Senate panel hears push for $5 million to expand Oregon public-health workforce training

Senators on the Senate Committee on Health Care heard testimony Jan. 28 that Senate Bill 161 would direct $5 million to statewide partners to sustain and expand training and scholarships for community health workers, community paramedics and local public-health staff.

Supporters said the bill would continue work launched with a $1.5 million federal HRSA grant that trained hundreds of Oregonians for public-health roles and that the funding is needed as the grant expires in July.

Why it matters: Testifiers told the committee that Oregon faces chronic vacancies in mission-critical local public-health positions, worsening after the COVID-19 pandemic, and that community-based recruitment and scholarships are key to filling roles—especially in rural counties where housing and credential gaps impede hiring.

Sarah Lochner, executive director of the Oregon Coalition of Health Officials (CLO), told the committee CLO used a $1.5 million, three-year HRSA grant to provide scholarships and supports and has trained participants from 35 of Oregon’s 36 counties. “We have actually trained folks from 35 of Oregon’s 36 counties,” she said.

Madison Reithman, who oversees CLO’s Healthy Rural Oregon project, said the federal grant provided nearly 400 scholarships across 65 programs, including community health worker (CHW) certificates, EMT/paramedic training, medical and dental assistant programs and continuing education in behavioral health, birth/postpartum support and end-of-life care. She said wraparound supports—travel, childcare, licensing fees—were part of the program and that the grant ends in July.

Janine Smart, executive director of the Oregon Community Health Workers Association (ORCHWA), described CHWs as “often unseen though awe-inspiring superheroes” who work across clinical and community settings. Smart said CHWs earned more recognition in recent OHA contracting with coordinated care organizations, and she urged the committee to fund training, continuing education and professional-development pathways that lower financial barriers for CHWs.

Sabrina Belew, chair of the Oregon Mobile Integrated Healthcare Coalition and manager of Mercy Flights’ MIH program, said community paramedic and mobile integrated health programs reduce emergency calls and hospital admissions by meeting patients at home for chronic-disease management and preventive care. She told senators workforce development and retention, including continuing education and career-advancement pathways, remain pressing gaps.

Wasco County Commissioner Phil Brady, testifying for the Association of Oregon Counties, said county public-health programs are the local public-health authority and face “chronic vacancies in mission critical positions.” He said SB 161’s mix of scholarships, training reimbursements and student-loan repayment would help “home grow” local workforces and recruit staff who will live in and serve rural communities.

Committee members asked about program scale, administrative overhead and how funds translate into certificates or licensure. Witnesses said the 2022 HRSA grant funded more than 400 unique trainees (including roughly 30 EMTs), that training costs vary widely by credential, and that most funding went to education and wraparound supports rather than administration. CLO estimated a single project manager per awarded organization at roughly $150,000 per year for outreach and administration.

The panel closed the public hearing on SB 161 to take up other bills. The proposers asked the committee to approve the bill so that three statewide organizations can continue and scale training, scholarships and retention incentives when federal grant funds end in July.

Votes at a glance: No formal motion or committee vote was recorded in the transcript for SB 161 during this hearing.