sacagawea health center about us

A Brief History

In 2000, St. Helens School District Nurse Robin Loper discovered a huge shortfall in the healthcare needs of local students. Lack of local access, changes to the Oregon Health Plan and various other factors created a gap in comprehensive healthcare service for local school-aged children.

With the backing of Northwest Health Foundation, Legacy Health Systems and St. Helens School District, Robin founded Sacagawea Health Center, staffing it with a highly skilled nurse practitioner and dedicated health care assistants.

The Health Center now serves hundreds of students each year with medical and mental health services. The Health Center has also had a profound impact in reducing disciplinary citations for students who have received mental health therapy.

Sacagawea Health Center is a 501c(3) non-profit corporation and certified with the State of Oregon as a School-Based Health Center. The corporation is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. It is the goal of Sacagawea Health Center to have representation on the board from all of our community partners including; St. Helens School District, the Public Health Foundation of Columbia County, Columbia Community Mental Health and the community at large. If you would be interested in serving on our board please contact us for a board application.