In August, the Oregon Health Authority released its Strategic plan 2024-2027, with ambitious goals around transforming behavioral health and eliminating health disparities in the state.
In a letter introducing the plan, Sejal Hathi, MD, MBA, director of the Oregon Health Authority, said OHA is committed to the following five pillars of goals:
• Transforming behavioral health: Building a behavioral health system that
It works for all children, adolescents, adults and families who suffer from mental illness or
the use of harmful substances through integrated, coordinated and culturally-based expansion
Responsive behavioral health services when and where people need them,
Guided by people with lived experience.
• Strengthen access to affordable health care for all: guarantee 100 percent
People in Oregon have easy access to affordable health care, prioritizing
communities most affected by health inequalities.
• Promote healthy families and environments: Promote healthy families
and environments that equitably promote health and well-being, especially
among the communities most affected by health inequalities. Do this
Expand access to: 1) preventive health services and supports, including
for new parents and families before and after birth; 2) safe and accessible
housing; 3) healthy food and nutrition; and 4) climate resilience.
• Achieving healthy tribal communities: honoring relationships
with Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes, Urban Indian Health
Program and other health partners, OHA is committed to supporting the latest
The goal is to achieve healthy tribal communities. This empowers tribal communities.
individuals, families and communities throughout Oregon to achieve optimal development
Health and wellness across a fully funded and entrenched continuum of care
in traditional and culturally specific practices.
• Develop OHA’s internal capacity and commitment to eliminate
Health inequalities: Establishing, maintaining and resourcing internally
infrastructure and accountability mechanisms necessary to recognize,
reconcile and repair racism and other forms of discrimination and
oppression that undermines health, well-being and opportunities
People all over Oregon.
Hathi said the plan includes outcome measures that OHA will use to hold itself accountable. “We chose these metrics because we believe that if we improve Oregon’s performance in these areas, while simultaneously reducing disparities within them, we will see positive cascading effects on other health indicators in our communities. As a result, Oregon will move closer to our goal of eliminating health disparities by 2030.”
OHA will launch a public website to showcase key measures used to track progress on the strategic plan.
The agency will track the prevalence of preventable diseases, whether people of all income levels can access affordable, quality health care, and the extent to which communities experiencing systemic marginalization can access behavioral health services. It will review aggregated and disaggregated data on race, ethnicity, language, and disability (REALD) and sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) on health care access and outcomes to analyze trends and inform our work. And we will monitor how specific factors like racism, bias, and oppression affect access to care.
