State Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Scio, shown at the Oregon State of Reform Health Policy Conference on Nov. 14, 2023 in Portland. Diehl is sponsoring a bill to overhaul the state’s health care professional licensing process. (Left) State. Rep. Rob Nosse, D-Portland, and (right) Rep. Thuy Tran, D-Portland.
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JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT
Legislation intended to provide a short-term fix for staffing shortages has turned into an effort to dig into oft-cited problems in Oregon’s certification agencies
CareOregon leaders stood to win big, but a review said the public interest would suffer if the nonprofit merged with California-based SCAN Group. Proponents don't agree.
Feb 20
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Lucas Coghill, 9, plays the PAX Good Behavior Game during class at Fern Hill Elementary School in Forest Grove, Ore., Nov. 9, 2023. The game focuses on helping students identify and encourage positive “PAX” behaviors and avoid “spleems” as part of daily classroom management.
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KRISTYNA WENTZ-GRAFF/OPB/THE LUND REPORT
New psychiatric, rehabilitation and long-term care facilities must prove their services are needed, but critics and supporters disagree on the certification system’s effects
Feb 15
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Many counterfeit pills containing fentanyl are indistinguishable from oxycodone.
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U.S. DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION
The agency says the money would allow it to better oversee a new law approved in 2023, but prevention experts say the department should rethink its approach
Hospital behavioral health units are chronic money losers because insurers fail to cover the full cost of care
Feb 13
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A cake that was served at the grand opening of the Recovery Works NW detox in Southeast Portland on Aug. 18, 2023. The withdrawal management facility was funded through Measure 110.
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EMILY GREEN/THE LUND REPORT
Both sides of Oregon’s drug decriminalization debate are citing statistics to draw opposite conclusions, sometimes irresponsibly
Feb 8
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Oregon Senate leaders spoke to reporters about their priorities for a 2024 legislative session expected to focus on addressing housing and behavioral health. From left: Senate Minority Leader Tim Knopp, Senate President Rob Wagner and Senate Majority Leader Kate Lieber.
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JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT
Despite recent investments of more than $1.5 billion into Oregon’s behavioral health system, the state falls far short of what it needs to meet demand for treatment, according to a new report
How meth is sabotaging Oregon's behavioral health system
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SHUTTERSTOCK
Read our two-part series about how — despite a windfall of new funding — the state has no plan to address the 'new meth' that is overwhelming behavioral health providers and inflaming ongoing crises across the state.
State inaction left Oregon teens vulnerable to fentanyl’s fatal spread
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A student at Harmony Academy, a high school for teens in recovery, told The Lund Report he didn't realize he was smoking fentanyl until his parent had him tested. He thought the pills he was buying were oxycodone.
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EMILY GREEN/THE LUND REPORT
A lack of prevention, education and youth addiction programs opened the door to tragedy as dealers added the potent opioid to local drug markets