Oregon Launches Five-Year Health Plan as State Struggles With High Mental Illness and Substance Use Rates
A new five-year State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP) was launched yesterday, providing a road map for improving the health of all people, regardless of age, according to Naomi Adeline-Biggs, Director of the Oregon Health Authority’s (OHA) Public Health Division.
Here is what each priority is actually trying to do.
| SHIP priority | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Healthy environments | Lead exposure, climate hazards, toxins in homes, clean air, and clean drinking water. |
| Individual, family and community well being | Preventing overdoses, sexual violence, community violence, suicide, and supporting all ages in all places. |
| Health promotion and disease prevention | Dental care, youth nicotine prevention, vaccinations, outbreak response, and support for healthier choices. |
| Emergency preparedness and response | Regional planning, ER and urgent care surveillance, outbreak tracking, and hospital coordination when systems are strained. |
SHIP will focus on the priorities needed to help the state’s public health system respond to rapid changes in health needs and social conditions. Each priority includes strategies that address people’s access to community resources.
Source: Oregon Health Authority March 12, 2026 SHIP release
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Investigations Will be Increased into Elevated Levels of Lead in the Bloodstreams of Children
Under the health environment priority, OHA will coordinate training or meetings for case managers at local public health authorities to increase investigations into children with elevated levels of lead in their bloodstream.
OHA will also supply local health authorities with information and data on health risks associated with climate change, enabling them to proactively develop and implement action plans to reduce potential impacts.
Individual, Family, and Community Well-Being
Under the individual, family, and community well-being priority, SHIP promotes safe and healthy relationships among the youth to safeguard against acts of sexual violence.
*Gerontologist and SHIP steering committee member Julia Brown is passionate about the individual, family, and community well-being priority.
As the community outreach and engagement manager for AGE+, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the well-being of older adults in rural, low-income, and under-served areas, Brown wants to ensure that this SHIP priority embraces an inclusive, all-ages, all-places approach to improving health.
Brown says this could include people living alone or those in rural regions who are cut off from the I-5 corridor, who see themselves as outside of the health programs offered by the state and organizations.
Another project in this category is to offer communities easy access to nutritious food, clean air, daily activities, and social interaction.
Health Promotion, Disease Prevention, and Emergency Preparedness
Routine dental care and a campaign to dissuade the youth from smoking nicotine fall under the health promotion and disease prevention SHIP priority.
SHIP has adopted five strategies as its emergency preparedness priority. These include maintaining the state’s surveillance system, which tracks emergency and urgent care visits to identify and respond to health threats such as disease outbreaks, natural disasters, and bad air quality.
Oregon Ranks 12th on the State Health System Scorecard, but Ranks 47th for the Prevalence of Mental Illness
Oregon ranks 12th on the Commonwealth Fund’s 2025 state health system scorecard. However, Oregon’s behavioral health record is far worse, ranking 47th nationwide for the prevalence of mental illness, and 46th for adults with substance use disorder who refuse treatment.
Source: Commonwealth Fund Oregon data center and State of Mental Health in America data used there
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*A gerontologist specializes in the biological, psychological, and social aspects of aging to improve the well-being and quality of life of older adults.