Christen McCurdy

Health Reform Dependent on Good Information Technology, Says Abby Sears

February 4, 2013 -- Healthcare reform – at both the state and federal level – won't be possible unless clinics and providers have good, up-to-date information on their patients. That in turn won't be possible without good information technology and appropriate supports, said Abigail Sears, CEO of the Oregon Community Health Information Network.

Feb 5, 2013

County's Annual Homeless Count Wraps Up

February 4, 2013 – It will be months before local officials have compiled all the data from Multnomah County's biennial homeless count, which wrapped up Saturday – but the results of the count will have implications for social services throughout the area for the next two years or longer. Conducting the count is a necessary condition to receiving $12 million for services in the area, including federal funds for homeless services, said Kristina Smock, an independent consultant who was hired on behalf of 211 info and the city of Portland to coordinate the street count.

Feb 5, 2013

Dr. Ira Byock Urges Portland Audience to Talk About End-of-Life Care

January 30, 2013 -- Dr. Ira Byock, a professor of medicine at Dartmouth College and writer on end-of-life and palliative care issues, talked to a packed house at the Oregon Humanities Center in downtown Portland about an unlikely topic for Friday night entertainment: death.

Jan 30, 2013

Prescriptions for Lethal Medications Under Death With Dignity Act Have Increased Slightly

January 24, 2013 – The number of prescriptions for lethal medications – allowable for terminally ill patients under the Death With Dignity Act – and the number of deaths attributable to lethal overdose from the medications was up only slightly in 2012 versus 2011, but have climbed steadily since the law was implemented in 1998, according to a report released by the Oregon Public Health Division last week.

Jan 24, 2013

Fritz proposes paid sick days ordinance, invites community conversation

Jan 24, 2013

Sen. Jeff Merkley Urges Physicians, Nurses to Raise Their Voices

January 22, 2013 -- According to public opinion polls, U.S. Senators are less well-liked and less well-respected than cockroaches, Sen. Jeff Merkley told a small crowd of physicians, nurses and community members last week. Doctors and nurses, on the other, consistently rank at the top of public opinion polls – so when it comes to public policy, their opinions often hold more sway.

Jan 22, 2013

Public Health Essential to Reducing Healthcare Costs Christen McCurdy Thu, 01/17/2013 - 09:45

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Medicaid Pays for 47 Percent of Children Born in Oregon

January 16, 2013 -- After the Affordable Care Act passed, most states waited before taking action, but Oregon went full speed ahead to transform its healthcare system, said Martin Taylor, director of public policy and member centricity for Care Oregon, at the Transforming Care 2013 conference held by CCO Oregon last week.

Jan 17, 2013

Tricia Tillman Says Diverse Groups Need a Seat at the Table

January 2, 2013 -- Growing up in southwest Portland – and later studying political science at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. – Tricia Tillman didn't realize public health was an occupation, much less the one where she’d end up. “I kind of stumbled into public health,” Tillman said. “I didn't know it was a field at all.”

Jan 9, 2013

Northwest Mothers Milk Bank Meets Fundraising Goal

January 2, 2013 -- The Northwest Mothers Milk Bank is still pressing toward its goal of opening the first human milk processing center in the Northwest – and just completed a matching funds campaign to purchase an automated pasteurizer, said executive co-director Lesley Mondeaux.

Jan 2, 2013