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The US remains a grim leader in preterm births. Why? And can we fix it?

These births coincide with high rates of maternal and infant death, billions of dollars in care costs, and often lifelong disabilities for the children who survive

Mar 16, 2023

Patients fill in their answers to the prompt, “I dream to someday…” in a hallway at the Oregon State Hospital in Salem, March 8, 2023. | KRISTYNA WENTZ-GRAFF/OPB

Oregon doesn’t have enough treatment or housing for people with mental illness

OPB takes a look at two profound problems in Oregon’s mental health care system, as well as two promising solutions

Mar 16, 2023

A sign on top a fire engine reads "save our legacy mount hood family birth center.

Activists on Feb. 13, 2023, protested the proposed closure of Mount Hood Family Birth Center in Gresham. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

State threatens ‘regulatory actions’ if Legacy closes Gresham hospital maternity unit without approval

Citing red ink, Legacy plans to push ahead with closure of the facility despite state concerns and newly introduced legislation

Mar 15, 2023
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Wildfire smoke filling the Willamette Valley in September 2017. | U.S. FOREST SERVICE

Portland-area air quality getting worse, annual report card shows

New data released from IQAir shows smoke from wood stoves and pollution caused by other sources can also be a problem during the winter

Mar 15, 2023
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MARCELO IKEDA TCHELÃO/PIXABAY

Illegal substances are part of addiction problem in Oregon, but alcohol is biggest killer

PROBLEM: Roughly one in five Oregonians has a substance use disorder

Mar 15, 2023

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Seniors with anxiety frequently don’t get help. Here’s why

Only about one-third of seniors with generalized anxiety disorder receive treatment despite links to stroke, heart failure and other problems

Mar 14, 2023

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Oregon lawmakers consider bill to boost community-based mental health treatment beds

An estimated $271 million could create nearly 600 residential beds to treat Oregonians with substance use or mental health disorders

Mar 14, 2023
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Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, and two Oregon Health & Science University physicians, Dr. Maria Rodriguez and Dr. Alison Edelman (far right), give a news conference on the abortion pill in southeast Portland on March 12, 2023. | LYNNE TERRY/OREGON CAPITAL CHRONICLE

Wyden, Rosenblum vow to fight expected ruling this week against abortion pill

Oregon’s senior U.S. senator, a Democrat, and the state’s attorney general say they will do everything possible to keep the abortion pill on the market

Mar 14, 2023

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Feds move to rein in prior authorization, a system that harms and frustrates patients

Insurers’ requirement of prior approval for patients to receive care has exploded in recent years

Mar 14, 2023

Words of encouragement are added to an anonymous message on a display at the Youth Villages office in Lake Oswego, March 2, 2023. Youth Villages supports kids up to 18 with emotional or behavioral problems through their in-home Intercept program. | KRISTYNA WENTZ-GRAFF/OPB

Oregon kids in crisis are not getting the help they need

PROBLEM: There are not enough beds — or therapists — in the state for children with the most intense needs

Mar 14, 2023

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