State Behavioral Health Investments Create More Than 1,600 New Treatment Beds

Salem, OR - Governor Tina Kotek today announced significant growth in Oregon's mental health and addiction care treatment capacity, marking a major step forward in her administration's effort to strengthen a system long stretched beyond its limits and ensure Oregonians can access treatment when they need it.

"Oregonians deserve a health care system that shows up for them when they need help," Governor Kotek said. "That's why we're changing the treatment landscape, methodically and strategically. More than 1,000 beds are open today that weren't available when I took office. Hundreds more are coming. And we're also building the workforce to staff them."

Under Governor Kotek's leadership, the state anticipates adding 1,660 licensed residential treatment beds to Oregon's continuum of care - this is a more than 45% increase in capacity. Of those, 1,067 are already open and serving Oregonians today, with 593 more scheduled to open within the next two and a half years. The state was the primary investor in 960 of these beds - a deliberate, targeted investment in a system that for too long has lacked the capacity to meet the scale of the need.

This is an unprecedented increase that meets the urgency of the moment. The graph below demonstrates the growth in state-funded residential bed capacity since late 2022, when the Governor directed the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) to begin tracking this data. Prior to 2023, Oregon had not experienced significant or sustained growth of state-funded beds.

This graph represents the 960 beds that have opened and are slated to open due to state investment.

Oregon's mental health and addiction care system had been weakened by decades of underinvestment, workforce shortages, and fragmented care. Too often, people have cycled through emergency rooms, jails, and the streets instead of receiving treatment. From day one, Governor Kotek committed to driving structural, long-term change rather than temporary fixes.

The addition of more than 1,600 beds represents a fundamental shift in the system's capacity. Longtime system partners have noted that Oregon has not seen an expansion of this scale in such a short timeframe. The increase reflects a coordinated, statewide effort to meet the scope of Oregon's behavioral health needs and provide meaningful, lasting support to individuals and families across the state.

"I've been in this field for decades; I have never seen statewide growth in capacity like this - not even close," Devarshi Bajpai, CEO of Fora Health, said. "The investments in beds and workforce are going to improve the lives of Oregonians and make our communities safer and healthier. Oregon is finally building a system to meet the scale of the need."

"This expansion reflects a commitment to meeting Oregonians where they are," Ebony Clarke, Behavioral Health Director of OHA, said. "When someone is ready to seek treatment, we have to be ready to receive them. And the state is making that a reality for more Oregonians not only in the metropolitan area but also in our rural and coastal communities."

"State investment made it possible for us to open new beds and serve more people in our community," Julie Ibrahim, CEO of New Narrative, said. "Providers like New Narrative are ready to do this work - we just need the resources to do it at the scale the crisis demands. This funding is a real signal that Oregon is serious about meeting that moment."

Access a message from the Governor here.