About Us

Delivering Whole Health Care

Cascadia Health looks at the whole person and believes that an integrated healthcare approach is the best way to serve our clients.

Cascadia Health’s whole health care model empowers individuals as they work toward their goals to achieve recovery. From prevention to healthy lifestyle education to intensive treatment when needed, our services encompass a more systemic approach to health management for the adults, children, seniors, and families we serve. Clients can get primary care and behavioral health care needs through one team, at one location.

By integrating services — mental health and addiction treatment, primary care, and housing — we can improve healthcare delivery to those who have chronic mental health challenges and help people live longer and healthier lives.

Cascadia Health has a long, rich history of serving the community.

Cascadia was formed when Multnomah County’s quadrant of mental health service providers merged over time. The four quadrants, the North-Northeast Community Health Center, Mental Health Services West, Mt. Hood Community Mental Health Center, and Southeast Mental Health Network were all started in the 80s. When Mt. Hood and Southeast merged in 2002, the name Cascadia was chosen and a year later Unity (the merged Mental Health Services West and North-Northeast) merged into Cascadia. Other smaller organizations also merged into the various organizations.

Cascadia is a CCBHC

Cascadia is the largest community-based behavioral health and substance use treatment services organization in the state of Oregon and is a Certified Community Behavioral Health Center (CCBHC). CCBHCs are a result of the Excellence in Mental Health Act and provide a comprehensive range of healthcare services to a particularly vulnerable population.

CCBHCs are required to provide nine core services.

Crisis mental health services including 24-hour mobile crisis teams emergency crisis intervention and crisis stabilization
Screening, assessment, and diagnosis including risk management
Patient-centered treatment planning
Outpatient mental health and substance use services
Primary care screening and monitoring
Targeted case management
Psychiatric rehabilitation services
Peer support, counseling services, and family support services
Services for members of the armed services and veterans
Connections with other providers and systems (criminal justice, foster care, child welfare, education, primary care, hospitals, etc.)

Access to CCBHC services can stabilize people experiencing a crisis, and provide treatment for individuals with complex healthcare needs. Additional services are required to support recovery and health and wellness in a trauma-informed-care environment.

Since October 2015, the Oregon Health Authority developed the CCBHC criteria as well as design an Alternative Payment Methodology (APM) to support the additional services required by the CCBHC model.
In October 2016, Oregon submitted an application to be part of a two-year demonstration program to determine the effectiveness of the CCBHC model. Cascadia is hard at work implementing CCBHC criteria at three of our outpatient clinics: Garlington Center, Plaza, and Woodland Park.
In December 2016, SAMHSA announced that Oregon was one of eight states to be awarded the demonstration grant.
In April 2017, Cascadia received the CCBHC designation.

Cascadia was designated as Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) status in March 2021.

As an FQHC, Cascadia will address health disparities through the delivery of whole health care at our Garlington and Woodland Park Health Centers. This includes integrating trauma-informed primary care into our existing array of mental health, addiction, wellness, and permanent affordable housing programs.

Mission

Cascadia Health delivers whole health care – integrated mental health and addiction services, primary care, and housing – to promote hope and support the well-being of the communities we serve.

Vision

We envision a community where everyone benefits from whole health care, experiences well-being, and has a self-directed, connected life.

For more than 35 years, Cascadia Health has been the community health and housing safety net provider for Oregonians of all ages experiencing mental health and addiction challenges, trauma, poverty, and homelessness.

Cascadia is a 501c3 nonprofit:

employs 900+ employees dedicated to serve each day
operates 75+ locations in Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties
touches 18,000+ lives each year
supports 730+ people in their recovery in permanent homes

From prevention to healthy lifestyle education to intensive treatment when needed, our services encompass a more systemic approach to health management for the adults, children, seniors, and families we serve. Our service continuum includes: