PORTLAND, ORE. (September 14, 2016) – Following a competitive application process, the Healthy Columbia Willamette Collaborative (HCWC) chose the Oregon Health Care Quality Corporation (Q Corp) to lead the next cycle of work to develop a shared Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), as HCWC releases its 2016 report.
State and Federal law, and accreditation standards require nonprofit hospitals, local public health agencies, and Coordinated Care Organizations (CCOs) to conduct a community health needs assessment as part of their program planning. Community health needs assessments drive strategies to improve community health, and are an important part of fulfilling the mission for each HCWC member organization.
In 2010, Portland-area health care and public health leaders decided it would be more efficient and meaningful if the community were to work together to conduct an assessment for the entire region. The upcoming project cycle, with Q Corp as the convener, represents the third cycle of work for the group.
The HCWC has been a unique opportunity not only to evaluate community needs, but to bring together health care and public health partners across the region to work together on community health issues.
Since the first CHNA was completed in 2013, HCWC members led two community health improvement efforts addressing opioid prescribing and misuse, and breastfeeding/breast milk support. In addition, each of the collaborative members have used the CHNA to identify priorities in their individual community health improvement plans.
The current cycle of work, executed by HCWC member Multnomah County Health Department, concluded with a final report released July 31. The report is available online athttps://multco.us/file/55115/download. In the coming months, Q Corp and the HCWC will work together to disseminate key findings from the report, and share updates on what HCWC members are doing to address the issues surfaced in the report.
“Our next cycle of work on a shared Community Health Needs Assessment will build on the great work that resulted in the 2016 report. As member organizations use this report to inform their community health improvement projects, we hope to find opportunities to collaborate further. We are excited to begin the work of shaping our next report,” said Tricia Mortell, Washington County Public Health Division Manager and HCWC Leadership Group Co-Chair.
“The Healthy Columbia Willamette Collaborative is a great example of shared effort leading to shared benefit. It aims to eliminate duplicative efforts, prioritize some of our region’s most pressing issues, and create a platform for working together to demonstrate improved community health across the region,” said Rachel Burdon, Program Manager for Community Health at Kaiser Permanente, and co-Chair of HCWC.
“We are thrilled to partner with the Healthy Columbia Willamette Collaborative on this incredibly rich and important work,” said Mylia Christensen, Executive Director of Q Corp.
The three-year agreement between Q Corp and HCWC partner organizations began on August 1, 2016.
The Healthy Columbia Willamette Collaborative includes 15 hospitals, four local public health agencies and two Coordinated Care Organizations in the Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties of Oregon and in Clark County, Washington. This unique public-private partnership serves as a platform for collaboration around health improvement plans and activities that leverage collective resources to improve the health and wellbeing of our communities. Previous reports are available online at https://multco.us/healthy-columbia-willamette-collaborative.
Oregon Health Care Quality Corporation is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality and affordability of health care in Oregon by leading community collaborations and producing unbiased information. Q Corp works with the members of our community – including consumers, providers, employers, policymakers and health insurers – to improve the health of all Oregonians. For more information, visit www.Q-Corp.org or follow us at @OR_QualityCare.
