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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 31, 1981)
Mr» Prances Schoen-*e»8paper Eoo» U n lv e r a lty o f O re*™ L i b ra ry tugene, Oregon 97493 Intld«: The real Libya Movie Review Marching Band Ragtime page 6 Sport Talk Page 12 Page 2 PORTLAND OBSERMER December 31, 1981 Volume X II, Number 12 250 Per Copy Economic ills empty hospitals n l h i t r i n i f Siegner by P Catherine < 1 ___. ________ * _ Portland hospitals have not es caped the bite o f economic recession and inflation, as a survey by the Ob server reveals. Reaganomics and its attendant budget cutbacks are reflected in m ore em pty beds, fewer elective o p erations, and in some cases, tem porary s ta ff layoffs and flo o r closures. Here is a rundown o f the situation at several area hospitals: • Emanuel-. A hospital source indicated the average census is down a significant amount. “ A ll hospitals are experiencing the same thing. A n ytim e you get that big a drop it's bound to affect (he hospital,” the source said. There have been no layoffs as yet at Emanuel, but attrition (lowering staff levels by not replacing workers who leave) is being utilized, accord ing to the source. One in d icatio n o f recession’ s effect is the larger proportion o f pa ____ a _ . » a . u > tients treated under M edicare and M edicaid programs. A t Em anuel, where such patients com prise approximately 104% o f total patient load, that figure has gone up sub stantially. A ll hospitals must treat a certain number o f patients without charge, as required by the H ill-B urton Act. Since many in P o rtla n d have increased th e ir share o f no-fee patients, it is assumed they would rather have beds occupied by non paying or government-reimbursed cases than to have those beds remain empty. • G ood Sam aritan: Patient load at G ood Sam in N W P o rtla n d is down to 501 from the licensed level o f 539, according to E. Byron Smith, vice-president for corporate affairs. “ Our business is definitely down over a period o f the last three months,'* says Smith. “ It was also true the winter o f 1973-74.“ Sm ith says G ood Sam has temporarily closed floors, but that “ we do it every year. Everybody who can go home does through Christm as to the end o f the year. We did have one small unit closed this fa ll and the patients consoli dated.” As far as Hill-Burton patients go, Good Sam has “ always exceeded” its share, Smith says. “ 454% (o f patients) are covered by welfare or Medicare. Only 124% are self-payin g, and a lot o f that is money from co-insurance (patients pay part o f the fee, s im ilar to a d ed u c tib le),“ he explains. "C ash payments d o n 't am ount to more than 104% o f our business.” Smith admits the economic situa tion has kept some people from attaining medical coverage. “ People who don't have it are those who fall between the cracks— those who are unem ployed or who are disabled and are not eligible for welfare,” he says. W hat about Reagan’ s so-called “ safety net” that he claimed would be there to help poor people m ain tain some level o f health care despite budget cuts? “ The Reagan adm inistration has not to my knowledge advanced any plan for health care,” Smith replies, but “ the time for a national health care plan just isn’t right for it now. I think there will be some plan— pro bably for catastrophic care.” Sm ith believes the current eco nomic situation w on't last because “ nothing is s ta g n a n t." H o sp ital business will adjust to accommodate the “ graying o f Am erica” — the rise in the over-65 age g ro u p — and elderly care will be a focus, he adds. “ As far as tra d itio n a l care, i t ’ s changing.” • Providence: This N E Portland hospital is in a sim ilar position to the others. “ We've had a low census for quite a while,” says Information Specialist Sister M a ry M arg aret Lang. " I haven’t seen the December figures yet, but they usually drop because o f Christmas time— people don’t want to go into the hospital.” (Please turn to page I I column I) EMANUEL HOSPITAL Feds find no civil rights violation in possums The U .S . Departm ent o f Justice has announced that a federal investigation of P o rtla n d ’ s “ possum incident” has ended with no finding o f criminal wrongdoing. The possums were killed by on- duty police officers and deposited in front o f the Burgar Barn, a Black owned restaurant, on M arch 12th. O ffic e rs C raig W a rd and James G a llo w a y were dismissed but reinstated following an arbitration hearing. The other officers involved were not disciplined. The FB I, under the supervision o f ihc u ttir» D e p a rtm __. . . s C iv il the J Justice e n t’ Rights Bureau, investigated the case to determ ine i f there had been a violation o f civil rights. Com m issioner C harles Jordan, who was Police C om m issioner at the tim e o f the incident and was pulled fro m the jo b during the a rb itra tio n hearing by M a y o r Iv a n c ie . said he had not been o ffic ia lly notified o f the decision. “ When I read about it in the paper I wasn’t surprised - 1 d id n 't expect any more.” Jordan has m aintained that the ; . .. . . incident was a violation o f the c iv il rights o f the p ro p erty owners, George and G e rald in e Powe, but that it was not racially motivated. “ W hat does it take to vio late someone’s civil rights,” he asked. " T h is is not a rhetorical question. I f this was not a v io latio n o f civil rights, then I really don, know what it takes to prove a c ivil rights v io la tio n and I doubt that the average person on the street would understand. ” , d id n ’ t think the government w ould do anything about it. _ ■ Perhaps i f we had a fin a n c ia lly healthy N A A C P , which could hire the best attorneys, then there could have been a better fig h t and the outcom e would have been different.” Jordan said neither the F B I nor the Justice D ep artm en t had interview ed h im , bu, that they a p p aren tly had m ade th e ir investigation from the record. The Powes have file d a federal court suit alleging the incident violated their constitutional rights, seeking S3.8 million in damages. Federal grand jury investigates Black groups In the past the governm ent has generally been concerned with what it viewed as openly progressive or radical underground Black groups. Bu, now a shift is developing. Rainy Day: Serena Brown contemplate» eunny daya of summer while Chrietmaa vacation drifts by. (Photo: Richard J. Brown, An even broader range o f Black oriented affiliations will be scrutin ized by a federal grand jury that is planning hearings in a number o f large cities including Chicago and Los Angeles, as well as other urban centers where Black organizations have sizeable membership rolls. The Black Press Institute, in Chi cago, has learned that under a regu lation used to investigate the M afia a federal grand ju ry will look into possible linkages between respected Black organizations and terrorist groups. The grand jury will use the Rack e te e rin s Influenced In flu e n c e d and a n d Corrupt t n rm m O r w r . eteering ganizations (R IC O ) statute to order Blacks to testify about the organiza tions they belong to. The grand jury will want to know about m ember ship, financial support and organi zational structure, and Blacks who are subpoenaed but fail to show up to testify will be charged with con tem pt o f court and then ja ile d i f they fail to cooperate. M any Blacks fear the probe may in tim id a te present or p o ten tial group members and discourage needed contributions. The grand jury probe is expected to include: selected civil rights o r ganizations; Black professional a l liances; Black cultural groups; com munity-based "grassroots” organi zations; Black po litical organize- IlllflC a n d tions and college-based groups that recruit Black students. A Black woman in New Y o rk , Yaasmyn Fula, is now serving wha, could be an 18-month ja il sentence because she refused to tell a grand jury about her group: the N ational Task Force for C O 1N T E LP R O L iti gation and Research. Fula, a para legal. was asked to divulge informa tion about her clients. Her attorney, Lewis Myers, said she was jailed de spite protections under the sixth amendment to the C o n s titu tio n which involve attorney-client privi leges. Cointelpro was the F B I’s effort to use in fo rm an ts to spy on Black groups and discredit them in the 1970s. Later, the National Security Council urged officials to perpetu ^ a _ . . J ? . . : —I a_ ate divisions between Black groups, derail leaders and th w a rt ties be tween Blacks in the U .S. and Blacks in Africa. The thrust behind the com ing R IC O probe began a fte r the O ct. 20th attempted robbery o f $1.6 mil lion fro m a B rin k ’ s tru ck in New York City. A grand ju ry was called on to study connections between Black groups— the Black Panthers. Black Liberation Arm y and the Re public o f New A f r ik a — and the white radical W eath er U n d e r ground. Now the grand ju ry wants to ex amine the v ia b ility o f other Black groups and look fo r connections with “ Black radicals.” Critics feel the nation’ s conservative political clim ate makes it suitable fo r the hearings to take place— secretly. This New Year, beware of redheads by Kathryn Lindeman Smithsonian News Service As you’re quaffing your last toast to the New Year, beating on a noise- maker or pondering that final, most im portant resolution, you might well ask yourself, “ W h a t’ s all the fuss about?" W e ll, be reassured; generations before you have made the same ,o- d o .. and then some. As a D ruid in old England, you would have gathered mistletoe from sacred trees to give as New Y e a r’ s gifts. O r you might have gone “ first footing” in Scotland. A fte r a mid night church service, Scottish homes were open to visitors, and it was said that a fa m ily ’ s luch for the year would depend on who firs, crossed the threshold. You would have been heartily welcomed as a firs, visitor that night if you were a dark-haired man. On the other hand, if you were a wom an, a redhead, a beggar or a person with a squint, your foot firs, in the door would portend bad luck. Homeowners even got in the habit o f paying d ark-h aired men to be there early. A Russian custom would have re quired that you beat the corners o f your house with sticks to drive out Satan around the new year. H ow about “ wassailing” your apple tree, as British farmers were wont to do, by sprinkling it with cider and singing a song for a good crop in the coming year? I f you were a king in ancient Babylon, you would have been ’ •ripped o f your royal robe, made to kneel and then solemnly boxed on the ears and tweaked on the nose by the high pries, as part o f the official New Year's festival. A , a New Y e a r’ s Eve party in D erbyshire, England, you might, have fished for a ring in a “ posse,“ pot. T o foretell who would m arry during the following year, the host ess dropped her wedding ring into the pot o f ho, spiced milk and wine, and the singles tried to pick up the ring with each ladleful o f the bever age. I f a guest succeeded, it was a sure omen that he would wed that year. G ift giving, visiting friends, driv ing ou, evil and foretelling events o f the coming year are bu, a few New Year’s customs that have been car ried on through the ages. New Year’s is one holiday that just about everyone around the w orld. W est erners and Easterners, celebrate in » m e fashion on some se, date. Recorded history shows that for more than 5,000 years people have had some way o f recognizing the be ginning o f a new year. In support o f the time-honored concept o f annual jus, on par, o f their numerous cal rebirth or renewal, rituals and cele endar reform s aimed at m aking brations have been the order o f the man's schedule agree with nature’s day. cycles. But it wasn’t u n til the The day, however, has no, always G regorian calendar, the same one been observed on the first o f Jan we use today, was instituted by uary by many o f (he w o rld ’s na Pope Gregory in 1582 that Jan. 1 tions. In fact, the new year has been began to gain wide acceptance. The launched on Christmas, Easter, the d ay’ s pro xim ity ,o the w inter sol autumnal equinox, the winter sol stice, when the days begin to length stice and March 25 (around the time en, made it a logical beginning. o f the vernal equinox). M arch 25 The rites o f New Year’s have long seems to have been one o f ihe most often celebrated dates because it was helped people make through the the time for sowing crops, the firs, coming year in the best possible way step in the annual agricultural cycle. — whether it was winning ou, over The Romans apparently were the evil, producing a good crop or first, in 153 B .C ., to mark Jan. I as avoiding a death in the family. the beginning o f the year. That was (Please turn to page 9 column I )
