News & Stories for Oregonians
For families experiencing homelessness, finding a safe place to live is only one part of what they need. Parents and young children also face stress, uncertainty, and trauma that can affect their emotional health and development. A new partnership Oregon Health Authority (OHA) is partnering with Morrison Child and Family Services and Path Home on […]
Vaccine guidance The governors of Oregon, California, Hawaii and Washington formed the West Coast Health Alliance (WCHA) to safeguard scientific expertise and vaccine access for people living in those states. Find full details about their vaccination guidance in the WCHA 2025–2026 Respiratory Virus Season Immunization Recommendations. COVID 19 Infants and children: The WCHA recommends that […]
As a primary care nurse practitioner (NP), Lisa Whitfield had difficulty finding mental health support for her patients, so she decided to gain the education and training to help fill the gap in mental health services she saw in her community. Whitfield enrolled at Gonzaga University to complete her mental health certification, which required completing […]
For one Oregon family living outside of Roseburg, life as they knew it took a tumultuous turn when their 20-year-old son began experiencing symptoms of early psychosis. (To protect the family’s privacy, this article will refer to the parent as “Michelle.”) “I felt totally blindsided,” Michelle said. “We didn’t know what it was or how […]
When Carli Cox picks up the phone, she never knows who will be on the other end, but she knows why she’s answering. As a Crisis Intervention Specialist for the Senior Loneliness Line, Cox is one of the voices providing support to older people in Oregon facing behavioral health challenges, including loneliness. “The Senior Loneliness […]
Available in Spanish BestCare Treatment Services, the largest substance use disorder (SUD) treatment provider in Central Oregon, has used Measure 110 funding to expand its work in several ways, including expanding outreach capabilities, improving coordinated care with other providers and growing its transitional housing capacity. Passed by Oregon voters in 2020, Measure 110 connects people […]
It’s the season for long, dark days. In Oregon, those days are longer and darker than many places in the United States. Today, Dec. 21, is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Across Oregon, on average, we will enjoy just under nine hours of daylight today. That’s about seven hours less […]
Actualizado el 25 de noviembre de 2024 para reflejar el horario ajustado de la Línea de Ayuda para Personas Mayores con Sentimientos de Soledad de Oregon. Este artículo contiene los comentarios de lectores que respondieron a la encuesta sobre cómo afrontan la soledad. OHA agradece a todos los que contribuyeron con sus historias. En 2019, […]
Updated Nov. 25, 2024, to reflect adjusted details for the Senior Loneliness Line of Oregon. Available in Spanish This article contains notes from Oregon Health News readers who responded to our survey about how they cope with loneliness. OHA warmly thanks everyone who generously wrote in. We’ve included many of your thoughtful responses throughout this […]
A conversation with Jill Baker, OHA Youth Suicide Prevention coordinator, on how to identify and help someone in crisis In 2021, the most recent year for which we have data, suicide was the second leading cause of death in Oregon among people under 25. Oregon began tracking youth suicide data in 1999, when youth suicide […]