PORTLAND, Ore. — The Regence Foundation announced today it has awarded a $22,400 grant to support a new community collaborative called the Morrow County Community Health Improvement Partnership. The collaborative is made up of local health care providers and local government, community organizations and businesses. The group's goal is to improve health and increase access to care for residents in this north-central Oregon county.

Morrow County and its surrounding counties have been designated as a health professional shortage area for primary medical, dental and mental health care. According to the 2008 American Community Survey (accessed through the Oregon Office for Rural Health), 23.5 percent of Morrow County residents do not have health insurance.

"Community collaboratives across the state, like NEON in La Grande or HealthMatters of Central Oregon, have made major strides in improving health care access and quality in local communities," said Michael Alexander, Regence Foundation board chair. "Creating the Morrow County Community Health Improvement Partnership is an important step forward in addressing the health care needs of local residents in a thoughtful and data-driven way."

With the help of the Regence Foundation grant, the collaborative will work toward three main goals: conduct a county-wide health needs assessment, create a strategic plan to address findings from the health needs assessment, and increase its network of community partners. Already the collaborative includes representatives from the Morrow County Health District, the Morrow County Health Department, Columbia River Community Health Services, Community Counseling Solutions, law enforcement, faith communities, local business and government, recreation, education and transportation.

The collaborative had its first formal meeting on June 15, and will start work on the community needs assessment in September.