An exciting project is underway to expand and renovate the clinic at CODA’s Portland Recovery Center (PRC), supported by the Meyer Memorial Trust,* Mitzvah Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation and The Collins Foundation, among others. A year ago, CODA, Inc., initiated a $750,000 capital campaign for the remodel and expansion of our location at East Burnside Street and 10th Avenue.
We see an average of 510 patients a day at our Portland location for medication-assisted treatment. That number is growing. Many of our patients are low income, on the Oregon Health Plan and/or receiving county subsidies to help pay for out-of-pocket treatment costs. The renovation will increase capacity and meet many needs, including serving those patients who are part of Project Nurture, a collaboration with Health Share of Oregon and Oregon Health & Science University that provides prenatal care, delivery support, and well-baby visits to women receiving medication-assisted treatment for opioid dependency.
Many of CODA’s patients have significant and chronic healthcare needs. Research makes clear that patients are much more likely to seek and respond to medical care when it is offered through the program providing their drug and alcohol treatment. Factors such as fear of stigma and judgment, lack of access to childcare, and difficulty of getting to appointments at many different times and locations, all create barriers for people doing the hard work of rebuilding health and seeking recovery. For many years, CODA has provided onsite childcare to patients who attend treatment at PRC. Now this added ability to access more primary care services at CODA will also help reduce the use of hospital Emergency Rooms for primary care.
In addition to the funders named earlier, the project is also made possible by generous donations from Walter G. and Marija C. Kuzman Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation; Wheeler Foundation; The Providence Health Plan-Kaiser Permanente Behavioral Health Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation; Employees Community Fund of Boeing Portland; ESCO Foundation; Social Action Committee, Congregation Beth Israel; Health Share of Oregon; individual and business donors.
At its annual Gratitude Luncheon in early March, CODA celebrated the generosity of the above donors and others who support the work the agency does, serving people whose lives and health have been compromised by alcohol, drug, and mental health conditions. Sponsors of the Luncheon were JD Fulwiler & Company Insurance, Geffen Mesher, White Summers, LLP, Gifford’s Flowers, and Wells Fargo Business Banking Group.
*(Note: Meyer Memorial Trust is a private foundation that is not connected to Fred Meyer, Inc.)