Oregon
- State Population: 4,195,300
- Local Health Departments: 33
- Frequent Public Health Emergencies: Fire, Flooding, Landslides/Mudslides
- Key Emergency Operations Center Activations: 2020: COVID-19 Pandemic; 2019: Vaping response2018: Measles outbreak
- CDC PHEP Funding:
FY 2021: $8,382,359
FY 2020: $8,161,938 - CDC Crisis Response Funding: COVID-19
FY 2021: $25,667,917
FY 2020: $7,798,826
- Epidemiologists: 3
- Laboratorians: 3
- Health Professionals: 1
- CDC Preparedness Field Staff: 1
- Other*: 15
*Includes IT specialists, administrative staff, statisticians, and other positions
- Community Preparedness
- Emergency Operations Coordination
- Public Health Surveillance and Epidemiologic Investigation
- Medical Countermeasure Dispensing and Distribution
- Information Sharing
In 2020, Kathryn Kopania, a PHEP-funded preparedness field assignee, helped fulfill requests from Oregon’s counties and tribes for personal protective equipment (PPE). She worked with the Oregon Health Authority to approve requests and ensure PPE was packed, shipped, and delivered to local communities. Kopania also led the team that investigated COVID-19 cases, tracked attempts to reach people who had COVID-19, and discussed potential outbreaks with counties. In addition, she helped develop a mobile vaccine dispatch unit (MVDU) that deploys to support local vaccination efforts, ensuring that all communities in Oregon have equal and timely access to vaccines.
In spring 2018, an Oregon resident arrived at an urgent care center with a fever, chest pain, body aches, and vomiting. Her physician suspected bacterial pneumonia and prescribed an antibiotic. What the clinician didn’t know was that the patient had been exposed to a bacterium called Francisella tularensis (F. tularensis), which can cause a life-threatening illness.
In 2015, PHEP-funded disease detectives investigated an outbreak of group B meningococcal infections at the University of Oregon. The outbreak resulted in seven illnesses and left thousands of undergraduate students at risk. The Oregon Health Authority relied on a PHEP-funded team to support operations at a mass vaccination clinic. Nearly 5,000 students received immunizations at the campus mass vaccination clinic, helping to prevent more illnesses. PHEP funds also supported development of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between pharmacists and public health so that 3,000 students were vaccinated through pharmacies in the community.
