Programs We Support
The purpose of the Columbia Gorge Health Council is to serve connect community members, providers, and agencies to serve the needs of the poor and vulnerable.
Here are some of the amazing programs that the Columbia Gorge Health Council support!
Bridges to Health Pathways Program
Bridges to Health (B2H) is a cross-sector, collaborative approach to providing community care coordination.
The primary goals of B2H are:
1. Empower community members most in need to improve their overall health and well-being
2. Improve access to services and resources by addressing disparities in our systems
3. Increase collaboration of services in and out of healthcare
Bridges to Health is the regional implementation of the Pathways model serving Hood River and Wasco Counties. Pathways is a model that enables a centralized HUB to coordinate, track and measure both the process and the resources to provide distributed community care coordination to people served. Pathways ties payments to milestones that improve client’s health and well-being.
“Community Health Workers help translate people to systems and systems to people. They help people understand how to navigate complicated systems and they help systems understand how to better serve the individuals they work with”- Suzanne Cross, Snr. Program Manager
Community Health Workers (CHW’s), also called Community Care Coordinators are employed by local agencies (hospitals, clinics, schools, social service agencies). They help coordinate needed services for clients & their households. Agencies contract with the Pathways HUB to get paid when evidence-based outcomes are met.
Finding the Right FIT – Knight Cancer Institute Grant Funded Project
Colon cancer is preventable and beatable when caught early. Colon cancer screening in the Gorge for Medicaid clients is below the Oregon state average and below commercially insured clients.
A new at-home test called Fecal Immunochemical Tests or FIT kits lets users take poop samples for testing to detect colon cancer.
This project is to identify which FIT kits are the most usable for community members and providers.
In the long run, we expect that this community-wide effort to create and align core health system resources will lay the groundwork for a pragmatic research trial of a multi-faceted, systematic approach to improve rates of colon cancer screening across our community.
This project will allow us to achieve the following objectives:
Use clinician and community member input to identify and recommend one or a few FIT kits and processing methods for implementation across primary care clinics in the region
Perform an inventory of current primary care clinic workflows, resources and barriers to initiating and completing the screening process
Create and execute a series of educational events with primary care and colonoscopy providers in the community to share and receive feedback on medical evidence and recommendations around colon cancer screening as well as implementation information about FIT kits and processing options. We believe this will mostly improve clinician knowledge about the effectiveness of FIT testing when implemented using a high sensitivity test and systematic follow up processes.
Increase basic community awareness of colon cancer screening through press releases about this project to radio and print outlets in the region
The overall result of this project will be an increase in colorectal cancer screening in our region, especially for populations that are currently under screened. The outcomes of this particular Tier II grant project over the next 12 months will be:
One or a small number of FIT kits and processing methods for will be endorsed by the CAP and CAC for implementation across primary care clinics in the region
A completed inventory of current primary care clinic workflows, resources and barriers related to colon cancer screening
Primary care clinicians and local colonoscopy providers will have a shared and accurate knowledge of medical evidence and recommendations around colon cancer screening as well as implementation information about FIT kits and processing options
An assessment, based on Oregon Health Plan claims data, of the change in screening rates or trends associated with these interventions across 2-3 primary care clinics in the region.
MARC – Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities
Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities (MARC) is a two year grant project sponsored by the Health Federation of Philadelphia and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the California Endowment. The Columbia Gorge Health Council and the Core Management Team for Creating Sanctuary in the Columbia River Gorge partnered to develop the successful MARC Project proposal to expand the Movement to Create Sanctuary in the Columbia River Gorge.
This effort began in 2011 when the Core Management Team established a collaborative effort to Rescript the Future of the Community through the science of trauma and resilience. Since that time nearly 1000 people within this small region have been trained in the concepts of trauma informed care, specific trauma responsive programming, and/or the Sanctuary Model. In 2014, the Consortium to Create Sanctuary in the Columbia River Gorge was conceived and in 2015, a formal partnership between the Consortium and CGHC was forged for the implementation of the MARC Project.
The MARC Project will continue the expansion of these efforts to transform communities and service systems by engaging the Health Care and Justice Systems and initiating Trauma Screening processes, tools, and data collection methods.
