New Prism Health Facility Expands Healthcare Services to Historically Black Eliot Neighborhood

Since opening in 2017, the first Prism Health facility has provided a safe, affirming, non-judgmental space in the Belmont neighborhood, where members of the LGBTQ+ community and beyond can access inclusive, affirming, high-quality primary care and behavioral health services regardless of ability to pay. In 2024, CAP will open a second Prism Health location, Prism Health Morris.

This Black History and Black Futures month, we want to highlight the legacy of the new Prism Health Morris building and the historically Black Eliot neighborhood where it is located. The new location will make it possible for Prism Health to expand access to compassionate health care for all and to focus more explicitly on addressing the needs of Black community members and all people of color.

The building was originally owned by barrier-breaking Oregon physician, Dr. Walter Reynolds. Dr. Reynolds was the first Black person to graduate from Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), then called the University of Oregon Medical School. He later opened his own clinic on North Williams Avenue and led the medical staff at Emanuel Hospital. In addition to his medical accomplishments, Dr. Reynolds was dedicated to fighting racism in Oregon. He was passionate about increasing opportunities for people of color and helped recruit students of color to OHSU. In the late 1950s, Reynolds served as president of the Urban League of Portland. Dr. Reynolds died in 2020 at the age of 100.

The building has provided underserved communities with compassionate healthcare for decades. In 1980, with Dr. Reynolds support, Black Nurse Practitioners Mariah A. Taylor and Juretta Webb opened the first Black-owned community-based nurse practitioner clinic in the country. Most recently, the building was owned by the Native American Rehabilitation Association (NARA). Prism Health is excited by the opportunity to honor and continue this legacy through expanding our services to communities that have faced barriers to accessing quality healthcare.

According to Pew Research, 56% of Black adults report at least one negative experience with doctors or other health care providers at some point in their lives. Additionally, LGBTQ+ people of color are more likely to report discrimination of any kind than white LGBTQ+ people.

These intersecting challenges are particularly dire for transgender and nonbinary people. Transgender individuals face unique barriers to accessing health care and receiving adequate care, including discrimination and mistreatment from providers, lack of health insurance, lack of transgender specific coverage and lack of available services. Black transgender people continue to be disproportionately impacted by HIV, with Black transgender folks accounting for almost half of all new HIV diagnoses in 2019.

With the opening of our second clinic, Prism Health is proud to continue making improvements and investments in our capacity to care for BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ people and particularly those who have intersecting identities across race, gender, and sexual orientation.

About Cascade AIDS Project

Founded in 1983 and incorporated in 1985 as the Cascade AIDS Project, CAP is the oldest and largest community-based provider of HIV services, housing, education and advocacy in Oregon and Southwest Washington. We promote well-being and advance equity by providing inclusive health and wellness services for LGBTQ+ people, people affected by HIV, and all those seeking compassionate care. When the need for affordable, accessible, and culturally affirming primary care services was identified as a community need, we responded by opening Prism Health in 2017. And it 2022, Our House of Portland joined the CAP family to further expand our service offerings and allow us to offer a full lifecycle of care to our community. To learn more about CAP, please visit www.capnw.org