A heads-up about an upcoming event that is being partly supported by CareOregon, my professional home outside of Oregon Minority Business, currently a labor-of-love, venture into social entrepreneurship. Through Oregon Minority Business, it has been a wonderful experience getting to know dynamic people of color making lasting social change by way of their business and civic involvements. I look forward to meeting many more of you.
Through CareOregon, it is truly a rewarding experience to work alongside people who care a great deal about low-income families and children. CareOregon serves a quarter of people on Medicaid throughout the state - making it the largest administrator of the Oregon Health Plan. Some 46% of CareOregon are people of color - and about 85% live in the Portland metro area. We serve many families and children - some 65% of our members are under age 18. Click here for a radio ad that I wrote about the upcoming Northwest Multicultural Career Fair.
CareOregon is championing change in primary care delivery, advocating to create a model of health care that is respectful, culturally competent, and cost-effective. We practice a model of care that emphasizes prevention and primary care case management, and places specific focus on serving members in chronic and complex care situations.Click here to learn more about the medical home model.
On May 14-15, CareOregon will be displaying a member photography project in the state capitol in Salem. The member photographs show not only the diversity of our membership, but also underscore the fact that folks enrolled in Medicaid are no different than us - our families, our friends and neighbors. We were quite fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Bruce Davidson, one of the most highly acclaimed photographers in the country. His work is considered to be art photography. He is most recognized for his work around the Civil Rights movement and in photographing low-income people, families and communities in New York City. (see earlier post)
Why did we embark on the member photography project? Many people do not understand who is being helped through the Oregon Health Plan. CareOregon advocates for its members, and in this case, we are hoping to protect their funding by putting faces on our members so funding decisions are not made simply on numbers or dollars.
CareOregon wants folks to see the issue of OHP funding as a personal matter -– it affects children, your neighbors, your community members. It is certainly personal with us, and we would like to convey the message in as many forums as possible to reach as many Oregonians as we can.
