The Health Department’s 160-year history has been marked by employees’ abilities to identify emerging issues. In the county’s earliest years, sanitation and care for the indigent sick was a key con...
The Multnomah County Health Department’s mission is to assure, promote and protect the health of the people, regardless of circumstance.
To address the inefficiencies in the county’s services, the county developed a long-range plan to re-distribute the indigent sick to private, community hospitals. By 1973, the county contracted wit...
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The county continued to expand its services to serve emerging needs in the community. Pre-natal and family care and treatment for sexually-transmitted diseases topped the list. As demand for county...
Two centuries ago, land that is now Multnomah County was home to thriving communities of Native Americans.
By 1854, local government was established in the Portland area with the purpose of conducting elections, collecting taxes, building roads and bridges, trying court cases, and providing care for the...
Frequently Asked Questions about the Multnomah County Health Department Headquarters
When the Great Depression struck, the health department faced a growing demand for services with less money to provide them. With declining tax revenue, the county struggled to meet the need. Then,...
History of Multnomah County Public Health
In 1968, a long-discussed merger finally took place between the county and the City of Portland, making the Multnomah County the sole public health authority in the area.
When Oregon pioneers settled in the Pacific Northwest, they brought their own remedies to treat sickness and disease. Their medicine ranged from cobwebs for cuts to spirit-soaked sunflowe...
The county's health department's proposed site is located in Portland’s oldest and most historic commercial and cultural neighborhoods: Old Town Chinatown.
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The Design and Construction Team
By 1890, local government was just starting to embrace public health. City officials were combating contaminated drinking water, food-borne diseases and sickness among children.
The county has an urgent need to replace an aging, inefficient and undersized building and meet the increasing demand for health services.
Health Department Headquarter news