2023 Annual Report
A bridge to a better, more equitable future.
Welcome to the Northwest Human Services 2023 Annual Report! This year has been a testament to our unwavering commitment to serving our community with compassion, integrity, and dedication. As we reflect on our accomplishments, challenges, and the many lives we’ve touched, we are filled with gratitude for the collective efforts of our staff, volunteers, partners, and supporters. These invaluable contributions have enabled us to continue providing essential services and support to those in need. Together, we have experienced a year of growth and resilience, and we look forward to continuing to build a bright future. Thank you for being a part of our journey.
Our Mission: Creating a healthy community with respect, compassion, and acceptance for all.
Our Vision: Working together to empower individuals to improve their health, well-being and safety.
Annual Report Contents
Expanding Access Finance Report
• Letter from our CEO Paul Logan
• Our Board of Directors
Transitional Programs Medical Services
• Letter from our Medical Director , Dr. Chen
Finance Overview An overview of our Transitional Programs.
• Overview of Medical Services for more information visit us at
A message from our CEO.
NWHS celebrates milestones in expanding access to comprehensive healthcare and social services in 2023.
Paul Logan
Chief Executive Officer
Northwest Human Services
2023 marked the end of our four year, $15M building expansion and remodel of the West Salem Clinic campus. This site is now truly a one-stop wholly integrated shop for primary medical, dental, psychiatry and mental health care!
Demand for health and social services was high throughout 2023. We took definitive steps to create greater access by expanding the hours we are open to clients at HOAP, Street Outreach, our Total Health Community Clinic in Monmouth and the West Salem Dental Clinic. Additionally, our Crisis and Information Hotline grew rapidly to expand their reach as they joined the national 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline as the regional call center for Marion and Polk Counties.
NWHS staff take pride in being a safety-net provider, opening our doors to everyone in the community with a special focus upon cultivating relationships with those who encounter 4
barriers to accessing healthcare. We offer a hand-up to those at greatest risk for poor health outcomes as a result of social and economic challenges faced each day. This includes individuals and families living in cars, camps, and temporary housing such as emergency shelters, pallet shelters, missions or motels. We are specialists in addressing the medical, mental health and social needs of clients who suffer chronic and progressive ailments; many of whom have been cast aside by mainstream medicine or who are unable to effectively advocate for themselves.
With our strong financial position and the continued support of our Board, our staff, donors and our community partners, we strive to continue our mission of breaking down systemic barriers, building relationships, and creating partnerships in health to the benefit of individuals, families and our community at large.
Our Board of Directors.
Board Officers
Susan Scott
Board Chair
Patient Representative
Bob Moore
Board Treasurer
Community Member
Board Members
Jim Christian
Board Member
Patient Representative
Oracio Larios
Board Member
Community Member
Jan Margosian
Past Chair
Patient Representative
Eric Tweed
Board Member
Community Member
Mike Wise
Board Vice Chair
Community Member
Larry Goodreau
Board Secretary
Community Member
William Dettwyler
Board Member
Patient Representative
Ana Lopez
Board Member
Patient Representative
Michelle Pecora
Board Member
Patient Representative
Bill Williams
Board Member
Community Member
Led by a team of patients, clients and community partners, our Board of Directors play a crucial role in ensuring that the services and programs provided by Northwest Human Services effectively meet the needs of individuals and families in Marion and Polk Counties. We are grateful for their support and vision.
Social & fiscal responsibility
As a Federally Qualified Health Center, no one is turned away for inability to pay. In 2023, more than $448,000 in medical, dental, and mental health care services were provided at no or reduced cost to members of our community who are uninsured or under-insured. This commitment ensures nobody is denied the healthcare services they need and deserve.
NWHS is a bridge to a better and more equitable future - one in which our clients receive high quality care that rivals any other system.
What makes the work we do at NWHS special?
For me, I visualize a bridge. What we do at NWHS by increasing access to crucial primary care, mental health, and dental services connects us to the origins of the federally qualified health center movement in the 1960s as an extension of the civil rights movement.
In those early days, community activists worked alongside primary care physicians to launch health centers in our nation’s neediest neighborhoods. Remarkably, the mission back then is the same as it is today - provide high-quality services while recognizing the social challenges that play a crucial role in health and well-being.
At NWHS, we embody this tradition of health advocacy, to serve the medically vulnerable and marginalized
members of our community. But NWHS is much more than a bridge to the past. We have a vision for what comes next so in that sense, NWHS is a bridge to a better and more equitable future - one in which our clients receive high quality care that rivals any other system in town, and where economic drivers of poverty are comprehensively coordinated under one roof. We stand well equipped to innovate and solve problems that plague our most fragile clients.
Working together, we are making a difference to heal this community. The work that links us to our past, is what links us to our future. At NWHS, we are that bridge.
5,900 36,474
Total number of visits: 63,855 Patients per service
Number of patients 12,503
West Salem Dental services.
Inclusive dental care for all: serving our community beyond boundaries
As part of our West Salem Clinic campus remodel, we doubled the size of our dental clinic to eight operatories. Co-located under the same roof as our medical and mental health services, we are equipped to provide services to more patients in our community. Access to quality dental care has never been easier for patients of our West Salem Clinic.
This expansion has allowed us to further our mission to offer inclusive, comprehensive, and affordable dental care.
20%
Increase in dental patients served from 2022 to 2023
Dental patients served in 2022: 1,339
Dental patients served in 2023: 1,616
Street Outreach.
In February 2024, NWHS purchased a new mobile outreach van to provide health services to Salem’s unhoused and medically fragile community members. The van was purchased using grant funds from the City of Salem and the Willamette Health Council. It features increased storage capacity for supplies, a medical exam bed and a more private space in which to provide care.
The NWHS outreach team has been visiting encampments, parks, and other areas of Salem where unhoused individuals congregate to provide on-site nursing care and offer resources. The addition of a well-equipped vehicle to support these efforts will expand the range of care and offer a safe and private environment in which to do that.
Street outreach also provides an opportunity to connect people with other resources such as transportation options for accessing healthcare, housing and shelter contacts and help applying for Oregon Health Plan (OHP) benefits. Our Outreach Team also distributes snacks, seasonal supplies, first aid kits, hygiene kits, and clothing to the people they visit.
Transitional Programs | HOAP.
Homeless Outreach and Advocacy Project
With a 41% increase in homelessness in Marion County and a 7% increase in Polk County between 2018-2023, HOAP’s services are more essential than ever. The HOAP Day Center supports homeless adults by providing services including meals, information and referrals, showers, laundry facilities, a clothing closet, mailboxes, bus passes, and more. Additionally, HOAP operates an on-site medical clinic every week, offering walk-in appointments and scheduled visits.
To further meet the needs of our clients, we have staff working across programs to better connect HOAP clients to our West Salem Clinic. Our bus service transports clients from seven different locations throughout Salem and Keizer three times a week to the West Salem Clinic for medical, mental health, and dental care, ensuring comprehensive support and accessibility.
27,169
Total visits to HOAP in 2023
2,483 People visited HOAP in 2023
28,555 Meals served
481 Received medical help
First time visitors
476
709 Patients transported by our bus
Showers provided
1,120
With 24/7/365 access, our Crisis and Information Hotline team members respond to calls from patients, clients, and community members.
Our Crisis & Information Hotline has been providing 24-hour crisis support and suicide intervention as well as limited emergency financial assistance for rent, utilities, and prescription medications since being established in 1970.
In July 2022, the U.S. transitioned from a 10-digit National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to the 3-digit 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This easy-to-remember number connects people to compassionate counselors and resources for any type of mental health crisis. NWHS is the regional 988 call center for Marion and Polk Counties. This means people who live in our area can reach the Crisis and Information Hotline by dialing 988, or by dialing our original phone number at 503-581-5535.
2,110
Callers disclosed having thoughts of suicide during the time of the call.
91%
Calls where suicidal ideation was present and were successfully resolved over the phone.
29,866
In 2023, there were at total of 29,866 calls to the Crisis and Information Hotline and the new regional 988 Hotline.
135 Households received emergency food boxes
3,779
Out of the 29,866 total calls, 3,779 came through the new 988 number.
500 Households received emergency financial help
942
Callers identified as Homeless.
Transitional Programs | HOST.
Health, Outreach, Shelter, Transitions
The HOST Resource Center serves as a safe and inclusive space for young adults ages 18-24 who are homeless or facing housing instability. HOST welcomes everyone regardless of race, sexuality, or creed. Known as a sanctuary in the community, the center is a place where individuals can find acceptance and support. As one client shared:
“HOST is the only safe space in Salem as a queer couple, where we feel respected, welcomed, and part of a larger community.”
Our dedicated staff embodies our mission every day by providing essential services. Even during weather events or other emergencies, our staff stay overnight to ensure that our doors remain open, offering necessary supplies and shelter to those in need.
The center also offers a Transitional Living Program that provides not only shelter but also guidance on navigating life independently, equipping young adults with the skills they need to become self-sufficient. HOST’s mission is to break the cycle of abuse, trauma, homelessness, and exploitation, helping young adults transition to self-sufficiency while providing a vital safe space for those in need.
4,256
Total visits to HOST in 2023
139 Young adults visited HOST in 2023
3,080
2,473
Loads of laundry at TLP
438
Volunteer Peer Associates and Interns
2004.5 hours Meals served Showers and other amenities provided
Cultivating Community.
Community Health Workers play a key role as members of the Care Coordination Team by arranging wrap-around services for each patient’s health and social wellness needs.
CHW encounters for 2019-2023. Each entry may have more than one SDoH need addressed.
Our staff understand the importance of reducing inequities, recognizing institutional trauma, and the impact a person’s environment can have on health. Community Health Workers (CHWs) are active members of each care team who help patients and clients navigate health care and social service systems. They connect patients and clients with services including enrollment with public benefits, employment help, education resources, clothing, shelter and other social determinants of health (SDoH). The goal of CHWs is to empower patients to advocate for and improve their health, well-being, and safety.
CHWs work both within our medical sites and Transitional Programs, making them key members of our care teams. All CHWs have a close connection to and understanding of the communities we serve, offering culturally and linguistically appropriate care.
