Rural Oregonians suffer shorter life expectancies, higher death rates from chronic diseases, and poorer access to healthcare than Oregonians in urban areas. Some rural areas in Oregon have no health providers at all. What makes healthcare so challenging in rural Oregon? What must Oregon do to raise the quality of healthcare to rural Oregonians who need it? Our panelists and moderator will address these questions and recommend methods for Oregon to meet the needs of its rural residents.

When: Friday, November 17th, 12:15-1:15, doors open 11:30.
Where: The Sentinel Hotel, 614 SW 11th Ave., Portland, OR 97205.
Registration: Tickets or tables at https://www.pdxcityclub.org/calendar/?eid=6621.
For questions: contact Charley Vallejo-Anderson at the City Club, (503) 228-7231 x.702, charley@pdxcityclub.org, or Samuel Metz at (503)754-1329, s@samuelmetz.com.

Moderator: Serena Cruz is Executive Director of the Virginia Garcia Memorial Foundation, which supports healthcare to Washington and Yamhill counties with a special emphasis on migrant and seasonal farm workers. Serena is a former Multnomah County commissioner. She earned her BA at Lewis & Clark College, her MPP at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and her JD at the University of California at Berkeley.

Bruce Goldberg, MD is Senior Associate Director, Oregon Rural Practice Based Research Network at OHSU. He served as the Director of the Oregon Department of Human Services, then as founding director Oregon Health Authority where he supervised Oregon’s implementation of Coordinated Care Organizations.  Before coming to Oregon he was Director of Community Health Services for the US Public Health Services in Zuni, New Mexico.

Panelist: Sen. Jeff Kruse serves as Oregon State Senator from District 1. Jeff is Vice-Chair of the Oregon Senate Committee on Health Care and a member of the Education and Judiciary Committees. He grew up in Roseburg, received a BS in Economics from Willamette University, and is a farmer in Douglas County. He previously served on the Douglas Soil and Conservation District, the Farm Home Administration County Committee, and the Douglas County Planning Advisory Committee.