Portland Observer, February 20, 1985, Page 5
Healthwatch
A .M . PRINTING CO.
2201 N. Killlngsworth
by Steven Bailey N. D.
Phone: 283-2487
Clinic closes
to welfare
clients
The " d y in g o f a dream ” is how
M ariah T a y lo r, R .N ., M .S .N . de
scribes the p o ssib ility o f having to
close her clinic on N orth Vancouver
Ave. Having served N orth and inner
North-East Portland for the past four
years, Mariah, a pediatric (childrens)
Nurse P ractitioner faces one o f her
greatest challenges. The cause o f her
alarm is the recent state legislative
changes that have resulted in the fo r
mation o f health provider organiza
tions (H P O 's ) to screen and assign
welfare claims and treatments. In this
new program M ariah w ill not be re
imbursed as a prim ary provider fo r
welfare clients
W hile her clinic is unique in many
ways, her problems with the new reg
ulations are shared by many other pri
vate practitioners who are not a ffilia t
ed with a participating HPO. What is
crucial in her case is that nearly 90
percent o f her patients have been on
medical assistance. The economic
ram ifications o f the new legislation
may prove fatal to clinics like Mariah's
which serve large segments o f low
income families.
As a nurse practitioner, Mariah has
attended to the health needs o f hun
dreds o f Portland's low-income fam-
FOR ALL YOUR PRINTING NEEDS
It is sad to think that the change to
HPO's may nail the Ik) on another m i
nority business, dial it may disrupt the
prideful role model that M ariah pro
vides her children (patients), and final
ly that it may place hundreds o f low-
income clients in to a less caring and
probably diminished quality program
of medical assistance.
Nursa practitioner Mariah Taylor axamlnas a young patlant at bar
clinic on North Vancouver Ave.
(Photo Richard J Brown)
dies. She has emphasized self-care, diet
and preventative management as well
as preventative dentistry. She screens
patients with laboratory and diagnostic
work-ups, treating those she can and
referring those that need specialized
attention. In a way, she epitomizes the
intention o f the new legislation (low
cost care and referral) yet w ill have
to yield her role to telephone intake/
consultation, HPO clinics and hospital
back-up.
Not only w ill her patients no longer
receive the caring, personal attention
that she provides, but her emphasis on
preventing illness, public health and
education will be minimized in the new
programs. M ariah utilizes fo u r v o l
unteer preceptors from the N ational
College o f Naturopathic Medicine and
two rotating independent study posi
tions through the University o f P ort
land and G ood Sam aritan nursing
programs. W ith her volunteer sta ff,
austere furnishings and personal sacri
fice, it is difficult to image any admin
istrative changes resulting in more
health care delivery for less cost.
H opefully additional changes w ill
occur which w ill allow free choice o f
care to welfare patients, as many other
professionals (nurse p ra ctitio n e rs,
naturopathic and c h iro p ra ctic doc
tors) have taken issue w ith the new
legislation. A local naturopathic doc
tor, Dan Cisco and his m id-w ife wife
Sarah Taylor had 20 patients last year
who receive pre-natal care from them
but were required by welfare guide
lines to have their b irth s through
M .D .’s w ith the result that the slate
paid out a minimum o f twenty thou
sand additional dollars to pay for the
hospital births in these 20 low-risk and
subsequent vaginal deliveries.
Office fr Buainesa
Letterheads • Business Cards
Bulletins • Price Lists • Cherts
Newsletters • Forms • Flyers
Envelopes «ADS PLACED
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Frenchbraidt • C ornrows
B ox/S p ider Braids • Extensions
If we want to save money and pro
vide more health care to those o f lim
ited resources we should be w illin g
to change. But change that adversely
impacts m in o rity business, and the
personal nature o f established client/
practitioner associations as well as ex
cluding free choice o f alternative care
by n aturopathic and ch iro p ra ctic
doctors is not conducive to the needs
or wants o f the patients or community.
o
%
$3 5 -$50
M o nd ay Sunday. 7 Days a W eak
CoPC— ♦ uM ow f
/¿ f yr-r/r n f i / i u i i / m r u /
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Salvadoran doctor claims peasants napalmed
by Robert Lothian
As a congressional report accused
the Reagan a d m in istra tio n o f lying
about the extent o f the U.S.-supported
air war in El Salvador last week, a Sal
vadoran doctor who attends to (he
civilian victims o f the bombings spoke
in Portland.
The woman could only speak i f it
was agreed that she remain unidenti
fied and that there would be no pho
tos A member o f C O P R A S O L , a
Salvadoran health organization critical
o f the U.S.-supported government,
the woman and her associates work be
hind the lines attending civilians in the
guerilla “ zones o f control."
The guerillas co n tro l large land
areas, but the government controls the
air and has recently changed to a stra
tegy o f massive bombings in the gueril
la zones.
She reported MX) bombings in recent
months, often with napalm and white
phosphorus. " A lo t o f the p o p u la
tio n has suffered fro m burns, ¡¿so
mutilations caused by the bombings,”
she said through an interpreter.
Hetwcen bombings, life goes on and
people grow their corn and beans, she
said. But the bombings can come with
out warning, and so " it's not possible
to live a normal life ."
"A s in all wars, it is the civilian pop
ulation that is most affected. " I l ’s just
so much harder to get food and milk in
Emanuel gets laser
Emanual H o sp ita l recently p u r
chased its first laser. Called an ND:
Yag laser, it is the only one of its kind
in Oregon. A t Emanuel, the laser
w ill be used in surgical procedures
involving gastroenterology, urology
and neurology.
The ND:Yag laser, (the N D stands
for the man-made crystal called neo-
dynium and Yag is an acronym fo r
three chemical elements), is made by
Messerschmit, a German-based com
pany. The laser, which works o ff an
infra-red beam o f lig h t, w ill be in
stalled in two operating rooms and the
gastro-enterology la b o ra to ry at
Emanuel
The ND:Yag laser is unique because
the beam o f focused light can travel
through curves and down a diberoptic
bundle. This feature makes it particu
larly attractive in gastroenterology and
urology. A benefit related to this is
that the beam o f laser light, which is
invisible, can travel through water
w ithout scattering. This is advanta
geous when treating disorders o f the
bladder. Another advantage is that by
using the ND:Yag laser it eliminates
the need to use pressure, traction and
handling o f surrounding, healthy tis
sue. The laser can be attached to an
endoscope to aid in the treatment o f
the area
Invested in 1957, lasers have proved
to be a valuable tool in medicine. A
laser, which stands for "lig h t a m p lifi
cation by stimulated emission o f radia
tio n ” is capable o f changing light o f
various frequencies in to extremely
intense, small and nearly perfect
straight beams of one-color light radia
tion. lasers are also capable o f creat
ing intense heat and power when fo
cused at very close ranges
W o m en 's Rights C o alitio n lobbyist M a rc ia O h lem iller. of Salem, wilt
fie speaking on current legislative issues of interest to women on Monday,
February 25, at 7 00 p m at the Good Samaritan Nursing Education Building.
2256 N W Northrup, Room 107 The public is invited Admission is $1
Beech Prim ary School. 1710 N. H u m b o ld t. P o rtlan d , is holding a com
monrty / school carnival on Fnday. March ,5. from 6:30 to 8 30 p m at the schrxil
Food, games and other fun activities enjoyable for the entire family will be
provided
"D is c o v e r Y our L ib ra ry ." 512 N Killmgsworth, Thursday, February 28.
from 6 45 to 8 00 p m Tour this histone building and learn ideas on how to use
it Children can enjoy storytime, balloons and fun.
those areas, and the government cuts
serviocs, above all on the health level."
"This is not a conventional war; it is
a war against civilia n s,” she co n tin
ued "T he people arc in a war against
a government they don’ t w a n t." She
said that Salvadorans want democracy
and a standard o f living "lik e you have
here."
Meanwhile, a report released last
week Io the Congressional Arms Con
tro l and Foreign P olicy Caucus ac
cused the Reagan A dm inistration ot
providing “ in su fficie n t, misleading
Malcolm X film
The Militant l^ibor forum will show
a one-hour documentary film which
contains footage o f M alcolm X 's
speeches and interviews dealing with
the theme of his 1964 trip to Africa.
Following the film , l.eroy Watson
w ill give a talk on "T h e Meaning o f
Malcolm X's Ideas for the Black Free
dom Struggle T o d a y .” Watson is a
member o f the M achinists' U n io n ,
the Seattle Chapter ol the N ational
Black Independent P o litica l p a rty,
and the Socialist Workers Party.
The forum will be Saturday . March
2, at 7:30 p m at the M ilitant Book
store, 2732 N.E. Union, Portland A
donation o f $2.50 is requested fo r
$1.00 for unemployed
and in some cases false in fo rm a tio n "
to Congress and the public about the
extent o f the U .S .-backed air war,
how U.S. aid is used, and the number
o f U.S. advisers in FI Salvador
Senator Mark Hatfield said the tkw
strategy o f bom bing and helicoptor
assault is creating more lebels than it is
killing, and has generated over |(X>,(XX>
refugees in 10 months. “ The air war is
wrong and I ’m going to do my best to
stop it," said Hattield
T B lW f o o t 281 6273
3117 NE Union
L o c ated Instda th e Q fn y er broad B ooh hou s e
Results can be easy when you
advertise in JOBS Magazine
CLASSIFIED DEPT.
283-0090
SANKA
THE CALM CUP
Dei jffrin a te d < offre
Urban chemicals
"L e a rn about chemicals in the u r
ban e nvironm ent, and take home a
free birdhouse, booklet, Douglas Fir
seeding and comemorativc pencil.”
That's the invitation the Fast M u lt
nomah Soil and Water Conservation
D istrict is extending to residents o f
East Multnomah Soil and Water Con
servation District is extending to resi
dents o f f ast M u ltn o m a h C ounty
in announcing the D istrict's annual
meeting.
Ilk- meeting is scheduled lor Thurs
day, February 28, at 7 p.m at the
main a u d ito riu m o f the Bonneville
Power Administration Building, 1002
N .F . H olladay Street (near L lo yd
t enter) For more in fo rm a tio n , call
the Fast M ultnom ah Soil and Water
C onservation District at 255-6881.
Oakwood alumni
Oakwrxid College Alum ni Associa
tion Rally will be held at Sharon SDA
C hurch on March 2, 1985, at 11 IX)
a m. service. L A Paschal, President,
National A lum ni Association w ill be
the guest speaker. There will also be an
evening program in clu d in g a slide
presentation ( all Pastor T. Jones,
287 7649 lor more information
Sharon SDA ( hurch is located at
52IN N l 22nd Avenue, Portland
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