August 20, 2021

ONA’s Donations Committee is pleased to announce the awarding of its first Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Grants. These grants will assist local organizations working to advance diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and/or local health care projects which benefit BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities. 

As the state’s largest and most influential nursing organization, ONA is dedicated to advocating for nursing, quality health care and healthy communities. The Donations Committee awards financial grants and other resources to community-based organizations to support short and long-term projects and initiatives which advance equity and improve health.

Awardees for 2020-2021 and their project/initiative:

• Healing Justice Collective of Central Oregon - Current models of care don’t incorporate holistic and collective modalities reflecting BIPOC cultural beliefs. Mainstream healthcare too often pathologizes people of color and disempowers us in care, resulting in poor health outcomes for our communities. HJC is positioned to launch a practitioner coalition built within diverse communities to develop culturally competent networks of care. Through leadership development of HJC’s BIPOC practitioner network, they will convene affinity groups reaching specific communities for base building, surveying, and inviting members to build power to address the health gap in our communities.  
• La Clinica de Guadalupe - The clinic delivers primary care, urgent care, annual exams and lab services to all individuals, with emphasis on seasonal migrant farm workers, local Latinx low-income families, the elderly and others visiting from Hispanic countries. Nearly 100% of their patients are uninsured. COVID prevalence in the community is high compared to other populations, so they have maintained a hybrid telemed practice that also includes in-person appointments when appropriate. They see 10-14 patients per day (down from 15-18 pre-COVID) and have an in-house pharmacy and nutritional supplements for sale at discounted prices. They also coordinate referrals to specialists, diagnostic imaging, etc.
• Red Lodge Transition Services - Red Lodge has two certified instructors for teaching Wellbriety, a nationally acclaimed Native American 12 step sobriety program. They offer weekly programming at the women's prison in Wilsonville, OR and the Red Lodge Transition Center outside Oregon City. This twelve-week course will create a foundation for women to rebuild their lives using traditional teaching and concepts based on the Native American medicine wheel. It is holistic in addressing trauma and uses mind mapping to help understand addiction and create new ways of thinking, acting and responding to negative and stressful stimulus.
• Alliance of Black Nurses Association of Oregon - The project is a condensed version of the National Black Nurses Association (NBNA) Early Experiential Mini Nurse Academy (EMNAc). The goal is to deliver a mobile introductory age-specific nursing course targeted to school-age children and teens, focusing on accurate depictions of Black nurse professionals. The program will also feature STEM activities that emphasize the nursing framework, use laboratory equipment, and develop nursing skills in an entertaining, engaging, and educational environment. The mini nurse academy connects the Black and African American art, excellence, and nursing heritage to any setting where multigenerational cultural and ethnic health education occurs.
• Black Parent Initiative - The Sacred Roots Doula and Lactation Services program matches African American, African, Black, and African American Multiracial pregnant women with culturally representative Doulas and Certified Lactation Consultants to maximize positive birth outcomes and help improve early childhood development for children. Sacred Roots Doulas conduct home visits, attend and oversee the birth, and offer mothers consistent reassurance, encouragement, comfort, and respect.

Awardees for 2021-2022 and their projects/initiatives:

• Unidos Bridging Community - Latinx communities are 16.2% of the Yamhill County population but have comprised up to 37% of the COVID-19 cases and have only received 9% of the tests. The project serves Latinx Spanish-speakers, low-income undocumented and documented immigrants with no or low digital literacy. The funds from ONA will increase access to COVID-19 vaccines and provide prevention outreach. COVID-19 vaccine education will be culturally and linguistically appropriate and offered through social media, mass text messaging, radio station interviews, and in-person outreach through PPE distribution at agriculture workplaces, churches and culturally-specific small businesses.
• Virginia Garcia Memorial Foundation - The patient population served by Virginia Garcia programs is on the frontlines of the pandemic and every day providers hear about how COVID-19 magnifies the barriers people were already facing, like access to food, affordable housing, childcare and anti-immigration policies. Because of the legacy and continued oppression of structural racism, Virginia Garcia patients are more likely to contract and become seriously ill from COVID-19 and they are being vaccinated in smaller numbers than other groups. This program will increase access to screening, outreach and education efforts, and vaccinations to keep patients and the community safe and healthy.

The Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) is the state’s largest and most influential nursing organization. We are a professional association and labor union which represents 15,000 nurses and allied health workers throughout the state. Our mission is to advocate for nursing, quality health care and healthy communities. For more information visit: www.OregonRN.org.