Day 1: 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 1: Public Health Origins
In the beginning, Multnomah County’s healthcare system looked far different compared to today’s Community Health Center. In 1868, the county purchased land on Canyon Road (now known as Washington Park) in Portland’s West Hills for $4,000 and built the Hillside Pauper’s Farm, where people who couldn’t afford care could live and receive support for medical and other needs.
Later on into the 20th century, the Multnomah County Hospital was constructed to serve the County’s residents in the most need and staffed by medical students from University of Oregon. The partnerships between the medical school and the County survived for 50 years and the facility was lauded by none other than Dr. Charles Mayo, of Mayo Clinic fame, as a model for advances in medical work.
Following the merger of the Multnomah County Hospital into OHSU in 1973, the county pivoted from running a centralized hospital to managing a neighborhood-based primary care network. This led to the creation of Project Health in 1976, which piloted the "brokerage" model of care.
Tomorrow
Day 2: Pivot to Health Center System
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