Clatsop County public-health staff present draft health equity plan; members press for homelessness, mental-health and provider access to be addressed

Jill Quackenbush of Clatsop County Public Health presented a draft health equity plan to the county’s advisory group, saying the plan implements findings from a 2021 regional health equity assessment and responds to the Oregon Health Authority’s public-health modernization requirements.

Quackenbush said the county’s draft priorities are family support and childcare, youth substance use and building the health department’s internal capacity for culturally responsive, community-engaged work. “The next step is to complete for Clatsop County to complete the required health equity plan, which is essentially playing that assessment into action,” she said.

Why it matters: The health equity plan will guide the county’s public-health priorities and funding under the state modernization framework and is due to the Oregon Health Authority on June 30. The plan could shape how the county addresses upstream factors — childcare, prevention and department practices — that affect health across communities.

Plan background and timeline

Quackenbush described public-health modernization as an…