Oregon Council of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
​A Regional Organization of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
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Albertina Kerr Appoints Dr. Naomi Fishman as Medical Director of Children’s Mental Health Programs

1/31/2022

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PORTLAND, OREGON (January 25, 2022) – Albertina Kerr is pleased to announce the  promotion of Naomi Fishman, M.D., to Medical Director of its Children’s Mental Health Services, beginning February 1, 2022.  
Dr. Fishman, a child and adolescent and adult psychiatrist, has been working at Kerr’s Crisis  Psychiatric Care (Subacute) program and Children’s Behavioral Services for more than five  years. Board certified in both Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Adult Psychiatry, she has  provided coverage at many organizations throughout Oregon. She recently completed a three year tenure as Program Chair of the Oregon Council of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.  
In her new role, Dr. Fishman will oversee and coordinate Kerr’s mental health programs for  youth and children. She will also represent Kerr in various community forums, develop medical  policies, carry a small case load, and provide absence and vacation coverage for other  psychiatrists. 
“Dr. Fishman’s talent in collaborating with others combined with her deep organizational  knowledge and passion for the client/family care experience makes her well-suited to further our  efforts,” said Derrick Perry, Chief Program Officer at Kerr.  
Dr. Fishman completed both a general psychiatry residency and a child and adolescent  psychiatry fellowship, where she was Chief Fellow her second year, at Oregon Health &  Sciences University (OHSU) in 2014 and 2016, respectively. “I am thrilled to have this  opportunity to continue serving youth and families in a clinical capacity, and also to help  strengthen Kerr’s current programs and build new ones,” she said.  
Since 1907, Albertina Kerr has been caring for Oregon’s most vulnerable citizens. Today, Kerr  offers children and teens struggling with life’s challenges crisis psychiatric care and outpatient  mental health services. Kerr also provides safe and supportive 24-hour residential care for  individuals experiencing intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (I/DD), and employment  services for adults with I/DD.
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Black Lives Matter - now, then, and always. A statement from the OCCAP Executive Committee

6/17/2020

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 The Oregon Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (OCCAP) stands in sorrow and grief decrying the senseless killings of Mr. George Floyd, Mr. Ahmaud Arbery and Ms .Breonna Taylor:- we  are determined to work for justice.  These killings, and others less well-known, were not only specific horrifying acts perpetrated by individuals but also the legacy of widespread tolerance of police brutality toward Black and Brown people.  We join our colleagues from many other physician organizations in calling for an end to police brutality and racism in all its manifestations.
   
Dr. Patrice Harris is an Atlanta child and adolescent psychiatrist who was elected this year as the first female African American President of the American Medical Association (AMA).  She and AMA Board Chair Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld write: “Corporeal and psychological violence at the hands of police is a derogatory device of enforcement, which is a philosophy our AMA cannot abide. Police brutality in the midst of public health crises is not crime-preventive—it creates demoralized conditions in an already strained time. It exacerbates psychological harms and has a clear impact on bystanders. Over time, this violence manifests as an erosion of communal trust in police and a “weathering" of people whose bodies are historically “over-policed”. The history of over-policing marginalized and minoritized communities in America is well-ingrained within our culture, but not inextricably so. The ultimate defense against police violence in times of public health crisis, and beyond, is centering equity and ensuring accountability as a public health measure.”   
   
Oregon, in particular, has an outsized history of racism having the distinction of being the only state that banned Black people from its borders  (1857) and in the 1920s become a haven for hate-mongering and racist groups such as the Klu klux klan (recently proposed to be named a terrorist organization) and the John Birch society.  Oregon was so unwelcoming to Black people that very few lived here until WWII. The legacy of this systemic racism continues to shape our communities.  Portland is the whitest large city in America (5.8% Black).  In a 2016 Atlantic article, African American educator Walidah Imarisha observed, “ I think Portland has, in many ways, perfected neoliberal racism.”  Furthermore, we like many states across this nation committed genocide against indigenous people and unconscionable acts of physical, environmental and legal atrocities that affect native peoples to this day.  
   
In our profession, we are in a unique position to witness that racism begins its debilitating developmental impacts as early as prenatally and continues as an oppressive presence in our classrooms and communities.  African Americans and Native Americans are subjected to chronic deficiencies in social determinants of health across the lifespan.  Low birth weight and infant mortality in Oregon are twice as high in Black infants as compared to White infants.  We hear our patients’ stories of racially based harassment, bullying and physical aggression and how that impacts mental health and well-being.  Black children are suspended and expelled at twice the rate of whites while research indicates Children of Color are no more disruptive in class.  In Oregon, Black children are three times as likely to be in foster care and much less likely to go home within 30 days.  National 2016 Department of Education data showed Black children as comprising 15% of students but 31% of police referrals.  Discriminatory discipline practices with disproportionate and harsh consequences directed at People of Color do not begin in adulthood.

Fortunately, there are individuals and organizations like Tony Hopson, Sr. of Self-Enhancement, Inc. and Kali Thorne Ladd of the Early Learning Council of Oregon, to name two of many,  who have been advocating for equity on behalf of African Americans in Oregon for years and we can better support their efforts.  Our profession is also in a unique position to intervene.  We can closely observe and take action against racist practices in school systems, health care systems and the juvenile justice system.  We can use our deep understanding of the impact of trauma, the social determinants of health and the power of culture and relationship on human resilience.  We can use our influence to change training practices and advocate for accountability in our local police departments.  We can help our state government and health care system continue to pursue its equity path.  

We must make it our practice to humbly and deeply listen to people who have suffered from racism and to invite these conversations more often with the youth and families we serve.  We must learn and then take anti-racist actions.

The Oregon Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry stands in support of those fighting for justice and the end of racism. We pledge to work within our organization and our communities to address our own past short-comings and we stand with the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in declaring: 
We condemn racism. We condemn racist acts. We condemn inequality in all parts of our community.
We are committed to creating a just and peaceful world for our children, families, and communities.

Executive Council, Oregon Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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New OPAL-K line for clinicians to address COVID stress

3/30/2020

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​​OPAL Program Announces COVID-19 Service

The Oregon Psychiatric Access Line (OPAL) has introduced a new service: OPAL-C (COVID-19 Clinician Stress Peer Support). In addition to offering psychiatric curbside consultations about adult and child patients, OPAL is now offering confidential peer support for primary care clinicians experiencing stress in response to the COVID-19 crisis. If you are interested in talking about COVID-19 practice stress, call 503-346-1000 or toll free 855-966-7255. Please let the receptionist know of your desire to talk about COVID-19 related stress issues.
 
Additional wellness resources are available through the Oregon Wellness Program.

OCCAP also has a COVID-19 resource page here, with resources for clinicians, parents and children. 
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12th Annual Children's Mental Health Conference - 4/22/23 - Memorial Union, Corvallis

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