Trillium Staff Profile: Debi Farr
Date: 02/26/23
Debi Farr, Trillium’s Community Relations Manager, has always been passionate about collaborating with individuals and organizations to increase access to care and build healthy communities. “When we come together to listen, to learn from each other’s lived experiences, and to identify innovative solutions, we can make long-lasting, sustainable change,” she explained. “I truly appreciate the opportunity to be part of this process.”
Throughout her career, Debi has focused on community engagement. Prior to joining Trillium, she served as the Director of Marketing and Community Relations at McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center. While there, she launched a free women’s health and wellness group and assisted in organizing a senior health and wellness program. Debi invited speakers to talk about a variety of health topics, including pregnancy, heart health, nutrition, and fun topics like comfortable footwear for walking/running, budget friendly travel and presentations from local authors. Over time, Debi noticed that many women participated in the group both for the health information and for the camaraderie.
“It was so meaningful for me to realize that we were also helping women form friendships and create a support network. That’s just as much a part of building healthy communities as sharing information about healthy eating or managing chronic disease.”
While working at McKenzie-Willamette, Debi engaged with many patients who faced serious challenges and barriers to care such as income level, access to food and housing, and more.
“I realized that we needed to do something different in terms of connecting people to care, though this was before the state of Oregon created coordinated care organizations (CCOs), so I didn’t know what that could look like,” Debi explained. “When CCOs were formed in 2012, I joined Trillium. It was a perfect fit!”
In addition to cultivating new and existing partnerships with community-based organizations to further health equity, Debi serves as liaison to the Community Advisory Council (CAC) in the Southwest Region and is currently the CAC coordinator for the Tri-County CAC. She is in the process of transitioning that role to Kendra Pennington, the Community Engagement Manager for the North. Both CACs include representatives from local healthcare and community-based organizations, as well as consumer members who are on Trillium’s Medicaid plan.
“Hearing from our consumer members and learning more about their lived experiences in terms of what’s working and how we can improve to ensure health equity and access to care is invaluable,” said Debi. “In their lived experience, there have been many times when people did not listen to our CAC consumer members. They may have felt invisible in our society due to factors such as their income status, disability, or culture. I feel strongly about helping our CAC consumer members find their voice and create a space where they can lead.”
The CACs provide advice and feedback to Trillium’s Board of Directors. Input from the CAC has helped inform many of Trillium’s health equity partnerships and investments, including affordable housing and food security in our local communities. For example, the Southwest CAC was instrumental in shaping the Trillium Produce Plus program. In partnership with FOOD For Lane County (FFLC), Trillium Produce Plus brings high-quality fresh fruits and vegetables, plus additional food items, to people in need at community and neighborhood locations such as clinics and public centers. Similarly, the Tri-County CAC supports Trillium’s partnership with Rockwood Community Development Corporation and the Rockwood Food Hub program, which provides food from Oregon Food Bank and culturally specific food items purchased with funds from Trillium to individuals and families in the Rockwood area.
In addition to working for Trillium, Debi has served as a school board member since 2008. “I’m passionate about public education and early learning. It’s important to find ways we can address food security and other social emotional needs so that our kids can focus on learning while they’re in school,” said Debi. “I’m also an advocate for arts education. I was a speech theater major at the University of Oregon, and the arts help support both academic and social education in so many ways.”
Debi and her husband both share a passion for helping improve our local communities. They have raised three kids together, one of whom is transgender. They love traveling and spending time with their children and grandchildren for family dinners, holiday celebrations, and outdoor adventures. Debi is committed to ensuring that all families have access to whole healthcare.
“Knowing that Trillium is helping people live healthier lives–that’s why I keep doing this work,” Debi explained.
If you would like to explore community engagement and partnership opportunities in the Southwest and Lane County areas, please contact Debi Farr.