(Portland, OR) The new director of Oregon Health Authority (OHA), Sejal Hathi, MD, MBA, recently spent time on the northern coast to learn firsthand from local leaders, providers and advocates about the challenges facing people in the area.
“Geographic equity is critical to health equity. Everyone deserves access to quality healthcare no matter where they live,” said Dr. Hathi. “Yet that’s made difficult when even some basic services, from a stable internet connection to safe drinking water, are not consistently available – while statewide challenges, from workforce shortages to unaffordable housing, are just as real.”
Health and behavioral health leaders expressed their appreciation that Dr. Hathi was taking the time to learn about the varying needs across the state.
“It’s really easy to get ensconced in the Willamette Valley perspective and the state is so much bigger than that. All the various communities, we have our own strengths, our own uniqueness, that make this place really special to us,” said Amy Baker, Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare’s executive director. “We’re going to solve problems in different ways depending on the strengths of our partnerships and existing resources. I think the only way you can really get a feel for that is if you come to the local community and hear about it.”
Dr. Hathi ended her time in Astoria with a behind-the-scenes tour of Clatsop Community Action’s shelter, Columbia Inn, which opened in October 2023. The emergency shelter provides accommodations to individuals on one side of the facility and space for families with children on the other side. Clatsop County has the largest rate of homelessness per capita in the state.
Dr. Hathi will spend the next several months visiting all major regions in Oregon – meeting with and talking to community leaders, health care providers, Tribal leaders, local public health officials, and non-profit partners about their biggest needs from the state and the state health agency – to ensure those are represented and addressed as she shapes the agency’s next chapter.