Oregon families and communities continue to face new and increasingly complex public health threats. As such, the demands on Oregon’s public health system have increased and will continue to do so in the future – severe weather events and wildfires; algae blooms and access to clean drinking water; the opioid overdose epidemic; and additional emerging communicable diseases, including Ebola, Monkeypox, and highly pathogenic avian influenza, continue to grow and threaten the health of every Oregonian. 

“Because of the 2019 legislative investment in public health modernization, Lane County entered into the COVID-19 pandemic with a dedicated communicable disease epidemiologist. Following the 2021 investment, we created two regular positions for communication,” said Jocelyn Warren, public health administrator, Lane County Health & Human Services

“Those additional positions meant we were able to make data visualizations updated daily available on our website, use data to make decisions about where to focus messaging and vaccination efforts, and create communications that were responsive to community needs,” said Warren.

Building on the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic, Local Public Health Authorities (LPHAs) are initiating and expanding interventions to prevent communicable disease, address the opioid crisis, plan for climate resilience, and engage communities to prepare for emerging health threats. In order to continue this critical work, however, additional investment is needed from the state to ensure local public health has an adequate workforce to prevent, collaborate, and respond to emerging public health threats. 

The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) estimates an additional $276 million in state General Fund is necessary in the 2023-25 biennium to implement its priorities, which includes building critical capacity within the governmental public health system and with community-based organizations and other partners, and continuing progress toward eliminating health inequities in Oregon. As of July 2022, $100 million of the total $276 million requested through OHA’s Agency Requested Budget (ARB) is slated for local public health. Please reach out to the governor’s office to support this full amount be included in the Governor’s Requested Budget (GRB). 

Read the full Public Health Modernization: Funding Report to Legislative Fiscal Office here. 

Contributed by: Sarah Lochner | Oregon Coalition of Local Health Officials &  Jessica Pratt | Legislative Affairs Manager