The Central Oregon Health Council works to improve health care across the region—access to health care, quality of health care, your health care. We bring providers, patients, and the public together to solve problems. Our partners include not only health care providers but also county and municipal bodies, community groups, advocates, and volunteers! We work with:

The regional hospital system
Medical, dental, and behavioral health providers
County public health departments
Elected officials
Community-based organizations
School districts
Housing groups
Public transportation representatives

There are things we are required by the state to do:

Oversee the Medicaid/OHP plans administered by PacificSource, the Central Oregon Coordinated Care Organization (CCO)
Conduct a Regional Health Assessment (RHA) every five years
Create a Regional Health Improvement Plan (RHIP) every five years
Work to improve health benchmarks for Central Oregon set every year by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA)

Over the past decade, 500+ health workers, CBO staff members, and community volunteers have contributed to making our ongoing mission a success! For more information on the Central Oregon Health Council, read our History here.

Together we are creating a stronger, healthier Central Oregon!

Regional Health Assessment

Every five years we research, write, and publish a Regional Health Assessment (RHA). From 2023–2024, we collected information from a wide-ranging public survey, held focus groups and interviews, and conducted community feedback sessions to gather current data on our region’s health, including population data, disease prevalence, housing availability, food insecurity, and much more. The RHA is used to determine priority areas for action in the Regional Health Improvement Plan. Click below to learn more about the RHA.

Regional Health Improvement Plan

Every five years, after completing the RHA, we create a Regional Health Improvement Plan (RHIP). We have just launched the RHIP for 2025–2029. The RHIP is a guide that we and our partners use to promote and advance health by focusing on factors that affect people’s health and well-being. Current topics include access to and quality of health care; alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs; housing; mental health, nutrition and physical activity; and transportation. The RHIP was written together with many of our partners in Central Oregon and a lot of input from community members. Working collaboratively helps us to define a vision for the health of all of our communities. Click below to find out more about the RHIP.

Quality Incentive Measures

We bring together health care providers and public health partners to work on the Quality Incentive Measures (QIMs) established annually by the Oregon Health Authority. These measures are meant to ensure high-quality health care for patients on Medicaid or the Oregon Health Plan and improve overall health and well-being in Central Oregon. Incentives can be earned by clinics and the hospital if their care exceeds the state’s goals. Click to learn more about the Quality Incentive Measures.

COHC's Purpose Statement

The COHC Board of Directors has responsibility to the organization for the following:

1. CCO Governance

Ensure the region’s Medicaid CCO is meeting or exceeding the state’s performance

metrics to maximize the return of performance dollars to the region.

2. Health Delivery Transformation/Innovation

Identify and fund health delivery reform efforts across organizations that will:

a. Lead to measurable improvements in health outcomes

b. Lead to a reduction in health disparities

c. Lead to measurable reductions in cost

d. Impact and leverage multiple payors

3. RHA and RHIP

Oversee the Regional Health Assessment and the Regional Health Improvement Plan.

Ensure broad community engagement and participation. Ensure alignment between

agencies and leveraging of resources where applicable across agencies to implement

RHIP activity.