In a tweet yesterday, Republican candidate for Oregon Governor Christine Drazan dismissed Democrat Tina Kotek’s call for the creation of addiction stabilization centers in Portland as “insanity.”

Nurse members of the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA), especially those working in our overburdened Emergency Departments, experience the consequences of Oregon’s ongoing methamphetamine crisis every day, every shift. Nurses, and those suffering from addiction, need a leader who is focused on confronting these problem head on, using clinically proven approaches and innovative strategies. Currently, people who are experiencing an addiction crisis often end up in Oregon’s emergency rooms. Establishing stabilization centers for people who are experiencing a crisis is one solution to a societal problem that currently leads to delayed care, strained hospital resources, and additional burdens on an already past-the-breaking point health care system and a failure to treat those with addiction.

Drazan’s dismissive attitude towards this crisis amounts to recommending we simply ignore the problem and be content with overrun emergency services at an exorbitant cost to all Oregonians.

“Christine Drazan would rather leave Oregonians in the streets than treat people suffering from addiction with the care and compassion they deserve,” said ONA member Diana Bijon, RN, who works in the Emergency Department at OHSU. “In a state with the highest rate of substance use disorders, serious challenges to accessing drug and mental health treatment, and where hospitals are suing the state for failing to meet mental health needs of Oregonians, Drazan wants more of the same, a broken system which harms individuals and families and overruns our hospitals--delaying health care for everyone.”

Nearly every Oregonian has felt the pain of addiction either through our own struggles or seeing it consume our family members, friends and neighborhoods. Tina Kotek, on the other hand, is proposing evidence based, clinically proven health care solutions like stabilization centers that help close the massive gap between people who need support and the life-saving services they desperately need.

“Oregonians need a leader who cares about all of us and takes Oregon’s health care issues seriously,” said Bijon. “Tina Kotek knows it is time to invest in our health care system to support frontline health care workers, expand prevention and recovery services throughout the state, and innovate with evidence-based harm reduction strategies, including stabilization centers.”

Tina Kotek has the strongest record of any candidate for Governor on health care issues of importance to every Oregonian, including behavioral health, addiction treatment, access to health care and reproductive health. Kotek has also been a champion for nurses and other frontline health care providers throughout her career in public office. ONA is proud to endorse Tina Kotek for Governor, in no small part because of her thoughtful, evidence-based and compassionate approach to addiction treatment for Oregonians in need.

More information on ONA’s 2022 endorsements can be found online at oregonrn.org/2022endorse.