Eastern Oregon Healthy Living Alliance

Mental Health First Aid Program:Since 2016, EOHLA has supported or provided 52 Mental Health First Aid or Youth Mental Health First Aid trainings to 816 teachers, law enforcement, and other public and social service workers through the 12 county EOCCO region. By training respected and trusted public employees who regularly interface with the community, we can provide new and increased avenues for individuals with mental illness and substance use disorders to connect with support programs and services. Adverse life events that can lead to costly crisis situations can be reduced or avoided by providing these trainings to a wide range of individuals across a community.

Integrated Nurse Home Visiting Program: EOHLA and public health and mental health partners of the Integrative Nurse Home Visiting Program (INHVP) aim to support early childhood health and strengthen the parent-child relationship by addressing maternal and caregiver depression. The new service model offers in-home mental health therapy with new and/or expecting moms participating in public health home visiting programs when risk factors for depression have been identified through depression screenings. A series of in-home visits are conducted by the therapist utilizing Child Parent Psychotherapy. Since August 2018, partners launched the program and have been focusing on program development and how to reach more moms in the home. EOHLA coordinates the quarterly learning collaborative to support implementation of the pilot program, which is currently provided in Grant, Morrow, Umatilla, and Malheur counties. Through a HRSA Rural Health Network Development Grant secured in May 2020 in partnership with NEON, the program will expand to Baker, Union, and Wallowa counties and incorporate Community Health Workers.

Healthy, Happy Smiles Program:The program provides free dental screenings, fluoride application, sealants, oral health education, and follow up and referrals with kids identified with urgent dental care needs. The program reaches 5047 school aged students,regardless of insurance status, in 29 schools in four frontier counties in Eastern Oregon, including Baker, Grant, Harney, and Malheur. Through the program we have helped to reduce the cavity rate of school-aged children by 5%.