By OPCA Communications The Oregon Primary Care Association (OPCA) was founded in 1984 by a group of five or six Oregon safety net clinics and the Oregon Office of Health Policy. Many of the founding clinics had been established during the War on Poverty, some as volunteer-run clinics, others as...
By Jennifer Moffatt, Senior Director of Communications, and Nicole Rideout, Communications Specialist, Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare Cascadia was formed when Multnomah County’s quadrant of mental health service providers merged over time. The four quadrants, the North-Northeast Community Health Center, Mental Health Services West, Mt. Hood Community Mental Health...
By Susan Trachsel, Executive Assistant & Public Information Officer, Lincoln County Health & Human Services The Lincoln Community Health Center officially launched in 2006 to provide care to children and adults in the areas of primary care, reproductive health, behavioral health, maternal child health, and (in...
By Ashley Kaplan, Communications Specialist, Siskiyou Community Health Center In 1973, Siskiyou Community Health Center began as the Takilma Peoples Clinic located in the Illinois Valley. A major health crisis resulted in volunteers from surrounding areas stepping in and helping. One volunteer, Dr. Jim Shames, came...
By Mark Tsuchiya, Marketing and Development Director, Aviva Health In 1992, Aviva Health—then known as the Open Door Clinic—first began providing free basic health services to underserved children and adults living in Douglas County in a small storefront located in downtown Roseburg. In those early years,...
By Francisco Garcia, Management Analyst - Community Engagement Strategist, Integrated Clinical Services, Multnomah County Health Department As the home to Portland, Oregon’s largest city, Multnomah County has a long, albeit imperfect history of prioritizing public health, dating back even before the founding of Oregon in 1859. Historically, Multnomah...
By Adrienne Schutte, Communications Specialist, Northwest Human Services “Rumors, crisis information, or just plain rapping” the poster touting the Switchboard for Help’s services is hand drawn—faded blue on a white background, yellowed with age. It is complete with a peace sign and art nouveau inspired illustrations—signs...
By Steve Manela, Lane County Human Services Division Manager, and Jeanne Campos, Community Health Centers of Lane County Outreach Coordinator In 2002, in collaboration with the Latino Medical Access Coalition, the Lane County Human Services Commission wrote and received a grant from the Meyer Memorial Trust to...
Provided by Laura J. Recko, Associate Director of Communications & Donor Relations, Central City Concern Central City Concern’s roots trace back to 1979, when Portland was seeking solutions to help people on the street who were incapacitated by alcohol use disorder. The agency (originally called Burnside...
Introducing OPCA's Administrative Coordinator Name, title, and preferred pronouns: Torie Baldwin, Administrative Coordinator, she/her What are 2-3 things we should know about you as a person? I love to dance. Pre-pandemic I would go out to Argentine tango a couple times a month and now I'm starting...
By Nicole Rideout, Communications Specialist, Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare For more than 40 years, Cascadia has been the community health and housing safety net provider for Oregonians of all ages experiencing mental health and addiction challenges, trauma, poverty, and homelessness. Through the delivery of whole health care—integrated...
Introducing OPCA's Sustainability Manager Name, title, and preferred pronouns: Sonya Howk; Sustainability Manager; she/her/hers What are 2-3 things we should know about you as a person? I am the parent of a hard-of-hearing child so have learned a lot about how the ear works and how the...
Introducing OPCA's CHC Transformation Director Name, title, and preferred pronouns: Dr. Brooke Linn, PhD; CHC Transformation Director; she/her/hers What are 2-3 things we should know about you as a person? I grew up in the beautiful state of Montana. I've been in Portland for nearly 20 years...
Introducing OPCA's Operations Senior Manager Name, title, and preferred pronouns: Ryan Montgomery, Operations Senior Manager, he/him/his What are 2-3 things we should know about you as a person? I am an Oregon native and grew up in Sandy. I love games of all types because games are...
Introducing OPCA's Office Administrator Name, title, and preferred pronouns: Brecklynn Williams, Office Administrator, she/her/hers What are 2-3 things we should know about you as a person? I am a transplant who moved to Portland in 2016 from Missouri with my two dogs. Since moving here 4 ½...
Introducing OPCA's Data Specialist Name, title, and preferred pronouns: Sarah Heppler, Data Specialist, she/her/hers What are 2-3 things we should know about you as a person? I’m still deciding on whether or not to call myself an Oregonian. I grew up in a large suburb of Sacramento,...
BY KATRINA RATZLAFF, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, WALLACE For the past decade, Wallace’s mobile medical clinic has been a popular community ambassador. The big rig with two fully-equipped exam rooms (and even a small lab) has crisscrossed the streets of the Portland metro area thousands of times...
Introducing OPCA's Financial Sustainability Manager Name, title, and preferred pronouns: Rob Schlegel, Financial Sustainability Manager, he/him/his What are 2-3 things we should know about you as a person? I’m a lifelong Oregonian. I grew up in Corvallis and have lived in the Portland area since college. My...
By Gil Muñoz, CEO, Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center, OPCA Board President & Joan Watson-Patko, OPCA Executive Director Community Health Centers have long stood as a beacon of strength, service, and care in their communities. And, this year is no different. In 2020, we’ve seen strong examples of...
Introducing OPCA’s Events & Marketing Specialist Name, title, and preferred pronouns: Malia Turina, Events & Marketing Specialist, she/her/hers What are 2-3 things we should know about you as a person? I grew up Portland, and now live in NE Portland with my husband and our two cats....