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Portland Observer, February 18, 1982 Page 3
METROPOLITAN
Interpreter aids patients
U niversity Hospital at The O re
gon Health Sciences University has
appointed an Indochinese in te r
preter who speaks four languages
and two dialects to better meet the
needs o f its increasing Indochinese
patient population.
B o u n m a r k M a o k h a m p h io u
( B O O N E - m a r m o w -c o m e -fe w )
speaks Laotian, Vietnamese, T h ai,
French and two dialects o f Laotian,
M hong and M ien . In the U nited
States for just one year, Mrs. M ao
khamphiou is from Laos where she
worked as a registered nurse in a
major hospital. She attended nurs
ing school in Vietnam.
P o rtlan d has an Indochinese
pop ulatio n o f more than 16,000,
many o f whom come to University
H o sp ital or its A m b u la to ry Care
Center. Mrs. M aokham phiou may
see five to 20 patients in a day and
several during a weekend.
“ Obtaining medical care in a for
eign country where you do not
speak the language can be absolute
ly frightening,“ said Barbara Glide-
well, University H ospital’s patient
advocate.
“ Mrs. M ao kham p h io u ’s jo b in
volves not only providing accurate
verbal tran slatio n between the
health care professional and the pa
tient, but helping to ease the cultural
differences between Americans and
Indochinese,'* M s. G lid cw ell ex
plained.
M rs. M ao k h a m p h io u works in
any area o f the hospital or in any
clinic that has patients or staff re
quiring her assistance. Frequently,
she is called to the emergency room.
On a weekly basis she serves as the
Vietnam: The forgotten vets
Pert II
by Harris Levon McRae
Last week I pointed out the fact
that the m a jo rity o f returning
V ietnam veterans had m in im al
problems readjusting to life in the
U.S. This week an indepth look will
be taken at some o f the problems
that other Vietnam veterans have.
These problems are rooted both
in their experience in the war and
the way they were treated when they
returned home. Hundreds o f thou
sands o f Vietnam veterans are living
marginal unproductive lives as a di
rect result o f their Vietnam exper
ience.
Bounmark Maokhamphiou. Indochinese interpreter at University
Hospital at The Oregon Health Sciences University, talks with a pa
tient of the Indochinese mental health outpatient clinic. Mrs. Mao
khamphiou, who interprets six languages, was formerly a registered
nurse in Laos.
in terp reter fo r the Indochinese
mental health outpatient clinic and
the Hansen's disease (leprosy) out
patient clinic.
The patient advocate’s office at
University Hospital also has a Span-
ish interpreter on staff. Interpreters
who collectively speak 26 different
foreign languages may be called in
upon request.
Sign language interpreters for the
deaf are also available.
"W h ile most Vietnam veterans
have adjusted very successfully to
civilian life, at least one in five is
still having readjustm ent prob
lems. Black and disabled veterans
have high unemployment rates,
the number o f alcoholics and
problem drinkers am ong V ie t
nam veterans is rising, and the su
icide rate among veterans o f the
Vietnam war is far higher than
the rate for non-veterans in the
same age bracket.”
President Jimmy Carter, 1978
Researchers and clin ical psy
chologists call what the veteran is
experiencing “ Post-traumatic stress
disorder” or, shortened, “ delayed
stress.” It is an involuntary re-ex
periencing o f a catastrophic event.
“ These men were in a catastroph
ic situation and many o f them are
responding in a catastrophic way,”
says Dr. Anthony C. Traweek, clin
ical psychologist at the Portland Vet
Center. “ Most people that come to
the Vet Center are in a crisis situa
tion.”
Delayed stress is also found in
survivors o f n atu ral disasters like
earthquakes and in victims involved
in car wrecks and other serious acci
dents.
Survivors o f those disasters usual
ly have people that come to their aid
and support. For the Vietnam veter
an, however, society isn’t providing
much em o tio n al support o r any
therapeutic programs to help him .
The first step toward readjustment
is for the veterans to find an outlet
fo r th e ir feelings abo u t V ie tn a m .
T alking is an im portant beginning,
and if you are a Black or other m i
nority group veteran your problems
are compounded.
“ M y own fam ily d id n ’t want to
hear about Vietnam and at times I
needed somebody to talk to b a d ,”
said A1 Jones, a Black veteran doing
odd jobs for a living. “ And if you
live in the Black community here in
Portland— there’s nowhere to go.”
D r. Traweek explains: “ There is
no other place in the entire m etro
politan area servicing the needs o f
the vet. We are prim ariliy a Cauca
sian facility. We have no minorities
on the staff. We aren’t located in an
area where many Blacks w ant to
come. We are the ‘system’ and have
to deal with the basic mistrust o f the
sysem that minorities have.”
The lack o f a veteran center in the
Black community causes many vets
to lose out on valuable ’rap’ sessions
w ith other vets experiencing the
same types o f problem s they are
going through. Black veterans o f the
V ietn am war had the fo llo w in g
things to say about the lack o f talk
ing and counseling:
“ You come back with a hell o f a
lot o f hangups when you sec all
those happenings over there.”
“ 1 developed p aran o id symp
toms. I would awaken terrified from
nightmares. I still sleep with my gun
gun under my pillow .”
“ There are many Vietnam-related
problems I refuse to face. I never al
low my feelings to rise to the sur
face.”
Many times the stress these veter
ans suffer doesn’t surface until sev
eral years following military service.
Then suddenly— i t ’ s there. It can
come out in several ways, many very
dam aging to vets as w ell as their
loved ones.
One v e t’ s w ife told me, “ H is
problems are hard on our marriage.
H e gets mad and then he takes
drugs. H e can’ t hold a jo b , and I
have to try to hold it all together.”
The North/Northeast community
is in great need o f an outlet for our
resident veterans and their families.
We need a program that will fo
cus the skills o f volunteer profes
sionals from the community on the
needs o f Vietnam veterans who suf
fer readjustment problems.
As I have explained the problems
are many. Some o f these man and
women feel com pletely alone, de
pressed and alienated. Some have
turned to drugs and alcohol in an at
tempt to ease some o f the terrib le
pain they feel, le ft over fro m the
Vietnam war.
Many need some type o f counsel
ing to help them cope w ith issues
created by the war. M any just need
a friend.
I f you have any questions or need
any help in starting some type o f
Vietnam veteran center in our com
m u n ity, D r. A n th o n y C . Traw eek
and his s ta ff at the Vet Center lo
cated at 2450 S.E. Belm ont, (231-
1586) will be glad to help. O r, get in
touch with Harris Levon McCrae at
the Portland Observer.
GET READY
Dr. Matthew Prophet, new Superintendent of
the Portland Public Schools, wows Portland with
a new breath of fresh air.
(Photo: Richard J. Brown)
Schools require immunization
Parents have until the end o f Feb
ruary to forward updated immuniz
ation in fo rm atio n to their c h ild ’s
school.
School officials must forward to
the county health departm ent by
March 15 the names o f students who
have not complied with the new im
munization requirements.
School personnel need the first
two weeks o f March to update rec
ords since one-half to two-thirds of
the school children in M ultnom ah
County have incomplete immuniza
tion records and are in risk o f being
excluded from school attendance
April 21.
Parents need to submit the month
and year their child had each o f the
following immunizations: diphthe
ria, tetanus, polio, measles ( “ hard
measles” ), rubella ( “ three-day mea
sles” ) and mumps (kin d erg arten
and first-graders only).
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M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty Education
Service District School Health Ser
vices, which provides registered
nurses and health workers in most
schools in the cou n ty, w ill hold
three special clinics to help bring
students into compliance.
The clinics w ill be from 1:30 to
5:30 pm at the following locations:
February 11, C en ten n ial H igh
School; February 17, Boise School;
and February 18, Marysville School.
School Health Services staff, as
sisted by state and county health
personnel, will help parents deter
mine what im m un izatio n s their
child may need as well as give the
immunizations. A physician will be
present. Parents are asked to bring
any im m u n izatio n records they
have. C h ild re n age 14 and under
must be accompanied by a parent or
guardian to receive an im m un iza
tion.
M ultn o m ah C ounty H ealth De
partment will continue to hold regu
larly scheduled and special immuni
zation clinics. For info rm atio n on
these clinics, please call 248-3816.
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