October 25, 2017
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INSIDE
The
Week in Review
M ETRO
This page
Sponsored by:
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Photo by D ana l ynn b arbar /t he P ortlanD o bserver
Jeffrey Eisen, chief medical officer at Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare and Joan Jasper from Scott
Edwards Architecture tour the construction of the Garlington Center for Health and Wellness, a new
all-in-one facility to bring mental health, addiction counseling and physical health services into one
location, while also providing affordable housing options.
Arts &
ENTERTAINMENT
O PINION
C LASSIFIEDS
C ALENDAR
Health Center Rises
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New Garlington
Center shaped by
community needs
by D ana l ynn b arbar
t he P ortlanD o bserver
Construction of a unique coordinated healthcare
facility geared toward the African American com-
munity and other vulnerable residents is nearing
completion. Slated to open this spring, the Garling-
ton Center for Health and Wellness will provide
space for mental health and addiction counseling,
medical services, and affordable housing.
Cascadia Behavior Health representatives, along
with project partners from Colas Construction and
Scott Edwards Architecture, gave a hard-hat tour of
the property on Thursday for a behind-the-scenes
look at the new facility at 3034 N.E. Marin Luther
King Jr. Blvd.
The 1.5-acre space will house two buildings.
One will be the health center itself, with a clinic,
on-site pharmacy, and over 20 rooms for counsel-
ors and clinicians to see patients. The other build-
ing will be an affordable housing area, with 52 res-
idential units including studio, one-bedroom and
two-bedroom apartments that patients can apply to
stay in. There is also an outdoor courtyard space
and plans for a community garden.
This is the first time that Cascadia will imple-
ment a fully integrated, team-based health care
model at one of their centers, where mental health,
wellness, physical health and housing are consoli-
dated into one space.
Health care leaders have come to realize that
traditional addiction care only looks at one aspect
of a patient’s health needs, and that there are often
many other factors that affect a person’s well-be-
ing, including other mental health issues, physical
health, housing, and even transportation.
Cascadia staff members are excited about the
possibility of identifying and incorporating the va-
riety of needs and issues a patient faces into their
treatment options.
“When mental health is addressed as a facet
of a person’s entire wellbeing, we more often see
lasting improvements in that person’s ability to
thrive,” said Kalindi Kapadia, director of the Gar-
lington Center. “We are so happy to be working
on this, and think it’s going to be great for every-
body,” she added.
Derald Walker, Cascadia’s chief executive of-
ficer, said he was thrilled that the health provider
was part of an effort that “finally breaks down the
barrier between behavioral care and primary care.”
The center is named after the late Rev. John W.
Garlington, a black minister and prominent advo-
cate for civil rights in the Portland community in
the late 1970s and early 1980s.