As your State Senator, Deb Patterson prioritized creating an Oregon that works for everyone - working tirelessly to address the rising cost of healthcare, the growing housing and homelessness crisis, supporting our small businesses and investing in our education system.
She was honored to be appointed Chair of the Senate Health Care Committee, leading the way in bringing us closer to affordable and accessible healthcare for all and taking on Big Pharma and the increasing costs of prescription drugs. She was also appointed to the Committee on Housing and Development, Natural Resources and Wildfire Recovery and Veterans and Emergency Management Committees.
Deb successfully secured over $12 million dollars of investments into our community - from a homeless navigation center and shelter for the unhoused and for wildfire victims to support for small businesses to investments in career technical education and higher education scholarships. Senator Patterson is the leader Senate District 10 needs during these challenging times.
Deb Patterson has more than twenty years of experience in health advocacy and education, serving as the Executive Director of the International Parish Nurse Resource Center - now the Westberg Institute. In this role, she worked with more than 15,000 RNs in 23 countries, helping people gain access to much-needed healthcare in partnership with hospitals, medical schools, nursing schools, and faith communities. She holds a Master of Healthcare Administration degree from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Deb was the founding Vice President of the Deaconess Foundation, a children’s health philanthropy, where she researched and funded programs to improve children’s health, including early childhood interventions, school-based programs, and services for children in the foster care system.
She was on the executive management team of the Deaconess Incarnate Word Health System in St. Louis, where she served as Minister of Religion and Health, overseeing mission integrity, ethics, and community benefit programs.
Deb Patterson’s Governmental Experience
Oregon Commission on Women
Oregon Disabilities Commission
Oregon Commission on Senior Services (liaison from ODC)
Oregon Nursing Home Administrator’s Board
Capitol Foundation Board of Directors
Oregon Hunger Task Force
Chair, Marion County Health Advisory Board
Member, Marion County Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Advisory Board
