The Oregon Academy of Family Physicians is excited to announce the continuation of the pilot project, Primary Care Beyond Clinic Walls (PCBCW). OAFP seeks to support better collaboration among primary care, local public health officers (LPHO), and community-based organizations (CBOs) through a pilot program focused on community challenges. Participants will establish enduring working relationships with CBOs working on social drivers of health and local public health through mentored development of projects aimed at improving community health needs related to inequities and social drivers of health. In 2023, the American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation awarded the PCBCW outstanding Program of the Year – watch below to learn more about the work the first cohort accomplished.
Clinicians are expected to be experts in health, but we know that health extends far beyond interactions in the office. Health is impacted by poverty, houselessness, unemployment, geographic location, loneliness, and a host of other factors. Patients have complex needs that extend beyond what a clinician can reasonably accommodate alone. We need a way to bridge the gap between CBOs, public health, and primary care. Primary Care Beyond Clinic Walls (PCBCW) aims to bridge that gap. The Oregon Academy of Family Physicians is seeking 5-8 creative, driven, and innovative individuals to support projects fostering partnerships with one or more of Oregon’s LPHO and CBOs. The scope of each project will be determined by the individual working in partnership with a CBO and or LPHO and the PCBW mentors. Those selected will have weekly or bi-weekly meetings with the PCBW mentor as well as monthly meetings with their project cohort to develop and evolve their ideas. The projects’ duration will be approximately 1 year with the potential for extension, and each participant will receive a stipend of $2500 plus travel expenses to support their work. Partnering CBOs will also be given stipends of $2500.
