Ayudando Podemos is a HRSA funded program serving Hispanic nursing students at Linfield College School of Nursing. In Oregon only 1% of Registered Nurses are Hispanic compared with 10% of Oregon's population being Hispanic. With continued growth in the Hispanic population and with seven out of ten minority students entering Oregon's school system being from Hispanic background, it is critical to address the nursing shortage in this population to better meet the health care needs of our community.

Medicine is one of the last areas of endeavor to fully utilize the potential for sophisticated software support. The CHAMP trial hopes to change that. The Project will test whether a healthcare team of Medical Assistants, Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants and Physicians, using a sophisticated decision-analysis and documentation system, can each work to their maximum level of training and scope of practice. If they can, then many routine problems could be handled by team members other than the physician, thereby optimizing the physician's time for the most complex patients. The Project will determine if this model can increase capacity and achieve better medical outcomes at a lower cost.

The mission of CHEN is to facilitate health care providers and other interested parties in Lane County to come together as an employer consortium with the focus of facilitating interest and promoting capacity building in health related careers, coaching in career pathways and promoting quality education in the field of health care. This website contains links to information on many careers within the health care industry as well as links to employer and training provider websites. Job descriptions, program descriptions and application information are included.

Acumentra Health's Culture & Medicine QI Project assists medical practices in assessing and improving their compliance with standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services. The project provides free educational resources for providers, using a self-paced online curriculum from the federal Office of Minority Health. Although the QI project is no longer recruiting participants, the online curriculum remains available.

HCAP is a new 3-year demonstration project of the Transitions/Transiciones Program at Mt. Hood Community College. The project will a) assist low-income, minority and non-native English speaking women to prepare for successful entry into nursing and other Portland-area healthcare training programs and b) establish a model for dissemination to other Oregon community colleges through a statewide network of Transitions programs.

See website for details on: A map of the rural areas in Oregon eligible for Loan Repayment; Oregon Rural Health Services Loan Repayment Program for those in healthcare training; The Oregon Nursing Services Program; Public Health Nursing Leadership in Oregon; Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program; Physician Incentive Payment Fact Sheet.

Contract education partnerships that increase the number of graduates from Oregon's nursing education programs. Operated in local communities with individual college partners, and soon, a statewide distance learning program in partnership with the Oregon Consortium for Nursing Education.

To address the needs of underserved populations, the Oregon Department of Human Services Office of Health Systems Planning participates in the NHSC program through which certain health care providers are offered scholarships or loan repayments for serving in federally designated Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) in Oregon. As of 10/30/06, there are 67 NHSC placements in 35 cities and 26 counties.

The Oregon Office of Rural Health Recruitment and Retention Program has been helping rural Oregon recruit and retain primary care health care professionals since 1979. Over this period of time, it has become increasingly apparent that recruitment is far larger than individuals and practices; it includes all interested parties. Whole communities are involved in the recruitment of a practitioner and their families — from schools to businesses. We recruit only for rural Oregon and understand that rural communities offer wonderfully unique opportunities for providers to practice and live. We also understand the challenges facing rural communities in competition with urban areas nationally for a shrinking supply of providers. Let us assist you.

OCNE is a collaboration of Oregon nursing programs dedicated to educating future nurses. Faculty from eight community colleges and Oregon Health & Science University School of Nursing have created a shared curriculum taught on all consortium campuses. Through OCNE, students can complete coursework for the Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from OHSU without ever leaving their home campus. Students on community college campuses have the option of completing the associate of applied science degree in nursing and being eligible to sit for the RN licensure exam and/or continuing directly to distance delivered senior level OHSU and other university coursework required for the Bachelor's degree.

In October of 2005, the U.S. Department of Labor awarded $125 million to fund and support workforce training for high growth industries through the nation's community and technical colleges. Oregon received $2.9 million, the third largest of the 70 awards nationwide. OHWP is a unique collaboration of interlinked but locally driven projects capable of serving as a national model to address healthcare training needs. Chemeketa Community College is the lead college for ten regional college project sites involving 13 community colleges as well as 93 workforce system partners, employers and education partners. A total of 5,352 individuals are expected to be served statewide.

Pathways to Advancement is a student-centered, demand-driven statewide initiative. The initiative is focused on increasing the number of Oregonians attaining degrees, certificates and credentials in demand occupations and easing student transitions across the education continuum. Oregon's community colleges are developing model programs that realign curriculum, provide alternative delivery methods as well as flexibility for adults to gain skills and advance in the labor market more quickly to address employer and student needs. Career Pathways approaches in four transition arenas across the education continuum: secondary to postsecondary, pre-college (ABE/GED/ESL/DE) "bridges" to credit postsecondary, postsecondary education for skills upgrading and career changers, and community college to university.

The Office of Health Systems Planning, Oregon's Department of Human Services, runs the Physician Visa Waiver Program. As of May 2007, the program has 57 doctors working in 16 counties to help serve Oregon Health Plan and low income uninsured patients. These international medical graduates, who completed residencies or fellowships in the USA, come from 21 countries and include primary care and sub-specialty positions that could not be filled by American physicians. The program allows Oregon to sponsor 30 J-1 Waiver applications per federal fiscal year; doctors work in federally designated shortage areas. A $2000 application fee to implement and fund the program is paid by clinics where J-1 physicians are placed.

The FCC has launched a website that provides a consolidated source of information about its Rural Health Care Pilot Program. The FCC's pilot program is an innovative, enhanced funding initiative intended to help public and non-profit health care providers construct state- and region-wide broadband networks to provide telehealth and telemedicine services throughout the nation.

OSA is sponsoring tuition free simulation education and training programs. Foundations for Simulation Education is a two-day overview for up to 15 trainees. The intent of the course is to deliver general simulation principles and give the trainee hands-on initial experience with high-fidelity simulation. This course is targeted to those wishing to understand the basic foundations of being a simulation specialist. See website for details, application and training dates.

The VIM Clinic provides health care to residents of Deschutes County who have no medical insurance and meet the Clinic's eligibility criteria. The Clinic, which opened for clients on March 29, 2004, is the result of dedicated community leaders, many benefactors and our most important asset, our volunteers. VIM Mission: To improve the health and wellness of the medically uninsured through the engagement of professionals, community partners and dedicated volunteers. VIM Vision: To become a premier model of effective, integrated, volunteer-based healthcare.

The VIM Clinic seeks to understand and serve the health and wellness needs of the medically underserved and their households living in the greater Eugene/Springfield area. The clinic's service to its clients is built around the concept of a Circle of Caring, which is best described as love freely given in an environment where care is respectfully and lovingly rendered. We believe that both the caregivers and the recipients of care can be healed and nourished together. Services are provided in a non-judgmental, friendly environment designed to increase our patient's sense of personal responsibility and self-reliance.

This is a program of preparation for RN licensure and practice for nurses who have earned their credentials outside of the United States. The ultimate goal is successful employment as nurses in Oregon or Southwest Washington. Student financial assistance may be available.