State Information for Oregon
Located between Washington and California on the northwest coast of the contiguous United States, Oregon is the ninth largest state with 98,400 square miles. The eastern two thirds of the state is predominantly rural and most of the state's population resides along the narrow Interstate 5 corridor that extends from Portland southward through fertile valleys between the Coast and Cascade mountain ranges. Crater Lake, in Klamath County to the south, is the deepest lake in the United States at 1,958 feet. Hell's Canyon, in Wallowa County to the northeast, is the deepest gorge in North America at 7,900 feet.
The population of Oregon is 3,701,000, according to the 2006 U.S. Bureau of the Census Population Estimates Program. The capital is Salem and the largest city is Portland. Oregon has 36 counties; the largest is Harney, located in the southeastern region of the state with over 10,000 square miles. Multnomah County, near Portland, is the smallest county with just over 450 square miles but contains the largest population. Residents are predominantly white (81.6%), with a significant Hispanic/Latino population (9.9%). Asian (3.4%), African-American (1.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.4%) comprise the remaining population, with 2.3% reporting more than one ethnicity. Oregon ranks 16th in the United States in American Indian/Alaska Native population, two of the largest Oregon tribal organizations are the Klamath and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla.
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Locate Oregon NN/LM Members
The directory of Oregon members of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) includes health libraries, public libraries, and community-based organizations in the state that provide quality health information.
Library and Information Professional Resources
- The Regional Medical Library (RML) for the Pacific
Northwest Region (PNR) is:
- University of Washington, Health Sciences Libraries and Information Center (HSL), Seattle, Washington.
- Oregon's NN/LM Resource Library is:
- Oregon Health & Science University Library (OHSU), Portland.
- Oregon Health Sciences Library Association (OHSLA) is an association of librarians seeking to improve access to health care information for the people of Oregon and provides resource sharing, networking and continuing education opportunities.
- Pacific Northwest Chapter of the Medical Library Association (PNC/MLA) includes Oregon as part of a regional organization of medical librarians and health information professionals in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Washington and two regions of Canada (Alberta and British Columbia), and is an official chapter of the Medical Library Association (MLA).
- E-Licensing Consortia contains links to consortium agreement programs among libraries in the Pacific Northwest Region, including Oregon's statewide database licensing program.
- The Portland Area Library System (PORTALS) is a Portland-area library consortium serving the educational and research needs of residents, containing links to member libraries and their services.
- Northwest Central (NW Central) is a collection of contining education resources by and for librarians in the Pacific Northwest that is searchable by topic, library and resource type.
- Oregon does not have an American Library Association (ALA) accredited library and information studies school, but distance education programs are available.
- Oregon State Library is the central library for state government information needs, provides reading materials to blind and print-disabled residents, and provides grants and other assistance to improve local library services for Oregonians.
- Oregon Library Association (OLA) is the state association providing leadership for developing, improving and promoting library services for Oregon residents.
State Health and Statistics Information
- FastStats, from the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), are a quick reference to state birth and death rates with links to additional report data.
- Oregon Area Health Education Centers Program is a partnership between OHSU and Oregon communities to improve the education, training and distribution of health care professionals in Oregon.
- Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (OAHHS) is a statewide, nonprofit trade association working with government leaders, business and other professional organizations to promote and improve Oregon's community health.
- Oregon Primary Care Association (OPCA) is a nonprofit advocacy organization working to decrease health disparities and increase access to health care for low income and vulnerable people in Oregon.
- The Public Health Division of the State of Oregon provides public health information, including an A-Z topic index, and health advisories and alerts for Oregonians.
- Quick Health Data Online, from the Office on Women's Health, is a database of comprehensive health data for both women and men searchable by state and county.
- State Health Facts Online, sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation, provides current state health data on topics such as demographics, insurance coverage and health status.
- State and Local Health Data Sets, from Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce (PHPartners), includes a comprehensive list of resources containing state-specific public health information.
- Trust for America's Health , a non-profit and non-partisan disease prevention organization, provides state and national health indicators, federal funding levels, health disparities and statistics regarding cancer and birth defects tracking.
State General Information
- Oregon.gov is Oregon's official state government website.
- Oregon Blue Book is the official state directory and fact book about all levels of government in Oregon.
- Oregon Quick Facts, from the U.S. Census Bureau, provides current state population, business and geographical facts.
Special Populations
This section includes groups of individuals who share common characteristics that are distinctive from the general population. These characteristics may include racial and/or ethnic background, socioeconomic status, geographic location, and age. The characteristics of special populations are important to be aware of as they can affect the population's health status.
- EthnoMed, from the HSL and Harborview Medical Center, contains medical and cultural information for health care providers and related professions regarding different immigrant and refugee populations in the Pacific Northwest region.
- Frontier Education Center, from the National Center for Frontier Communities, defines characteristics of frontier counties and contains maps, reports on special health needs of frontier populations, and policy issues.
- Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Health (GLBT), from Public Health Seattle & King County, contains resources about GLBT health concerns, health issues, and local/national GLBT resources.
- Indian Health Service - Portland Area Office is the federal health program for American Indians and Alaska Natives residing in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.
- Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board, a tribal organization, represents the health care interests of 43 federally recognized tribes in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.
- Oregon Rural Health Association advocates for rural health issues and improving the health of rural Oregonians through communication, education, and encouraging the development of appropriate health resources.
- Outside In is a social service agency serving the needs of homeless youth, low income and marginalized adults through providing social, medical and mental health services.
- Refugee Health Information Network (RHIN) is a database of quality multilingual public health resources for those providing care to resettled refugees and asylees.
- Rural health and human services, from the US Department of Health and Human Services Rural Assistance Center, is a web portal of Oregon rural health contacts, organizations, tools, maps, news and events.
Medically Underserved Areas/Populations (MUA/Ps)
MUA/Ps are areas or populations designated by the Shortage Designation Branch, part of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as not having sufficient access to medical care. If an area is designated MUA, then the entire population is covered, if the designation is MUP, only a specific population is. Occasionally, regions receive a designation of GOV, which means that the state governor requested that the area be included due to local barriers and/or health conditions. The MUA/P designation is often important when obtaining grants or other funding. The most accurate and up-to-date source of this information is the HRSA database.
Government Information Resources
- FedStats provides access to statistics prepared by over 100 federal agencies. Statistics are available on a state and community level.
- Google Search <Uncle Sam> searches government information on all levels using the standard Google interface and algorithm.
- State and Local Government on the Net provides links to government information on a state and local level for the fifty states, as well as selected US territories.
- USA.gov provides a search engine and subject indexes for US state and federal information.
Additional Resources
- 2-1-1Info, serves the greater Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington region to assist residents in locating health and human services providers and has a searchable directory of community resources.
- Emergency Preparedness information from the Department of Geology and Mineral Industries contains resources regarding Oregon's natural hazards including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis.
- Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) lists frequencies and call letters of public radio stations in Oregon, with KOAC-AM 500 covering most of the state.
- Oregonian, Oregon and Portland regional newspaper.
