CCCNews Podcast: Columbia Gorge Health Council expands community health worker training with $2.3 million grant
The Dalles, Ore., Aug. 13, 2026 — The Columbia Gorge Health Council is expanding its efforts to train and support community health workers across rural Oregon after receiving a $2.3 million grant through a partnership with several regional organizations.
Health Council staff Rosie, Katie and Julia discussed the grant, community health work and the barriers facing some Gorge residents during a recent CCCNews podcast.
The funding continues a partnership that includes Northeast Oregon Network, or NEON, Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency and the Oregon Community Health Workers Association. The effort grew from an earlier rural training hub created to expand access to community health worker education.
The new funding will help expand community health worker training, including specialized medical and mental health tracks, while also helping clinicians better understand how to work with community health workers. Trainings are also being translated into Spanish to make them more accessible to frontline workers.
Community health workers often serve as the connection between medical providers, social services, and people who face barriers to accessing those systems. The Health Council programs also often rely on donations to support their clients. More information about their programs can be found here and link to donate is here.
Rosie, the Health Council's learning and cultural development manager, said they saw that gap firsthand after working for years as a medical assistant. A provider might develop a treatment plan, they said, but patients could still struggle to obtain prescriptions, reach referrals or address underlying problems such as housing instability, transportation or food insecurity.
“I always felt like something needed to be between the doctor and the community,” Rosie said.
Through programs including Bridges to Health and Native support services, community health workers help connect residents with health insurance, transportation, housing, food, medical care and mental health resources. Workers also conduct outreach at Columbia River fishing sites, where some Native residents live without running water, electricity or conventional mailing addresses.
Staff said lived experience and cultural understanding are central to that work. Many community health workers are bilingual or come from the communities they serve, allowing them to build trust and help residents navigate systems in their primary language.
Community health work also has deep roots in the Gorge. Rosie said organized programs date to the 1980s, when La Clínica del Cariño, now One Community Health, conducted outreach in orchards and migrant camps to connect families with medical care.
The Health Council plans another 20-session community health worker training beginning in September. Participants can become eligible for certification through the Oregon Health Authority, and scholarships are available through Oregon's rural health programs. A college degree is not required.
Staff said community health work can become a career itself or provide an entry point into fields such as behavioral health, addiction counseling and other health professions.
The Health Council also operates a mutual aid program providing Native residents with filled propane tanks, fire extinguishers, carbon monoxide detectors and safety education during colder months while families wait for energy assistance.
Williams said the larger goal is to make health and social service systems work better for people whose needs can otherwise remain unseen.
“If it were easy to not have those disparities, people wouldn't,” she said.
Click here for more information about Community Health Worker Trainings
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