MEMBER UPDATE

JUNE 2025

OPCA's June newsletter celebrates the passing of House Bill 2385 and includes upcoming trainings, a CHC leadership announcement, and essential information for members to know!

A MESSAGE TO MEMBERS

OPCA's Contract Pharmacy Restrictions Bill Passed by Oregon House

On June 2, the Oregon House repassed House Bill 2385, paving the way for Governor Kotek's signature. Getting HB 2385 over the finish line has been an all-hands-on-deck effort. I want you all to know that your support and engagement were critical to the success of this effort. OPCA is grateful to those who testified (April, Sara, Bernadette, Lisa, Colleen), the many who wrote and submitted testimony (30 FQHCs), those who replied to OPCA's data call (30 FQHCs), the health centers who did direct outreach to their state lawmakers (Central City Concern, Mosaic, Virginia Garcia, Neighborhood Health Center, Northwest Human Services, Winding Waters, Multnomah County, Nehalem Bay, Tillamook County, Valley Family Health Care), and all of you who participated in OPCA's Day at the Capitol. OPCA's lobbyist, Cassie Bruske and Eames Consulting deserve all of our gratitude. Cassie, Hanna, and Lori spent countless hours lobbying on behalf of Oregon's FQHCs. I also want to acknowledge OPCA staff - Erin, Torie, Dani, Talbot, and Danielle all played key roles in the success of HB 2385. In addition to the health center movement, OPCA partnered with the Hospital Association of Oregon on HB 2385. We couldn't have done it without their support and lobbying efforts.

As I reflect on the number of people and organizations that played a role in the passage of HB 2385 I'm remined how critical our collective voice as health center advocates is. We beat PhRMA, its individual members, and their partner organizations that all expended an enormous amount of time, energy and financial resources to fight HB 2385. We were outnumbered and outspent but because of your voices, relationships, and efforts health centers were successful. Please think critically about how you and your health center can grow its advocacy activities and strengthen relationships with lawmakers.

TRAININGS & EVENTS

Providing Care to Patients Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence: Universal Screening

in partnership with the Oregon Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence and OPCA

This webinar will discuss how patients currently experiencing violence may present in healthcare settings, and provide practical takeaways for working with the population. Attendees will hear directly from professionals working in the intersections of health and IPV, learn about partnership opportunities with local resources, and gain tips and tricks for how to practice universal screening with patients.

Contact Joanna Peterson, jpeterson@orpca.org, to learn more.

Oregon HIV PrEP Connect 2025

by Oregon Primary Care Association

Join the HIV/STI Program at the Oregon Primary Care Association as we reconvene stakeholders to learn about important HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) clinical updates and identify evolving opportunities for innovation and collaboration to improve access.

Free CME for participating attendees.

Contact Ashley Allison, aallison@orpca.org, to learn more.

Patient-Centered Primary

Care Home Program (PCPCH) Provider Communication Competency Training

by Oregon Primary Care Association

Do you know about the Oregon Medical Board and PCPCH Standards for Provider Communication Competency Training? Stay in compliance with OPCA's training, and receive a certificate of completion for PCPCH documentation. All healthcare providers are encouraged to attend.

Contact Joanna Peterson, jpeterson@orpca.org, to learn more. Scholarships are available upon request if cost is a barrier to attending.

CMS Emergency

Preparedness Training

in partnership with NWRPCA and OPCA

Session 1: The “All-Hazards” Approach to Risk Assessments and Effective Communications Plans

The all-hazards approach to risk assessment considers disasters and emergencies that may come from a wide range of sources and uses both facility-based and community-based risk assessment to allow a health center to not only develop a more comprehensive approach to risk but the best communications plan to respond to a wide range of events.

Session 2: The Three P’s of Emergency Preparedness and the Importance of Training/Testing

Building on the material covered in the first day of Emergency Preparedness Training, attendees will learn the essential elements of policies, procedures, and protocols before exploring how to effectively test an emergency management plan and train your staff to effectively implement it.

OPPORTUNITIES & UPDATES

Oregon Primary Care Office Update

In September of 2025 a national update of all Auto Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) will be taking place, this includes Federally Qualified Health Centers. The update will include updated census and Uniform Data System (UDS) data and as a result all Auto HPSA sites will receive an updated HPSA score. The Oregon Primary Care Office (PCO) staff are preparing for these updates to take place and will be providing technical assistance to communities and clinics who have concerns regarding the updated HPSA score.

If your site has concerns, please reach out to:

Liza Root, HPSA Specialist, liza.root@odhsoha.oregon.gov, or
Deepti Shinde, PCO Director, DEEPTI.SHINDE@oha.oregon.gov.

Join the BeNCH Study:

Shape the Future of Behavioral Health Care!

Are you a leader at a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) looking to drive meaningful change in behavioral health care? The BeNCH Study (website), a 5-year research project funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), is seeking to connect.

What is BeNCH?

BeNCH will survey clinical delivery sites from >1,100 FQHCs nationwide to assess behavioral health services delivery and integration. It will also identify key factors (including state policies) that promote robust and sustainable behavioral health services and evaluate how this impacts access to care and outcomes for Medicaid enrollees. Eligible primary care sites complete a ~20 minute survey with a $50 incentive for the respondent’s time.

How will this benefit my CHC?

The overarching goal of this work is to demonstrate the value that health centers are creating for state Medicaid programs through enhanced behavioral health service delivery and novel models of integrated care. FQHCs will receive benchmarking data on how their organizations compare to similar FQHCs regionally and nationally in integration and outcomes for Medicaid enrollees, which can be used for grantmaking and strategic planning. Partnering organizations will have the opportunity to help shape the interpretation of the results of this study and craft messages for dissemination to policy-makers and other stakeholders for advocacy.

Get Involved Today!

Ensure your FQHC’s representation in this critical study. You can schedule a meeting with the PI, Dr. Amber Sabbatini, on her virtual calendar if you are interested in learning more. Otherwise, you can also submit your information on our website and a member of the team will get back with you with more details.

Oregon Dual-Language

Prescription Label Requirements

Information for Prescribers

What is it?

Dual-language prescription labels in English and one of at least 14 additional languages: Amharic, Arabic, Burmese, Chinese (simplified), Farsi, Korean, Nepali, Pashtu, Romanian, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, and Vietnamese.

Required by Oregon law to be provided by pharmacies
Can be requested by anyone on the patient's behalf, including prescribers

Why is it important?

Improve:

Medication adherence
Treatment outcomes
Common understanding among patients, caretakers, and first responders who may need to reference medication instructions

Reduce:

Miscommunications
Misunderstandings of prescriptions
Adverse effects
Increased healthcare costs
Unnecessary ER visits and hospitalizations

What should CHCs do?

Request via your EMR software when prescribing medication
Some EMRs may require updating
Check with your practice - your EHR functionality may vary
Review language access with patients and encourage use of these services
Discuss implementation with pharmacists and pharmacy staff

Access Resources Here

Oregon Board of Pharmacy: Dual Language Labeling and Required Signage
Dual Language Labeling Sign for posting at pharmacies
OHA: Limited English Proficiency (LEP) and Accessibility Requirements for Oregon Pharmacies, Effective Jan. 1, 2021
"I Speak" Cards

Contact oregonsmartlaw@ohsu.edu to learn more

NEWSLETTERS & BLOG

Operations Leaders Newsletter

HR Leaders Newsletter

Supporting Resilient Care Teams

In continuation of our efforts to raise awareness about mental health, OPCA's blog is exploring the connection between well-being and workforce resilience. The ability to cope with stress and change in healthy ways, enabling problem-solving and effective care, is a vital trait to possess in community health settings. This blog post highlights the importance of supporting workforce resilience to sustain our health care system in delivering comprehensive, high-quality patient care. You’ll learn:

What is workforce resilience?
The experience of FQHC, White Bird Clinic, in supporting its staff and workforce challenges.
How OPCA's Workforce Development Manager can support CHCs

Read Blog

CHC HAPPENINGS & IN THE NEWS

New CHC Leadership Announcement

Siskiyou Community Health Center is thrilled to announce the appointment of Eric Van Houten as its new Chief Executive Officer. Eric brings over two decades of healthcare administration experience in Oregon. He will commence his service with Siskiyou on June 2, 2025.

Read Announcement