Reducing barriers, improving access in Rogue River

In rural Rogue River, families can now access pediatric care and Head Start preschool in one convenient location. In September 2025, the community celebrated the grand opening of Rogue River School District’s Early Learning and Wellness Center, which houses Southern Oregon Head Start’s expanded preschool program and La Clinica’s Rogue River Health Center. Next door to the public elementary school, the school-based health center doubled the local capacity for Head Start and eased the burden of travel for families in a remote community with limited health care and public transit options. JCC invested $100,000 to help with start-up costs, among other steps that paved the way for the project.

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JCC co-hosts new summit for interpreter workforce

JCC partnered on a first-ever summit for health care interpreters in September 2025. The event offered training, support and community-building opportunities for a workforce that’s essential yet strained by a shortage of qualified professionals and other pressures.

About 11% of JCC members are primarily Spanish-speaking. Interpreters help bridge language and cultural gaps between providers and patients with limited English proficiency, ultimately improving care quality and reducing disparities in health outcomes.

More than 60 interpreters attended the 2025 Southern Oregon Healthcare Interpreter Summit, which we co-hosted with AllCare CCO. Participants earned 212 continuing education unit hours, and attendees said the event helped strengthen their professional connections, knowledge and commitment to the field.

Learn about language services for JCC members.

Expanding access to timely autism assessments

Oregon faces significant challenges in providing timely autism assessments for children, with wait times at care centers often at two years or more. In collaboration with three other coordinated care organizations (CCOs), JCC connected nine network providers to a training to administer autism assessments. This training addresses a gap in care to help providers diagnose autism and begin interventions earlier in childhood. “Expanding the services offered locally and increasing access to care is very beneficial to the population in this area,” said one participant. Several clinicians have begun conducting diagnostic evaluations within their clinics. Early diagnosis and intervention for autism have been shown to lead to improved cognitive, language and social skills.

Medical respite program addresses critical housing gap

Rogue Retreat provides a spectrum of housing support for people experiencing houselessness. JCC partnered with the organization for medical respite support that meets a critical gap for members who are unhoused and who have medical needs that don’t require hospitalization but need shelter and support. The partnership served 46 members in 2025, with an average stay of just over a month, for 748 total bed days. More than one in four members were discharged to more stable housing or ongoing supportive programs, and others were connected to substance use treatment or ongoing shelter supports.

JCC honored for Excellence in Emergency Medical Services Integration

JCC received the Excellence in EMS Integration Award from the Academy of International Mobile Healthcare (AIMHI). Mercy Flights nominated JCC for the national award, which reflected the two groups’ deep partnership in designing and implementing projects to meet JCC member needs, including follow-ups after 911 calls, chronic disease monitoring and behavioral health support. “Mercy Flights cares for patients where they’re at — physically and emotionally — building trust to ultimately connect them with long-term care in the health care system. Mercy Flights is a true bridge of healing,” says Leona O’Keefe, MD, Medical Director at JCC.

PHLOW brings psychiatric support into primary care

JCC funded PHLOW (Psychiatric Health, Life Skills and Opportunities for Wellness), a psychiatric consultation and brief intervention program at La Clinica. The model helps members stay with their PCP and receive the appropriate level of care, while still having access to specialty services when necessary. In 2025, 531 patients were served, and PCP residents completed 200 hours of in-person psychiatric mentorship. As detailed in an American Psychological Association scientific report, participants showed drops in anxiety and depression, coinciding with a reduction in mental health claims.