timeline of Public Health Modernization in Oregon, 2013-Present. https://oregonclho.org/local-health-departments/public-health-modernization

Modernization Roadmap

Oregon Public Health Modernization Roadmap
This Roadmap to Public Health Modernization was developed by the Coalition of Local Health Officials and provides a step-by-step structure for local health departments to use when working on public health modernization efforts.

Modernization Communication Toolkit

These communication tools were developed for local health officials to use within their communities to help broaden the understanding and support of public health modernization with their County Commissioners, Local Elected Officials, local public health advisory boards, community partners, and other public health officials during the 2017 Legislative Session.

Questions about the tools can be directed to the CLHO Program Manager.

Public Health Modernization Communication Resources

The State of Public Health in Oregon
A Day in the Life of Local Public Health
Creating a Healthier Oregon One-Pager- Elected Officials
Meeting Guide- Elected Officials
Building Healthy Communities One-Pager- Community Partners
Meeting Guide- Community Partners
Modernization Presentation Template
OHA Public Health Division Communication Resources

Public Health Modernization Toolkit
Public Health Modernization Toolkit (Printer Friendly)
Communications Toolkit Webinar

Public Health Modernization in the News

OPB Report: Public Health System In Many Oregon Towns Is ‘Minimal’
OPB: Is Oregon’s Public Health System Meeting Needs?
State of Reform: Oregon ramps up efforts to modernize public health system

Public Health Messaging Examples

California Endowment’s Building Healthy Communities Video
RWJF’s A New Way to Talk About the Social Determinants of Health
USA Today Article “Public gets least, but does most”
NACCHO’s Public Health Transformation Video

Other Resources

Aligning Innovative Models for Health Improvement in Oregon
The Aligning Innovative Models for Health Improvements (AIMHI) in Oregon project was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and proposed to identify unknown barriers to implementing Public Health Modernization and work with state and local communities to develop a roadmap and tools to support moving forward with a new model for public health in Oregon. Working with the Public Health National Center for Innovations and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Oregon accessed a learning community and national public health experts to support and foster innovative models in our state that work towards equity and the best health outcomes possible. Learn more.

Oregon Public Health Division Modernization Webpage
Public Health Modernization Assessment Supplemental Report
Public Health Modernization Assessment Executive Summary
Public Health Modernization Manual
Taskforce on the Future of Public Health Services Report

If you work at a local public health authority and need access to the CLHO library for additional resources, please contact the CLHO Program Manager.