Robert Duehmig

Robert Duehmig has nearly 20 years of experience working in education and health policy at the state and national level. As Director, he is responsible for overall office communication and the Annual Oregon Rural Health Conference. In addition, he oversees the State Office of Rural Health Grant and the ORH Workforce Team, including provider incentives and recruitment and retention services. Contact Robert if you have questions regarding the Oregon Rural Health Conference, state or federal policy relating to workforce and rural health or communication.

Laura Potter

Laura Potter joined the ORH after years of experience as an attorney and manager of a large nonprofit focused on cancer. Laura oversees the ORH Administrative Team. In addition, she supervises logistical support for the Annual Oregon Rural Health Conference and the Annual Forum on Aging in Rural Oregon, office HR and compliance issues. Contact Laura if you have questions regarding conference logistics and tax credit program administration, and for any general questions.

Maggie Tidmore

Maggie Tidmore has a background in holistic medicine and over 12 years of administrative experience in both public and private sectors. Her desire to return to the field of health care led her to ORH at the end of 2023. Maggie supports all aspects of ORH’s mission, and if you have any general questions, please reach out to her. 

Sara Mishalanie

Sara Mishalanie has over 20 years of experience as a communications professional in both nonprofit and private business. Sara joined the ORH team in early 2022, after supporting community engaged research in rural communities throughout Oregon with OHSU. Based in Central Oregon, Sara manages all communications and outreach for the ORH team, helping to support and connect rural communities to quality health care in Oregon. 

Sarah Andersen

Sarah Andersen, MPH, has over 25 years of experience in non-profit, private business, and grant management with a focus on increasing access to health care for underserved Oregonians. She supervises the ORH Field Services team to provide expertise, evidence-based support, education programs and technical assistance for rural and remote Oregon health facilities and community organizations. Contact Sarah if you have questions regarding the Medicare Flexibility Grant (Flex), the Small Hospital Improvement Program (SHIP) and/or technical assistance related to finances and operations for rural and remote health care facilities.

Rondyann Gerst

Rondyann Gerst is the Rural Health Clinic (RHC) Program Manager at the Oregon Office of Rural Health (ORH) and is ORH’s subject matter expert on RHCs. In her role, she provides technical assistance to RHCs in compliance activities, operational improvements and billing and coding. She also assists rural clinics who desire to convert to RHC status. Based in La Grande, OR, she has over 28 years of experience in healthcare administration, working for both private clinics and hospital owned provider-based RHCs. Please contact Rondyann if you have any questions relating to RHCs in Oregon.

Emerson Ong

Emerson Ong joined ORH in 2000, after learning about Access databases and survey tools at the Department of Nursing Administration at Johns Hopkins Hospital. At ORH, he has expanded and consolidated demographic, health status, and health utilization data and established ORH as a statewide resource for rural Oregon ZIP code level health data. Emerson utilizes GIS to present this data in graphical maps of the state. Data reports (e.g., demographic and health community profiles) and maps (e.g., the number and location of Psychiatrists across the state) are available on our website. For customized data or maps to inform facility operations or community health improvement planning, please contact Emerson.

Stephanie Sayegh

Stephanie Sayegh recently joined the Oregon Office of Rural Health as Field Services Program Manager to provide quality improvement support for the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) program and support the Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program (SHIP). Prior to this, she was the Idaho Flex and SHIP Coordinator for 13 years. Stephanie was a Peace Corps Health Volunteer in Honduras and worked on a variety of education and health projects for non-governmental organizations in Sierra Leone and Mozambique.  She received her B.A. from Boise State University in Anthropology and Spanish.  She received her M.A. from The New School University in New York in International Affairs/Socio-Economic Development. Stephanie lives in Boise, Idaho, with her 14-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter. 

Stepha Dragoon

Stepha Dragoon (she/they) has over a decade of experience leading community impact initiatives across the United States. They recently obtained dual master's degrees in social work and public affairs from the University of Texas at Austin. Stepha has experience in social impact consulting, health equity initiatives, program evaluation, academic research, and policy development. Stepha manages ORH programs related to population health, telehealth, and healthy aging.

Joan Field

Joan Field joined the Field Services team in 2024 to facilitate the Rural EMS Supplement Flex grant. She brings 17 years as a volunteer with her local frontier-rural ambulance agency (15 years as an EMT-Intermediate), and eight years as a Community Health Worker. She is also an IBSC-certified Community Paramedic, and is an Oregon Mobile Integrated Healthcare Coalition board member.  

At ORH, Joan’s primary role is to support rural EMS sustainability, recruitment and retention, workforce development, and training. With 20 years of business experience in newspaper publishing, she will also support other ORH activities.  

Contact Joan to learn more about ORH’s support for rural and remote EMS in Oregon. 

Trixie Lacas

Trixie Lacas joins the ORH with over 20 years' of health care management experience working for a Critical Access Hospital as Manager of Medical Staff Services. She also brings, well over 10 years' of experience as a Physician/Advanced Practitioner Recruiter, specifically within a rural community and 13 years' as the site coordinator for 3^rd & 4^th year Medical Student clinical rotations, as well as site coordinator for Advanced Practitioner clinical rotations. Trixie is a Certified Provider Credentialing Specialist (CPCS) with NAMSS, has completed the AAPPR (Association of Advancing Physician & Provider Recruitment) fellowship program. Trixie is based in Hermiston, OR. Contact Trixie for health care recruitment and retention support, including recruitment planning and the 3Rnet jobs board.

Bill Pfunder

Bill Pfunder joined the ORH in 2016. Bill has over 10 years’ experience in emergency medical services, including rural Alaska. He also has experience with nonprofit social services agencies that assist families caring for children and young adults with special needs. Bill served as the Oregon/National POLST Coordinator and Office Manager at the OHSU Center for Ethics. Please contact Bill for questions on Oregon’s provider incentive programs or workforce initiatives. 

Brittney Johnston

Brittney Johnston has been part of the Workforce Services Team since 2020. She brings experience working with dental students and medical providers, as well as a background in professional finance. Based in Oregon's North Coast, Brittney provides expertise across all Workforce Team activities and program communications. Please feel free to reach out to Brittney if you have questions regarding Oregon’s incentive programs.

Rachel Burggraff
 

Rachel Burggraff joined ORH in 2021, after 5 years’ experience supporting dental education. Rachel worked with underserved urban communities for years as a volunteer dental assistant, so when the opportunity to help underserved rural communities presented itself, she jumped at the opportunity. Rachel, a member of the Workforce Team, coordinates post-award support for the Oregon Partnership State Loan Repayment Program (SLRP), Scholars for a Healthy Oregon Initiative (SHOI), and the Primary Care Loan Forgiveness Program (PCLF). Rachel also supports ORHs overall health care recruitment and retention efforts, including 3Rnet.

Joie Lozano

Joie Lozano joined the ORH with over 9 years of experience working alongside medical providers from various specialties. Joie coordinates the Rural Medical Practitioners Insurance Subsidy Program, provider incentive Site Applications, provider applications for the Oregon Partnership State Loan Repayment Program (SLRP), as well as provider outreach and experience projects. Contact Joie if you have any general questions about provider incentive programs.

Natasha Hanif

Natasha joined OHSU in March 2024 as an administrative coordinator in the Language Service Department. Before this, she worked at Providence Health and Services as a regional administrative coordinator, handling timekeeping and payroll. In August 2024, she joined ORH, where she coordinates post-award support for the Oregon Behavioral Health Loan Repayment and Oregon Health Care Provider Loan Repayment programs. Natasha enjoys helping people, and this position allows her to make a difference in the lives of so many people in the community.

Macensie Cain

Macensie Cain joined the ORH team in the fall of 2024. Her journey at OHSU started in 2016 in the food and nutrition department. She then worked as a PAS in various clinics such as primary care, internal medicine, behavioral health, OHSU Casey Eye Institute, and OHSU School of Dentistry. Before joining ORH, Macensie was a billing coordinator for the OHSU School of Dentistry. She loves to connect with people and learn what makes people sparkle! You can contact Macensie with questions about how to apply to the Oregon Health Care Provider Loan Repayment Program and the Oregon Behavioral Health Loan Repayment Program.