About Us

1986
In the late 1970s, farmers and child advocates in the Columbia River Gorge founded the Migrant and Indian Coalition (now called the Oregon Child Development Coalition) to provide much-needed daycare for preschool children. Ten years later, the same group recognized that farmworkers and their families often had trouble accessing medical care. In response, these advocates teamed up to create a new nonprofit migrant health center, originally called La Clínica del Cariño/The Caring Clinic, or “La Clínica” for short. The clinic first opened its doors in Hood River, Ore., in 1986.

1986
Thanks to a federal grant, La Clínica immediately began providing farmworkers and others with medical care in a small, rented office on Rand and May Streets. Manuel de Anda Gutierrez chaired La Clínica’s first board of directors, and Colin Wood was the organization’s first executive director. Both were exceptional leaders who carried La Clínica into a period of rapid change and growth.

1986
By 1988, nearly 50 percent of the patients who came through the door weren’t farmworkers or Latinos but other community members who also needed affordable health care. Our doctors were delivering almost half of all the babies born in Hood River County. As a result, the federal government designated La Clínica more broadly as a community health center and awarded additional grant funding.

1988
La Clínica was a pioneer in using community health workers, formerly known as health promoters, to help patients get the health education and care they needed. In 1988, we began our first health promotion program: El Niño Sano/The Healthy Child.

1991
In just four years, La Clínica grew quickly and needed a new facility. In 1990, property was purchased on Pacific Avenue in Hood River, using a combination of grants, loans, donations and payments for care. Our new, permanent two-story building opened there in 1991.

1995
El Niño Sano demonstrated a huge unmet need for dental care for children and their families, so a new dental facility was added to our Hood River location in 1995.

2004
Medical and dental care flourished at La Clínica. Our various health promoter programs received national awards. Although we had always provided services to people from Hood River and Wasco counties in Oregon and in Klickitat and Skamania counties in Washington, our only location was in Hood River. We needed to expand to ensure greater access to care. Fortunately, in late 2004, special funding and planning allowed us to launch a new medical and dental center on 7th Street in The Dalles.

2013
In 2013, the Board of Directors renamed the organization “One Community Health” to better reflect the fact that we serve everyone in the community. Despite the name change, farmworkers and their families continue to be a special focus of our mission and programs.

2013
The fully accredited Rural Training Program launched in 2013 and is a partnership between Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital, One Community Health and the Providence Oregon Family Medicine Residency.

2013
In April 2013, a brand new, state of the art One Community Health facility opened at the intersection of West 10th and Webber streets in The Dalles. We are grateful to the Health Resources and Services Administration for awarding us a capital improvement grant to construct this facility. It took years of hard work on the part of the board, staff and partners to make this possible.

2015
In 2015, One Community Health opened the first school-based health center in our region. Serving all children and teens who attend the Hood River County School District, it is located at Hood River Valley High School and operates when school is in session. Learn more about the School-based health center here.

2016
In 2016, One Community Health expanded services to include integrated behavioral health providers with our existing medical, dental and community outreach services. OCH patients were now able to access the services and support of expert mental health providers alongside medical and dental care.

2018

Construction on a new Hood River Clinic began in November 2018 next to the current location of One Community Health on Pacific Avenue in Hood River, Oregon. Funded largely through grants, the new clinic reflects the quality of service and care our patients receive.

2019

At COIPA’s annual business meeting held in Hood River on September 18, 2019, One Community Health was awarded the 2019 Primary Care Clinic of the year award. The Primary Care clinic selection was based on three objective criteria: patient access, clinical quality, and clinical quality improvement over the previous year.

2020

When Covid-19 hit the world, One Community Health jumped into action to help our community stay healthy and safe. In March 2020, virtual visits were launched in less than a month so that patients did not have to come into the clinic. We tested over 7,500 community members, even repurposing equipment from other medical tests when supplies in the county were low due to high demand.

2020
The new 38,000-square-foot clinic replaced the 14,000-square-foot, 29-year-old clinic at 849 Pacific Avenue, offering patients modern amenities and new technology.

While construction started on the new building before the arrival of COVID-19, OCH was able to incorporate cutting-edge air filtration technologies throughout construction to help prevent the spread of the virus.

2021

One Community Health emerged as a leader in COVID vaccination in the Columbia Gorge, pushing Hood River County to be the most vaccinated in the state of Oregon. Our efforts prioritized increasing access to the vaccine for all members of the community, with vaccine events taking place at orchards, packinghouses, and local employers, as well as partnering with FEMA to provide drive through clinics.

2022

To better support Native Americans living in the Columbia River Gorge, OCH expanded our Native American Health and Wellness services to include the Wy-Kan-Ush-Pum (Salmon People) Mobile Medical Clinic. The Clinic provides mobile integrated care to the 32 different tribal communities along the river, with a peak population reach of approximately 1,200 people during the height of the Salmon fishing season.

2022

To reach patients with transportation challenges in the most rural areas of our community, we launched our second mobile medical clinic, donated by Mosaic Community Health. The name “La Clínica” holds a special place in the hearts of our staff, patients, and community. One Community Health’s name from 1986 to 2013, we know that this name still carries the spirit of our origins.

2023

One Community Health and NorthShore Medical Group joined forces to enhance healthcare services for residents of the Columbia River Gorge. Effective January 1 2024, One Community Health acquired NorthShore Medical Group, providing crucial services to patients on both sides of the Columbia River. Washington residents gained access to diabetic educators, dental care, additional mental health services, and mobile clinics.

La Clínica was established in 1986 as a migrant health center, staffed by a small team of providers and an outreach worker who visited local orchards. As the outreach worker engaged with people in the camps, many began asking for information about chronic diseases and nutrition. Inspired by Dr. Ana Salver and modeled after rural Mississippi programs that utilized lay leaders such as barbers and pastors, La Clínica staff developed a training program and invited natural leaders from the community to participate, enabling them to educate their peers. This effort led to the launch of a three-year, grant-funded program called El Niño Sano, which trained promotoras—female community health workers—in pediatric care, dental health, and nutrition.

La Clínica’s perinatal program was launched in 1988 in response to high birth rates within farmworker communities. Promotoras provided essential clinical services, including screenings and health education. One of the foundational community health workers, Vicky Valle—who remains a vital part of the perinatal team to this day—became a trusted clinical figure in the community. La Clínica also collaborated with community health worker programs in Alaska, the Navajo Nation, Michigan, and North Carolina. Our model of care has influenced the development of numerous similar programs across the country.

As promotoras worked closely with community members and patients, they began to identify additional unmet needs. Dental care was recognized as a top priority after promatoras served over 1,200 children, leading to the opening of La Clinica's dental clinic. The Madres en Marcha program addressed depression among women through community-building and education. Through La Familia Sana CHWs taught at medical, nursing, and PA schools, disseminating the CHW model to other agencies, and helping spread the work and the community health center movement. Another successful initiative, Pasos a la Salud, was a weight management group program funded by Pfizer and later by HRSA. Its impact continues today, as groups of comadres who met through Pasos can still be seen walking together in the community.

Today, community health workers at One Community Health are fully integrated into a variety of programs that support both the Gorge community and OCH patients. The prenatal program offers comprehensive care for pre- and postpartum patients, providing a higher level of support than is typically found in primary care settings. The Salud program CHWs deliver individualized and group-based support and counseling for managing type 2 diabetes. Meanwhile, the Outreach team connects with community members and patients in orchards, packinghouses, and other local settings, offering information on cancer screenings as well as access to medical, dental, and behavioral health services.