Oregon Health Authority

Oregon Proposes a Comprehensive Strategy to Eliminate COVID-19 Health Inequities While Building a Sustainable Governmental and Community-based Public Health Workforce. - as a Result of Centuries of Systemic Racism, Oppression and Underlying Social and Health Inequities, COVID-19 Has Had a Disproportionate Impact on Communities Across Oregon. COVID-19 Cases, Hospitalizations and Deaths Are Highest Among Oregon?s Pacific Islander, Latino, Black and American Indian/alaska Native Communities. Building on a Community-based, Equity-centered Model for the COVID-19 Response; Oregon?s Foundational Public Health Services Model; and the Healthier Together Oregon State Health Improvement Plan, the Oregon Health Authority Will Implement a Multi-pronged Strategy to Eliminate COVID-19 Health Inequities While Building a Diverse and Sustainable Governmental and Community-based Public Health Workforce That Will Be Prepared for Future Emergency Responses. Through the National Initiative to Address COVID-19 Health Disparities Among Populations at High-risk and Underserved, Including Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations and Rural Communities, the Oregon Health Authority Will Sustain and Grow Investments in a Statewide Community-based Organization Infrastructure and Oregon?s Nine Federally Recognized Tribes and Urban Indian Program to Provide Culturally and Linguistically Responsive COVID-19 Contact Tracing, Community Engagement and Education, Social Services and Wraparound Supports and Other Programs and Policies That Address the Root Causes of Health Inequities. This Funding Opportunity Will Support Establishing a Division-wide Health Equity Unit, Building Health Equity Capacity Across State and Local Public Health Authorities, Enhancing the Public Health Workforce With a Specific Emphasis on Rural and Frontier Jurisdictions, and Investing in Policy and Practice Strategies to Improve the Root Causes of Health Inequities, Including Education, Housing and Transportation Through the Implementation of the Healthier Together Oregon Plan.