US Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley have announced major investments for Oregon to expand access to affordable, quality health care and mental health resources, boost manufacturing and enhance emergency response coordination -- including nearly $36 million in funding for 28 community projects across the state.
The six-bill Fiscal Year 2024 minibus funding package cleared both chambers of Congress last week and was quickly signed by President Biden.
The 19 community-initiated projects championed by Wyden and Merkley will expand affordable health care and mental health resources as well as increase childcare, early education, and career and technical training options in Oregon.
The package includes $2 million for the La Clinica Acute Care Center Expansion Project to improve urgent care services for nearly 80,000 low-income, uninsured and under-insured residents in Jackson County. This expansion will enable La Clinica to add 12 exam rooms, on-site pharmacy services, an ancillary lab for same-day specimen processing, and in-house imaging capabilities.
The funding also includes $500,000 for Southern Oregon University's Chinese Diaspora Project for SOU students to assist with a comprehensive statewide inventory of Chinese heritage sites in order to document this underrepresented population in the settlement and development of Oregon. The project will consist of archival research, targeted field visits and community outreach followed by archaeological investigations.
