The Central Oregon Health Quality Alliance ended its grant program in May 2026 and no longer operating as a 501-c3 after December 2026.
COHQA’s board of directors and staff express deep gratitude to its grantees, healthcare partners, community organizations, and supporters whose collaboration helped create lasting impact throughout numerous communities.
We thrive on new and promising ideas.
We embrace the knowledge and experience of people closest to the work.
We learn from success, failure and everything in between.
We believe diverse perspectives create great work and big impact.
As our healthcare experts on the ground, our local providers are intimately connected with their patients and living the realities of providing care in an imperfect healthcare system. They can identify clearly what needs to change to improve health outcomes. But they often lack the funding and capacity to make those great ideas happen.
In 2013, our sister organization, the Center Oregon Independent Practice Association (COIPA), started a grant program to fund those innovative healthcare improvement projects within their network of providers and clinics. The program was funded by COIPA providers from their earnings from the OHA Quality Incentive Program; essentially reinvesting their reward for providing high quality care to fund their colleagues’ most innovative ideas to continue improving that care.
In 2016, COIPA supported the creation of the Central Oregon Health Quality Alliance as a foundation to house the grant program and expand supporting projects and initiatives beyond the COIPA network. Since then, COIPA continues to be a significant contributor to COHQA’s work of supporting healthcare innovation from idea to adoption.
Over the last 11 years, COHQA has impacted the quality of healthcare across a range of specialties, issues, and patient demographics across our 40,000 square mile service area from North Klamath up through the Gorge and into Eastern Oregon. Through our partnerships with healthcare providers, public health, clinics, private and community foundations, and nonprofits, we have supported and invested $2.2 million in over 70 projects that are reshaping healthcare in this region.
Since its founding in 2016, Central Oregon Health Quality Alliance (COHQA) has served as a catalyst for healthcare innovation across Central Oregon and Southern Washington, supporting both provider-led and community-driven solutions to improve health outcomes. Created with leadership and support from the Central Oregon Independent Practice Association (COIPA), COHQA built on a grant program COIPA launched in 2013. COHQA has helped turn provider insight into meaningful action, empowering those closest to patient care to design and implement impactful solutions.
The grant program was originally funded through COIPA’s members reinvesting their earnings from the Oregon Health Authority’s Quality Incentive Program. In later years, COIPA members dedicated annual Oregon Health Plan Medicaid surplus dollars to this work, reflecting a shared commitment among providers to continuously improve care. Over the years, it has grown to foster collaboration among healthcare providers, community organizations, and patients – strengthening partnerships and advancing creative approaches to complex healthcare challenges.
COHQA’s impact spans a 40,000-square-mile service area, from Northern Klamath through the Columbia River Gorge and into Eastern Oregon. Through strong partnerships with healthcare providers, public health agencies, clinics, and community-based organizations, COHQA has contributed over $2.6 million to support 96 grant projects that are reshaping healthcare across the region and improving outcomes for diverse patient populations.
COHQA’s legacy lives on through the programs, partnerships, and community investments that continue to benefit patients and communities today. See previous funded projects here.
