Karibu Stabilization Program

CareOregon invested $905,000 of the $1.2 million in development costs for Central City Concern’s new Karibu Stabilization Program. Karibu offers housing support and clinical services and is designed for those involved in the criminal justice system or at risk of such involvement. We’re also providing about $400,000 annually for ongoing clinical services. Karibu moved to its new home, on Southeast Powell Boulevard, in early 2023. It plans to offer onsite, supportive housing for as many as 20 program participants.

“Karibu” – pronounced “kah-REE-boo and meaning “welcome” in Swahili – offers an approach that is inclusive, culturally specific and unique in Oregon. “This program is filling a critical gap in our social safety net,” says Jill Archer, CareOregon Vice President of Behavioral Health. A wholly Black/African American staff serves Black/African American clients with their housing, addiction recovery and mental health needs.

Housing needs on north coast

A measure of housing relief is underway in Warrenton. Trillium House at Chelsea Gardens (pictured at top), with 42 affordable units, broke ground in June 2022. Columbia Pacific CCO awarded $400,000 to the Northwest Oregon Housing Authority for the project’s early funding needs. This, the inaugural grant from our Regional Housing Impact Fund, was part of our $1.67 million overall contribution to the fund in 2022. The project plans to welcome residents in June 2023.

Columbia Pacific also co-sponsored a housing summit that focused on adding a range of housing – from permanent supportive to workforce – in Clatsop, Columbia and Tillamook counties. Health care employers have found it hard to recruit employees due to the scarcity of housing.

Permanent supportive housing in Jackson County

Housing is a top priority of the Jackson Care Connect Board of Directors, with permanent supportive housing identified as the biggest need. Our 2022 efforts include housing-related services for fire survivors, grants to community nonprofits, and funds to support members at the 28-unit Rogue Ridge Apartments in Ashland. This permanent supportive housing complex – owned by ColumbiaCare, our nonprofit behavioral health partner – serves low-income, unhoused local citizens who are expected to especially benefit from the enriched environment.

“We asked our community partners and local stakeholders what they saw as Jackson County’s greatest needs for housing,” says Leslie Ford, JCC Housing Strategy and Development Advisor. “Although there are needs across the whole housing spectrum, we heard loud and clear that the biggest need is supportive housing.”

And we didn’t stop with our own network. We advocated for Oregon Health Authority to take a similar step for CCOs statewide. And, under Rep. Rob Nosse’s (D-Portland) leadership, the Oregon Legislature approved higher rates overall for Medicaid behavioral health in the next biennium.

The need for a statewide solution was clear in a September 2022 report by OHSU-PSU School of Public Health, OHA and Oregon Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission. They found that Oregon faced a 49% gap between available substance use disorder services and the demand for these services. The gap cut across the behavioral health system: prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery services.

Our focus in 2022

CareOregon targeted three areas: mitigating the staffing crisis, building capacity for the long term, and filling holes in the system.

We had the financial capacity to bolster the behavioral health system because, during the worst of the pandemic, members used fewer health care services. As a community-based nonprofit, we were able to reinvest that money to benefit our members, the health care system and community health.

Our teams and partners were clear about high-priority needs. An immense shortage of behavioral health workers was a major issue. The shortages touched masters-level counselors, psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, case managers, peer support specialists, certified alcohol and drug counselors, and staff at residential programs.

“Substance use is a huge driver of long-term health problems,” says Jill Archer, MSW, MBA and Vice President, Behavioral Health at CareOregon. “The more we can support treatment, access to medications, and recovery support, the greater ability we have to improve the health of our members.”

Our investments were wide-ranging. To support our network providers in our Ride to Care nonemergent medical transportation (NEMT) program, we invested $1.7 million (and another $2.6 million for 2023) to offset rising fuel costs and support livable wages. Some $2 million went toward helping medical offices implement electronic medical records. The examples go on; here are several more:

Washington County’s Center for Addictions Triage and Treatment (CATT)

CareOregon invested $7.6 million toward the CATT, Washington County’s first center for substance use treatment. Jill Archer, our Vice President of Behavioral Health and a CATT steering committee member, expects that about seven of 10 people who turn to the center will be covered by CareOregon’s behavioral health benefit.

When the campus opens by 2025, its range of services – provided by CODA – will include sobering, withdrawal management, supportive housing, peer drop-in services, and residential and outpatient treatment.

Bridge Clinic: LifeWorks, OHSU and CareOregon

We invested in the opening of the Bridge Clinic, a collaboration with LifeWorks NW and Oregon Health & Science University (three team members pictured above). The clinic is designed for youth covered by the Oregon Health Plan who are returning to the community after being in a hospital or other higher level of care. Bridge Clinic is meeting the need for quick access to brief outpatient psychiatric care for youth, while training the next generation of child psychiatry providers in community mental health.

“Gaps in care create high-risk moments for people who have complicated illnesses, who have experienced a recent behavioral health crisis or who are transitioning back to the community from hospitals and residential programs,” says Ajit Jetmalani, MD, Director, OHSU Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. “This collaboration … is an example of how people working together can solve challenges creatively to the benefit of the people we serve.”

True Colors

Our $1.2 million grant, paid over two years, covers the inaugural two years of operational costs for the state’s first organization dedicated to members of the LGBTQ+ community, age 18 years and older, who are in recovery from substance use. True Colors opened Oct. 1 as a nonprofit in Northeast Portland, drawing on technical support from 4D Recovery. Programming includes certified recovery mentors, a community center that’s open daily, and chances for civic engagement.

“The launch of True Colors is truly a time for celebration,” says 4D Recovery Executive Director Tony Vezina. “CareOregon is making a serious step forward in creating access to recovery for the LGBTQ+ community, and I applaud them.”

Harm reduction at OHSU

Amid rising rates of drug overdoses, CareOregon awarded OHSU a $700,000 grant, paid over two years, to fund a harm reduction nurse, as well as supplies such as naloxone. Using a trauma-informed and nonjudgmental approach, the nurse visits select patients at bedside, asking about their substance use practices, concerns and treatment goals. The intent is to reduce the risk of overdose and other harms. The role also assists nursing staff – thus building capacity to work with patients affected by drug and alcohol use – and is a partner to the OHSU Improving Addiction Care Team (IMPACT) that CareOregon and OHSU Health IDS support.

CareOregon Boys & Girls Club at Rockwood

Our $2 million, 10-year partnership with the Boys & Girls Club of Portland Metropolitan Area took shape in 2022. To build a stronger Rockwood, we invested in the four other community-based organizations on the campus of the club, which was renamed “CareOregon Boys & Girls Club at Rockwood.” Other investments included:

Latino Network: $250,000 for La Plaza Esperanza, a new facility on campus that will offer wraparound services in health, family counseling, wellness and immigration support; culturally specific preschool and youth programs; and gathering and meeting spaces.

New Avenues for Youth: $50,000 to hire an additional after-hours crisis services coordinator, who will provide immediate crisis intervention and stabilization for youth 9-17 years old, then help them make a personalized plan for the future. Beyond our substantial financial support, employees volunteered on multiple projects at the Club, including creating a welcoming outdoor gardening area.

Traditional health workers

Traditional health workers offer frontline support for health-related social needs, often in culturally appropriate ways. CareOregon realized it was time to move from our previous short-term grants to sustainable reimbursements for this workforce. But how?

To devise a new payment model, we engaged with eight community-based organizations in a grant-supported collaboration. The result of these meetings: a mutually agreeable mechanism for reimbursing a network of community health workers and peer support and wellness specialists.

“We are having more and more demands on the health system to address social needs,” says Ifeoma Muoto, Director for Community Health Partnerships for CareOregon Metro. “Traditional health workers are the social health workforce. That’s why this program is critical.”

Food insecurity

Feeding America estimates that one in 10 Oregonians faces hunger. To help address this staggering need, CareOregon invested in multiple community-based organizations that increase access to healthy foods where our members live and work. Our 2022 partnerships included:

The Community for Positive Aging: $25,000 to provide culturally specific foods and case management support to older Asian community members

Growing Gardens: $25,000 to promote gardening in low-income and BIPOC communities to create an equitable and healthy local food system

Zenger Farm: $25,000 to support access to its CSA Partnerships for Health program (Community Supported Agriculture), which provides food to uninsured families in North and outer Southeast Portland.

Healthy Start Block Party

August can be intense for families as they squeeze back-to-school preparations into their schedules and budgets. To help set up students for academic success and ease pressure on parents and grandparents, Jackson Care Connect and the Medford School District co-organized the Healthy Start Block Party.

Social service agencies, youth groups and health care partners offered dental screenings and fluoride varnishes, scheduled well child visits, administered COVID-19 vaccines, distributed food boxes, gave out school supplies and offered haircuts. The block party drew more than 1,200 attendees, far more than expected.

The 90% response rate to our yearly engagement survey gives leaders the confidence that it indicates what employees care about most. A top message, says Meredith Green, Vice President, People and Culture: “Flexibility and time off were important.”

In response, the board suggested sabbaticals. HR developed a flexible, scaled program available to those with at least five years at CareOregon. Eligible staff were invited to apply starting Jan. 1, 2022. The program was a hit. In this first year, 33 staff members and 27 leaders (from supervisors on up) took advantage of the partially compensated career hiatus.

Flexibility also included a greater geographic range for remote work. In 2022 we began allowing staff to work from anywhere in Washington state.

We ramped up our All Staff meetings, supported our new Employee Resource Groups, embraced the return of the Portland Rose Festival, and celebrated the re-opening of the 315 Building with an August staff party (pictured below) at Castaway, an event space in Northwest Portland.

Another initiative, the Aspiring Leader program, is an answer to strong employee interest in more pathways to career growth. The 12-to-18-month program focuses on developing skills involved in being an effective people leader. Its first cohort graduated in 2022 – helping ensure a strong future for CareOregon.

“The Aspiring Leader program offers a lot of flexibility and support from mentors and your leaders. I was able to tailor the program to fit where I most wanted to grow,” says Heather Oberst, Community Engagement Manager, Columbia Pacific CCO and member of the first Aspiring Leader cohort. “I felt very ready to step into leading people in a way that feels right to me.”