Day 3: Celebrating National Health Center Week 2026
August 2- 8, 2026 is National Health Center Week! Throughout this week, we’ll showcase stories from a nearly 175-year history of community health services. These stories show how our past informs our present, and celebrate how we’ve evolved to meet everyone’s needs.
Day 3: School Based Clinics
In 1986, the Pacific Northwest opened its first school-based health clinic in Multnomah County, at Roosevelt High School. Developed in collaboration with Portland Public Schools, the clinic addressed the neighborhood’s high rates of teen pregnancy, poverty, and the significant number of under-insured and uninsured youth.
By the 1996-1997 school year, 11 school-based health clinics were operating in Multnomah County. Roosevelt’s clinic celebrated 30 years open in 2016, where then Chair Deborah Kafoury said “the Roosevelt experiment was successful [...] Instead of protesting, now parents are asking for us to open more centers.”
Today, our network of Student Health Centers includes 9 fully equipped medical clinics across five major school districts: Centennial, David Douglas, Parkrose, Portland Public and Reynolds. Parkrose is open year round to provide youth health services when schools are closed during spring and summer breaks. For the last two years, David Douglas also has been providing services over summer break.
Tomorrow:
Day 4: Expansion of Service Areas
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