Oregon Health Authority

A handcuffed and shackled Oregon State Hospital patient with pending felony charges stole a van and escaped from the state-run psychiatric hospital in Salem late Wednesday night, commandeering it southbound on Interstate 5.

Secretary of State auditors recommend changes to provide equal prescription access to all Oregon Health Plan members.

Climate change disproportionately affects communities of color, the elderly, people with disabilities and low-income households.

Oregon Health Authority officials said in a statement the mpox vaccine is free and readily available to Oregonians.

Oregon has until June 2024 to process eligibility redeterminations for all 1.5 million Oregon Health Plan and Children’s Health Insurance members. It’s the largest benefits renewal process the state has ever attempted. And it’s fraught with challenges.

Klamath County’s behavioral health program is expanding with a grant from the Oregon Health Authority. The expansion will include a new 24/7 crisis care center.

Oregon will start 2023 with a new health authority director while facing myriad challenges that include an overburdened hospital system that struggles to meet the demand for patient care

For the third time in as many years, health officials are worried about holiday gatherings. But this year—it’s more than COVID-19 driving concern. Other respiratory illnesses, including RSV, are at historically high levels, prompting the call for a return to indoor masking.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown is extending last month’s state of emergency as a surge of respiratory illnesses strains the state’s hospital systems.

Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, peaked in the summer. But cases have risen again this month, prompting the Oregon Health Authority to increase outreach.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality will be offering free well testing in Deschutes County next year to collect more data for a statewide groundwater contamination study.

The Oregon Health Authority said despite federal relaxation of masking rules, the state still will require face coverings in health care facilities at least through the respiratory virus season.