Program Spotlight
Right From The Start promotes health equity for African/African American/Black children in the Portland metro area by supporting Black childcare providers, traditional health workers, and early life professionals in creating holistically healthy learning environments for children ages 0-6. We provide culturally-specific training, technical assistance, and access to resources focused on nutrition and physical activity, breastfeeding support, oral health, social, emotional and mental health, and economic development. Right From the Start is guided by a Coalition, pulling wisdom and directives from a group of partners in childcare, public health, research, government, healthcare, nonprofit and advocacy.
Time spent outdoors can improve health, but not everyone has access to safe, welcoming natural places. Rural communities, communities of color, low-income communities, people with disabilities, and other groups face barriers to spending time in the outdoors and are also more likely to experience health disparities than white, middle- and high-income people. OPHI is a co-founder of the Oregon Health and Outdoors Initiative, which seeks to improve health and the environment for all Oregonians by increasing access to and engagement with nature among communities experiencing inequities.
Tracing Health
Tracing Health is the Oregon Public Health Institute’s and the Public Health Institute’s groundbreaking COVID-19 response program. Tracing Health provides contact tracing, case investigation, resource coordination, epidemiology, data analysis, and vaccine coordination services to public health and healthcare partners. Tracing Health was launched in Washington County, Oregon in the summer of 2020 with a small, multilingual team of dedicated Washington County residents stepping into live-saving contact tracing roles. Tracing Health has grown to include hundreds of diverse staff who partner with public health and healthcare partners in Oregon, Washington, and California. We are building health equity and a stronger public health system by providing quality services, investing in the public health workforce, and creating living-wage jobs.
