"One-Stop Shop" COVID Test and Treatment Centers Open in The Dalles and Hood River
For more information on OCH’s Test-to-Treat Program please visit onecommunityhealth.org/TestToTreat or call 541.386.6380
by One Community Health and Cole Goodwin
On June 1st, 2022 Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and the Oregon Primary Care Association, One Community Health (OCH) opened two Test-to-Treat Centers at OCH clinics in Hood River and The Dalles. These “one-stop shop” clinics offer COVID services such as rapid diagnostic testing, evaluations, and administering of anti-viral treatments such as Paxlovid and Molnupiravir on site.
Since anti-viral treatments can be prescribed and provided on-site by a trained team of providers, pharmacists, medical assistants and nurses, patients will have no need to go to a separate pharmacy location to retrieve their medication; ensuring swift and easy access to lifesaving COVID anti-viral treatments in the Gorge community.
The Test-to-Treat Centers are open to all OCH patients and individuals from underserved communities.
“We have focused our efforts on reaching vulnerable, or traditionally underserved, people including BIPOC community members [e.g., over half of COVID vaccine doses administered by OCH have gone to people who identify as Hispanic and/or Latinx], farmworkers, Native Americans, Medicaid, low income and uninsured populations,” said Jason Bradley, Hood River Clinic Director and lead of OCH’s Test-to-Treat Program.
However there are plans to expand access to the entire Columbia Gorge community in the coming months.
The Test-to-Treat centers are a part of a federal Test-to-Treat program that began in March of 2022. OCH is one of only two Federally Qualified Health Centers selected by OHA and Oregon Primary Care Association to pilot the program.
“We’ve worked closely with the Oregon Health Authority throughout the COVID pandemic and have formed a close partnership. They knew our track record of taking innovative approaches to providing COVID services,” said Bradley. “We’ve been able to work with community partners to achieve over a 90% vaccination rate for Hood River County, which is the highest vaccination rate for a county in the state.”
Recently, One Community Health has gone the extra mile in committing to a collaborative partnership with OHA and the Oregon Primary Care Association,” said Amani Atallah, Therapeutics Operations Manager at the Oregon Health Authority. “The collaboration will also provide valuable lessons that OHA can take forward to help establish meaningful partnerships for managing future outbreaks or public health concerns.”
In addition to the Test-to-Treat Program, OCH continues to offer COVID vaccines for all community members and encourages everyone to stay up to date with their booster doses as cases climb in the community. Free N95 masks and at-home COVID tests for individuals and businesses are also available in OCH’s clinic lobbies.
For more information on OCH’s Test-to-Treat Program please visit onecommunityhealth.org/TestToTreat or call 541.386.6380
About One Community Health
One Community Health (OCH) is a nonprofit, Federally Qualified Health Center, with locations in The Dalles and Hood River, Oregon. Formerly known as La Clínica del Cariño Family Health Care Center, Inc., it was founded in 1986 and today has evolved into an official Patient-Centered Primary Care Home recognized as the Best Primary Care Clinic of 2019 by the Central Oregon Independent Practice Association (COIPA).
OCH currently provides medical, dental, behavioral health, and outreach services to more than 23,000 patients. In addition, OCH excels in providing educational programs and support that reflect its integrated approach to health and wellbeing. Dedicated to advancing health and social justice for all its community members, OCH serves patients from the Mid-Columbia River Gorge Region: Wasco, Hood River, Klickitat, and Skamania Counties.
