On April 8, 2019, the Oregon Coalition for Living Well with Serious Illness formally launched and affirmed its commitment to building a person-focused ecosystem to better support patients and their caregivers across Oregon.  As a collaborative network of cross-institution, cross-sector stakeholders, the coalition’s mission is to educate, communicate and connect in order to help people with serious illness and their caregivers live well.   Working together, the coalition has made quality of life for people and families its top priority and looks to implement an innovative model for Oregonians and possibly the nation.   

Inspired by the transformative work of the Massachusetts Coalition for Serious Illness Care, Peggy Maguire, President and Board Chair of Cambia Health Foundation, and Tony Back M.D, University of Washington, met with an audience of 20 Oregon health care stakeholders in June 2018 to gauge interest and determine the feasibility of a coalition. The response was overwhelmingly positive.  As a result, plans for an innovative, collaborative initiative in Oregon, focused on delivering a person-centered ecosystem for serious illness care were announced during the Coalition to Transform Advance Care (CTAC) National Summit on Advanced Illness Care in November 2018.

Today the Oregon Coalition includes more than 40 different individuals and organizations representing physicians, nurses, hospices, hospital and health systems, social workers, policymakers, consumers, caregivers, researchers, advocates and community-based organizations. Coalition members self-selected to participate in one of four workgroups: landscape mapping, silo busting, model building, and culture shifting and are actively working to catalyze a new vision for serious illness care.

“Our ability to improve care for vulnerable patients and their caregivers— requires a cultural shift that focuses on what matters most to the person not solely on what’s the matter with them,” said Peggy Maguire, president and board chair, Cambia Health Foundation. “Through the collaborative efforts of the Oregon Coalition for Living Well with Serious Illness, we will drive change that moves us from a fragmented health care system to a person-centered model of care that prioritizes quality of life for people and families.”

“Oregon has the opportunity to become a national leader in addressing the needs of patients living with serious illness and their families,” said Tony Back MD, University of Washington School of Medicine. “Bringing together diverse voices from across the health care system enables the Oregon Coalition for Living Well with Serious Illness to breakdown existing silos and move palliative care forward.”

About the Oregon Coalition for Living Well with Serious Illness
Envisioning a more person-focused model of care for people and families with serious illness, the mission of this collaborative ecosystem is to educate, communicate and connect to help people with serious illness and their caregivers live well.  The Oregon Coalition for Living Well with Serious Illness is made up of 40 different individuals and organizations that includes; AARP Oregon, AgeRight Care Management Solutions (Marquis), Aging and People with Disabilities Oregon Department of Human Services, Alzheimer's Association OR & SW Washington Chapter, American Heart Association, American Lung Association Oregon Chapter, Bridge Builder Strategies, Bridges Pediatric Palliative Care OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital, Cambia Health Foundation, Cambia Health Solutions, Catholic Charities Oregon, Cedar Sinai Park, Central City Concern, Congressman Earl Blumenauer , Oregon DHS/APD/SOQ, Familias en Accion, Health Insight, Housecall Providers Care Oregon, Kaiser Permanente, Many-to-One Facilitators, Multnomah County Disability, Aging and Veterans Services, National POLST Paradigm, Oregon Health & Sciences University, OR State Rep Andrea Salinas, Oregon Business Council, Oregon Health Care Association, Oregon Hospice & Palliative Care Association, Oregon Medical Association, Oregon Patient Safety Commission, Oregon Senator Rob Wagner, PCORI, Portland Community College, Portland State University, Providence Health System, Providence Health System Home Health, Regence BCBS, Social Ventures Partners International, Supportive Care Coalition Providence St. Joseph Health, The Springs Living, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, United Healthcare, Retiree Solutions, University of Portland, University of Utah College of Nursing and UW Medicine.