News Item 
Press Release 
Commentary
April 17th, 2013
Fluoride Facts Portland Launches
We’ve launched Fluoride Facts Portland as a resource for all seeking the facts on fluoride. Every child deserves the opportunity to live a healthy life, and that the path to a healthy life begins early in childhood. Every community deserves the right to create environments that promote and sustain health. There is a dental health crisis in Portland. It affects all of us, and especially children, low-income families and communities of color. More than 35% of Oregon children suffer from tooth decay.
Northwest Health Foundation supports community water fluoridation because it is a simple, safe, fair and effective way of preventing tooth decay. We believe it is vitally important for voters to have full access to the facts and myths about fluoridation to make an informed decision for the May 21 special election.
March 20th, 2013
Jesse Beason to Join NWHF as Director of Public Affairs
The Northwest Health Foundation has named Jesse Beason Director of Public Affairs. Beason is currently executive director of Proud Ground, a Portland-based nonprofit. Beason will join the foundation on August 1. He succeeds Chris Palmedo, who leaves the foundation on April 5 to complete his doctoral degree at Portland State University.
March 15th, 2013
Open Wide: How Oregonians are eating the cost of bad oral health
According to this article from Street Roots, “the issue of oral health is one that spans entire lives, affecting social, economic and emotional development from grade school onward.” NWHF president Nichole Maher says “I would visit Head Start programs in Portland where more than half of the three-year-old kids have mouths filled with metal fillings. One of the main reasons kids would skip school was for dental care, and for the uninsured, that usually meant a hefty emergency room bill.”
January 26th, 2013
Portland Harbor Cleanup Gets Diverse Community Input from Grant
The Oregonian reports on $50,000 Kaiser Permanente Community Fund grant provided to Groundwork Portland, which seeks to provide more diverse community representation in discussions about the cleanup of the Portland Harbor Superfund Site. The hazardous waste site is the result of decades of industrial use along the Willamette River and in 2000 was made a top priority of the Environmental Protection Agency.
January 25th, 2013
Donalda Dodson Named to NWHF Board of Directors
Northwest Health Foundation has named Donalda Dodson to its governing board of directors, following a selection process overseen by its nominating committee. Dodson is executive director of the Oregon Child Development Coalition, one of the largest early childhood care and education networks in Oregon, and the state’s sixth largest non-profit organization.
January 23rd, 2013
Oregonian: Momentum Alliance Wins KPCF Grant
The Oregonian reports that a $200,000 Kaiser Permanente Community Fund grant has been provided to Momentum Alliance, a youth-led, North Portland nonprofit that aims to create a network for underrepresented youth.
January 9th, 2013
Kaiser Permanente Community Fund Awards More Than $2.5 Million in Grants to 22 Nonprofts
Kaiser Permanente Community Fund awards more than $2.5 million in grant support to 22 nonproft organizations in Oregon and SW Washington.
December 19th, 2012
NWHF Seeks Part-time Accountant
Northwest Health Foundation (NWHF) is seeking an experienced and dynamic accountant. The position is part time at 20 hours per week. Benefits will be offered on a pro rata basis. The position will report to the Vice-President, Finance and will be open until filled. For more information please see the attached file.
November 14th, 2012
NWHF Receives AFP “Foundation of the Year” Award
On November 14, the Oregon chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals awarded Northwest Health Foundation as “Outstanding Philanthropic Foundation” of the Year. This award recognizes a community grantmaking organization that offers encouragement and motivation to non-profits and grant makers while supporting nonprofit organizational goals. The award was presented by Keith Thomajan, CEO of United Way of the Columbia-Willamette, who highlighted the foundation’s work on equity, and the social determinants of health, with a special recognition paid to the Kaiser Permanente Community Fund. Pamplin Media Group produced this profile of NWHF for the event, which can be seen below.
October 10th, 2012
Northwest Health Foundation President Focuses on Improving Health Outcomes
Interview with NWHF president Nichole Maher in the Lund Report.
September 5th, 2012
Nichole Maher Interview in Street Roots
Soon after Nichole Maher joined Northwest Health Foundation as president, she conducted an interview with Street Roots, a Portland-based newspaper that delivers news and commentary on social and economic justice issues important to the community. Her interview can be found here.
August 15th, 2012
New Coalition Lobbies for Fluoridated Drinking Water
“The hope is to fluoridate our water in Portland,” said Nichole Maher, Northwest Health Foundation president in this August 10 article from the Oregonian. “I think that our poorest and most vulnerable children are paying pretty significant consequences.”
In a column by Susan Nielson in the August 11 Oregonian, Dr. Phil Wu, NWHF board member, is quoted as saying “to see an acute preventable problem like that is extremely disturbing.”
In the August 15 Oregonian, the editorial board writes that fluoridation “protects vulnerable children from parental indifference and ignorance. It also protects taxpayers, who foot the bill when those same children visit the emergency room in dental agony. People who don’t think such things happen regularly should talk to some doctors and dentists.”
Everyone Deserves Healthy Teeth Coalition Members - Dental Health Disparities w/Communities of Color
June 14th, 2012
Chris DeMars Discusses Supreme Court Decision
NWHF senior program officer Chris DeMars explains in Nonprofit Quarterly how Oregon is moving toward Coordinated Care Organizations, or “teams of providers that will be really diverse groups of stakeholders—health systems, primary care providers in some communities, public health departments, maybe social service organizations that will all come together and provide care for Medicaid recipients in a coordinated way—physical health, mental health and oral-health care.”
June 14th, 2012
Kaiser Health News Interview: Chris DeMars
NWHF Senior Program Officer Chris DeMars talks with Kaiser Health News about Oregon’s current momentum on health care reform. View the video at http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2012/June/15/Supreme-Uncertainty-Chris-DeMars.aspx.
June 11th, 2012
Nichole Maher Named NWHF President
Northwest Health Foundation has named Nichole Maher as its new president and CEO, replacing Thomas Aschenbrener, who retired on June 18. Maher will join the foundation on August 6. Northwest Health Foundation Board Chair Tina Castañares, M.D., said, “Nichole has a broad view of what health means and what a healthy community can look like. She also has a very impressive 11-year record of leadership success. She will be a great force for positive change in our region.”
June 10th, 2012
Groups Need To Work Together
Salem Statesman Journal reflects on the importance of groups working together for a common cause, after NWHF and Kaiser Permanente brought together nearly 300 community members on May 21st at the Kaiser Permanente Summit. “Our call to action needs to be: better awareness, outcome-based solutions, elimination of the issues in the first place, and—most of all—coming together,” said Terianne Petzold.
June 5th, 2012
Center for Philanthropy Renamed “Aschenbrener Center”
In honor of the recently retired president Thomas Aschenbrenner, Northwest Health Foundation has renamed the Center for Philanthropy the Aschenbrener Center for Philanthropy. Read more of the Oregonian’s coverage at http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2012/06/northwest_health_foundation_re.html.
April 2nd, 2012
Foundation Review Article - Evaluating the Impact of the Kaiser Permanente Community Fund
As part of our commitment to continuous learning, NWHF commissioned the Center for Community Health and Evaluation (CCHE), to retrospectively evaluate the first five years of the fund’s grantmaking (2005-2009). This journal article presents an overview of the Kaiser Permanente Community Fund and introduces the frameworks and methods used for the evaluation. The article concludes with lessons learned during the evaluation.
March 9th, 2012
Nonprofits Hold the Future of Our Community
In Portland Business Journal’s March 2012 special section on Estate and Charitable Planning, NWHF’s Kevin Johnson writes that “the choices our community will make in the next several years may re‐define our regional nonprofit community as we know it.” He closes the piece by asking “Why not start by thinking about what nonprofit groups you would consider including in your estate plan?” This question, Kevin writes, “can quickly bring you closer to describing what values in community are most important to you.”
March 3rd, 2012
Oregonian: Nonprofit Grows While Growing Small Business
The Oregonian reports on the growth of Micro Enterprise Services of Oregon, thanks to a recent grant from the Kaiser Permanente Community Fund at Northwest Health Foundation.
February 9th, 2012
Kaiser Permanente Community Fund Announces $2 Million in Local Grants
Kaiser Permanente Community Fund at Northwest Health Foundation Announces $2 Million in Local Grants
December 23rd, 2011
Health Care Reform is Working in Oregon
NWHF senior program officer Chris DeMars writes in the Salem Statesman-Journal that no matter what’s happening — or not happening — on the national stage, Oregon is working to create a better health care system for everyone in the state.
November 30th, 2011
Health Coach Seeks to Improve Health of Cowlitz County Community
Elizabeth Haeck is a “Community Coach” in Longview Washington, part of a grant from the Kaiser Permanente Community Fund.
September 28th, 2011
Thomas Aschenbrener Announces 2012 Retirement from NWHF
Thomas Aschenbrener, founding president of the Northwest Health Foundation will retire from the foundation in June 2012.
September 23rd, 2011
Philanthropy and Business: It’s personal AND professional
According to Kevin Johnson’s piece in the Portland Business Journal, we may be in for new changes in philanthropy that could be even more dramatic than what the world witnessed in Carnegie and Rockefeller’s time.
September 7th, 2011
NWHF and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Partnership Announces 11 New Grants for 2011
NWHF and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation partnership announces 11 new grants across 12 States.
August 14th, 2011
Senator Mark Hatfield: An Appreciation
Senator Mark O. Hatfield served as the founding board chair for Northwest Health Foundation from 1998-2005. NWHF president Thomas Aschenbrener wrote this remembrance of the Senator, which was published in the Oregonian online on Sunday, August 14.
July 14th, 2011
Can Produce Stands at a Convenience Store Improve Community Health?
Through a Northwest Health Foundation grant, Lane Coalition for Healthy Active Youth has helped install produce stands at select Dari Mart locations in the Eugene-Springfield area. As a Community-Based Participatory Research project, the effects of placing these stands will be studied in relation to purchasing choices, and even the health of the local population.
March 31st, 2011
Oregonian: Access to Care Not Only Key to Health
In a front-page article in the Oregonian on the recently released County Health Rankings, David Rebanal, NWHF’s senior program officer points out that, “Much of the opportunity for improving health exists in our schools, our homes, our jobs and other settings outside of doctors’ offices.”
March 29th, 2011
Oregon Health System Stronger for WIIN Program
Judith Andersen, Director of the NWHF-funded Workforce Improvement with Immigrant Nurses (WIIN) program, discusses the history of the concept, and its positive role in the Oregon health system.
March 10th, 2011
Northwest Health Foundation provides $260,000 in Health Care Reform Grants
NWHF awards $260,000 in grants to raise the consumer and community voice in the health-care reform process.
February 21st, 2011
Mi más distiguida Señora presidente
Creating an aspirational vision for the future is often at the heart of philanthropy. Here NWHF president Thomas Aschenbrener shares one vision for the future, which he developed after participating in the annual meeting of NWHF’s Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future program.
December 1st, 2010
Tobacco Tax Poll December 2010
A new NWHF-funded poll reveals that 71 percent of Oregon voters favor a one dollar cigarette tax increase to fund Oregon’s tobacco prevention program. A proposed tobacco tax would bring in $77 million in new revenue, and reduce youth smoking. View the entire poll here.
November 27th, 2010
Program Allows Belarus Native to Quit Making Artificial Flowers and Return to Nursing
WIIN Program allows nurses from all over the world get back into their chosen profession.
November 22nd, 2010
Convergence Partnership Grants Address Health Equity in Multnomah County
Northwest Health Foundation awards $600,000 in grants to seven local initiatives that aim to improve health equity in Multnomah County.
November 8th, 2010
Investing in Lasting Change - Opinion Piece for “Insight into Diversity” Magazine
Thomas Aschenbrener writes on the importance of health advocacy for communities of color in “Insight into Diversity” magazine.
October 15th, 2010
Lights, Camera, Take Action! by Thomas Aschenbrener
NWHF president Thomas Aschenbrener’s observations on engaging youth in public health system will-building - Part of Grantmakers in Health’s “Views from the Field.”
September 30th, 2010
The Skanner: Health Advocacy Grants Will Allow to Lobby Lawmakers Community Groups
The Skanner reports on NWHF’s Health Care Advocacy Grants provided to partnerships among organizations advocating for health equity and public health.
August 31st, 2010
2010 Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future (PIN) Grants Announced
Northwest Health Foundation and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation announce nine new grants as part of the Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future (PIN) initiative.
August 26th, 2010
NWHF Provides Health Advocacy Grants to Uncommon Partnerships
$500,000 Health Care Reform Advocacy grant portfolio targets communities most affected by lack of health insurance.
July 26th, 2010
NWHF Announces Grant to Clackamas Community College to Expand Nursing Program to Clark County, WA
The innovative Workforce Improvement with International Nurses (WIIN) Program expands from Clackamas Community College to Clark Community College in Vancouver, WA.
June 23rd, 2010
Poll: Obesity Seen as a Growing Problem in Northwest
A NWHF-funded poll conducted by Davis Hibbitts and Mighall, Inc. finds that Northwest residents see childhood obesity as a growing problem in their communities.
May 24th, 2010
Thomas Aschenbrener in the Oregonian - “The Nurse in Your Healthcare Future”
By 2025, can you imagine a health system where virtually all primary care in the United States is delivered by nurses and nurse practitioners?
May 24th, 2010
New Research: Oregonians Believe Soda Companies Contribute to Kids’ Obesity
Northwest Health Foundation releases results from a statewide study that presents Oregonians’ opinions about the relationship between soda advertisements, soda companies, and childhood obesity.
May 7th, 2010
Nurses Deserve Our Respect - Judith Woodruff
Portland Business Journal opinion article by Judith Woodruff, NWHF’s director of health workforce development.
May 3rd, 2010
Chronicle of Philanthopy - Five Great Program Officers
NWHF’s Chris Kabel profiled as one of the nation’s “Five Great Program Officers.”
March 17th, 2010
NWHF Poll: Smoking Ban Does Not Affect Lottery Revenues
According to the most recent NWHF / CHP poll, Oregonians are going to bars more often now that smoke-free law is in effect. News item is from the Lund Report. More information on the poll is in our “Resources” section.
March 14th, 2010
Fruit Valley Cultivates Healthy Lives
The Fruit Valley neighborhood of Vancouver, Washington may sound wholesome, but a pair of convenience stores is all that exists for food – making it much easier to buy beer than broccoli. A $50,000 Kaiser Permanente Community Fund grant brings together social services agencies and community gardens to identify opportunities for bringing more healthy food to the region.
March 11th, 2010
KGW Reports on Oregon Tradeswomen Grant
Joe Smith reports on a Kaiser Permanente Community Fund grant to Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. As reported, one of the goals of this grant is “to influence the public structures that enable more women to get on construction sites,” according to David Rebanal, program officer with Northwest Health Foundation.
March 10th, 2010
NWHF Releases Public Opinion Poll Revealing Health Priorities of Oregonians
Northwest Health Foundation, through its Community Health Priorities Project, has just released new public opinion research conducted by Davis Hibbitts Midghall, revealing areas where Oregonians want health dollars spent. Visit the NWHF “Resources Page” to view the complete poll.
February 24th, 2010
Kaiser Permanente Community Fund Provides $3 Million to 25 Oregon Nonprofits
Kaiser Permanente Community Fund provides more than $3 million in grant funds to organizations addressing the social determinants of health.
December 15th, 2009
Northwest Health Foundation Urges Yes Vote on Measures 66 and 67
Northwest Health Foundation urges Oregonians to vote YES on ballot measures 66 and 67 this January 2010
November 25th, 2009
Hood River News: La Clinica Receives NWHF Grant
Northwest Health Foundation has awarded $60,950 to La Clinica del Cariño, a migrant and community health center that is seeking to enhance health care delivery at its clinics in Hood River and The Dalles.
November 18th, 2009
Innovative Models Grants
Seven Oregon Health Care Projects have been awarded over $450,000 as part of the “Innovative Models in Health Care Delivery” grant program.
October 15th, 2009
Goodness Magazine
Goodness Magazine features article on NWHF’s Community Health Priorities project.
September 8th, 2009
NWHF Hosts Ladder to Leadership
Northwest Health Foundation hosts launch for the Robert Wood Johnson and Center for Creative Leadership’s “Ladder to Leadership” Program.
August 16th, 2009
Regional Foundations Collaborate on National Nursing Workforce Effort
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Northwest Health Foundation announce ten grants to begin the fourth phase of Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future (PIN), a national initiative to help address the national nursing shortage.
July 14th, 2009
Think Out Loud on Health Promotion Features NWHF’s David Rebanal
On OPB’s Think Out Loud, Northwest Health Foundation program officer David Rebanal discusses how the Foundation has moved its grantmaking toward policy advocacy and earlier interventions in health.
May 8th, 2009
Commonwealth Fund Grant Announced
Oregon Primary Care Association announces Commonwealth Fund grant for Oregon health care clinics to expand “patient-centered medical homes.”
Craig Hostetler, President, OPCA, thanks the Northwest Health Foundation. “They have been generous in supporting the medical home model, and they have also been key partners in our work regarding comprehensive health care reform in Oregon.”
April 6th, 2009
NWHF Releases Oregon Obesity Study
Northwest Health Foundation releases seven-year Oregon obesity study conducted by Dr. Kenneth Thorpe, Professor and Chair, Department of Health Policy and Management, Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.
March 30th, 2009
Street Roots on Cambodian-American Oral History Prioject
Street Roots reports on the Northwest Health Foundation-funded Cambodian-American Oral History Project.
March 30th, 2009
OPB Reports on Nursing Faculty Loan Program from NWHF Office
Oregon Public Broadcasting’s Kristian Foden-Vencil reports on Oregon’s nurse faculty shortage from a press conference held at Northwest Health Foundation.
February 19th, 2009
“Think Long Term on Tobacco Tax”
“Think long term on tobacco tax,“ by Thomas Aschenbrener, Northwest Health Foundation president, argues that smokers are not paying the full costs of a pack of cigarettes, on the Oregonian’s “My Oregon” blog.