In July 2020, Matthias Merkel, M.D., Ph.D., checks hospital data across multiple hospitals at OHSU Mission Control. What started as a coordination effort initiated by OHSU during the coronavirus pandemic grew into a permanent information-sharing initiative among the state and other health systems, providing centralized resources and real-time coordination of patient care. (OHSU/Kristyna Wentz-Graff)

At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Oregon Health & Science University initiated the creation of COVID Capacity Center, coordinating health systems across the state to better serve Oregonians who need a higher level of critical care than was available in their communities. That center evolved into a permanent information-sharing initiative among the state and other health systems called the Oregon Medical Coordination Center, or OMCC. Headquarters at OHSU’s Mission Control, the OMCC team uses real-time data about hospital bed availability and available critical care services to efficiently place patients in facilities where they can be treated. The OMCC was essential for Oregon's response to the coronavirus pandemic, and later proved invaluable during other public health emergencies. Since then, OHSU has received state and federal funding to grow the coordination center to behavioral health, creating the Oregon Behavioral Health Coordination Center, or OBCC. Like OMCC, the OBCC will be a hub for information about bed capacity among facilities that provide inpatient mental health care. As the U.S. faces ongoing challenges with health care resources and staffing, OHSU will continue to innovate and advance statewide collaboration, so all Oregonians can receive the care they need.

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• WATCH: Learn more about OHSU Mission Control.
• Click here for photos of OHSU Mission Control.
• READ MORE: Critical Care Explorations publication, June 2020: “Statewide Real-Time Tracking of Beds and Ventilators During Coronavirus Disease 2019 and Beyond”
• READ MORE: Pediatric Critical Care Medicine publication, June 2023: “Using Two Statewide Medical Operations Coordination Centers to Load Balance in Pediatric Hospitals During a Severe Respiratory Surge in the United States”