North Coast
Kayla Warner - OHSU Community Research Liaison
Kayla is located on the North Coast. Her region includes Clatsop, Tillamook, and Columbia counties
If you would like to contact Kayla, please email warneka@ohsu.edu.
Kayla's role on the Community Engaged Research Team:
- Identify areas of need and opportunities for research related support to move initiatives forward that will improve the overall health and wellness of Clatsop, Tillamook and Columbia counties
- Co-lead with OSU Extension and facilitate development of Tillamook County Wellness (TCW) a grass roots community collaboration to reduce risk factors for type 2 diabetes
- Lead and facilitate Community Health Advisory and Resource Team (CHART) in Clatsop County
- Support OHSU academic collaborators by engaging stakeholders and community members
- Provide county level data and knowledge about the region, facilitate partnerships and projects, and data collection (e.g. focus groups, interviews, surveys)
North Coast Regional Coalition
Community Health Advocacy and Resource Team (CHART)
The Community Health Advocacy and Resource Team helps create alignment among agencies and projects. We work collaboratively with community members to impact policy, systems and environmental change to raise the overall health of all Clatsop County residents.
Our Vision:
A county whose residents are informed and empowered to seek healthy lifestyle options to ensure an optimal quality of life.
Our Mission:
The Community Health Advocacy and Resource Team (CHART) of Clatsop County works collaboratively with community members to impact policy, systems, and environmental change to raise the overall health of Clatsop County resident
Project snapshot
Tillamook County Wellness
Improving Community Health by Reducing the Risk for Type 2 Diabetes.
This is a unique grassroots community collaboration to improve health across the entire county.
In 2016 The Tillamook Board County of Commissioners supported a Year of Wellness” (YOW) as a proclamation in response to Tillamook County’s low state health ranking. A grassroots, year-long initiative supported by local government policy, took hold and is now the Tillamook County Wellness coalition. Recognizing the remarkable level of collaboration and community engagement during the Year of Wellness in 2016, the momentum was catalyzed by forming a coalition to work collectively to address a priority health issue. In 2017 Diabetes was selected as the area of focus
OSU Extension Family & Community Health, Tillamook County Community Health Centers, and OHSU Community Research Hub are working together to support the coalition building process. The Tillamook County Community Health Centers is the backbone organization, funds a program coordinator, and serves as the fiscal agent.
In 2018 TCW was a awarded a “Place Matters” Leadership Award by the Oregon Health Authority
Helping the community build a functioning collaboration is meeting the community where they are. OHSU is an integral part of the Strategic Planning Process, Evaluation Planning, Resource Development and professional training.
Steven Blakesley, North Coast Community Research Liaison
Recognizing that the risk of type 2 diabetes is related to other community issues like housing, economic development, agriculture, and environment, the coalition has engaged people from a variety of sectors. The following are examples to demonstrate the breadth of membership: Chamber of Commerce, Tillamook County People’s Utility District (electric utility), Visit Tillamook Coast (tourism), U.S. Department of Forestry, Tillamook Family Counseling Center, Columbia Pacific Coordinated Care Organization Community Advisory Council, Bureau of Land Management, Tillamook County Futures Council, School District Superintendent, city and county elected officials, Tillamook County Creamery Association, Oregon Health Authority, Adventist Health Tillamook Regional Medical Center, and Oregon Dairy and Nutrition Council.
OHSU Community Research Hub and OSU Extension Office partnered to lead the Strategic Planning Process and created a series of workshops to educate and empower the members who make up five different committees.
In addition to the Community Research Hub, additional OHSU Researchers who have conducted workshops are Drs. Adrienne Zell, John Purnell, Carlos Crespo.
The goal is to reduce the number of people in Tillamook county who have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes by 2028.
One of the biggest challenges in working with community is similar to the challenges with other organizations with a volunteer base. While the passion to help and make a difference is there, limited funding, consistent representation, and accountability add challenge to an already large problem to solve.
