State hospital in Salem renamed in honor of former Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney

A new plaque will hang on one of the walls of the main entrance of the Oregon State Hospital in Salem now known as the Peter Courtney Salem Campus of the Oregon State Hospital.

The plaque was unveiled Tuesday in a previously scheduled ceremony that was held hours after the announcement of the former Senate president's death. Courtney died from complications related to cancer , according to Gov. Tina Kotek.

Kotek and other current and former Oregon staffers, legislators and other close friends of Courtney gathered at the Oregon State Hospital Cremains Memorial to unveil the plaque honoring his dedication to improving the hospital and Oregon.

The plaque references Executive Order 22-25, among the last executive orders issued by Gov. Kate Brown in December of 2022 directing the Oregon Health Authority to rename the Salem campus in honor of the longtime legislator and former Senate president. He was the longest-serving legislator in state history and the longest-serving Senate president.

Mental health was among the causes Courtney championed. He fought for increased funding for community mental health treatment and an increase in the cigarette tax, which is dedicated to funding mental health treatment.

Interim Oregon State Hospital Superintendent Sara Walker on Tuesday remembered Courtney's work that led to the construction of the memorial where the ceremony was held.

After taking a 2004 tour of the Oregon State Hospital grounds Courtney saw a room full of neglected copper urns. Hundreds of those are now displayed in the memorial dedicated in 2014, and the state hospital has since reunited more than 1,000 cremains with families.

"If Peter were here right now he would say the work that started 20 years ago is just the beginning of the journey," said Connie Seeley, Courtney's former chief of staff for seven years and now chief administrative officer and chief of staff at Oregon Health & Science University.

Dianne Lugo cov ers the Oregon Legislature and equity issues. Reach her at dlugo@statesmanjournal.com or on X @DianneLugo

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: State hospital in Salem renamed in honor of former Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney