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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 13, 1986)
Paye 2, Portland Observer, August 13, 1986 Healthwatch Along the Color Line by Dr Manning M aiable by Steven Bailey. N O 0« Manning Maaabla a pau t a ia o i of aocaKogy ano poetical scianca at Purdua Univaatrty Along Iha CofcM I n a a ppeau n over 140 nawapapaas miei nationally Oiegon Fair Share's Health Care Issues Forum" at PCC, Cascade Campus, last Thursday reflects the broad based interest in adequate affordable liealth care Members of the legislature state agencies and private/ public groups shared their views on a number of health care issues Topics of the forum included the State Health Plan. Medicare assignment, the costs of pre scnption drugs and nursing home care Commissioner Gretchen Kafoury provided the open mg remarks and, as usual, showed an interested, ex penenced and knowledgable understanding of the criti cal health issues facing Oregonians Having served as chair to the House Committee on Health and resources iri her legislative years, Ms Kafoury combines her Salem experience with that of regional work as a county commissioner While mentioning the state's interest in health care and the '86 interim session's |oint committee on health care, (combining State Seriate and house members), Ms Kafoury talked about the need to activate consu mer involvement in health issues Seeing the large me dical lobbies effect their own concerns while evading the needs of the citizenry has prompted Ms Kafoury to stress the need for grass roots participation She speci fically cited the Hospital Association's lobby of last sos Sion to limit their care for the indigent while receiving state monies, and the plight of Mariah Taylor, whu as a nurse practitioner has lost funding of most of her past clientele. Consumer choice of care with fair reimburse merit, support for the indigent, and unobstructed acc ess to health care for all Oregonians are goals and dreams with Ms Kafoury s vision The second speaker was Don Clark, of Central City Concern Mr Clark has helped develop a state health plan which would guarantee care for all Oregonians This plan would pool state, federal, local, employer and private monies into one central fund which would guar antee that all Oregonians have access to health care He cited statistics that at least 1 in 4 Oregonians do not have comprehensive health care and that his plan would guarantee care to all "for less money". Not too sur prisirigly, he noted that in 1983 the Oregon Medical Association's "number 1 legislative priority was to kill "S H IP" (State Health Insurance Plan) " It was men tioned that SHIP did not guarantee an un obstructed choice of providers, so tins plan could conceivably re move Nurse Practitioners, Chiropractors, Naturopathic Doctors and others from an active role in health care delivery Ruth Lathan spoke for Fair Share on the issue of Medicare Assignment Oregon has risen from number 45 113%) in state rating of Medicare acceptance in the recent past to 21% acceptance which, while improved, still rates us in the bottom half This means that fewer doctors in Oregon will accept Medicare assignment than in most states The national average is about 30% acceptance Fair Share endorses and supports the work of the Oregon Health Action Campaign 1241 0268) which is seeking manditory acceptance of Medicare assignment in Oregon Another interesting topic covered was the costs of prescription drugs in the Portland area Fair Share con ducted surveys of the costs of common presciptions in over 30 stores. To everyone's surprise, they found Fred Meyers' prices to be the highest, chain stores in the middle and private stores were the lowest This study also found that costs vary from store to store and by area Prescriptions were highest in North Port land and lowest in South East Fair Share (223 2981) has a history of these findings which are available to the public. Suggestions to help in buying prescriptions are 1) Shop around, compare prices. 2) Seek generic brands which average 34% lower than name brands and are normally identical to the name brands 3) You can call ARP (Association of Retired Per sons) at 231 8078 to find cost comparison For senior citizens ARP will deliver The final topic of this forum was nursing home care Pam Dudda of Association of Friends spoke about her termination as an employee at a nursing home for re porting abuses at that home Her story emphasized thet many nursing homes function as related to income and numbers rather than individuals and personal care Her association effected change within then particular home through direct actions of picketing and public awareness But the problems exist throughout the state Penny Davis of Multnomah County Legal Aid spoke on the legal and regulatory problems of our nursing home system Her report emphasized the need for quality care in homes and cited the long term care Om budsman Program as one current support network that may help Grace Szigethy (774 8607), who is facilitator for the Ombudsman Committee, asked all interested people to become involved A toll free line (1 800 522 2602) is available for assistance by this group Fair Share is also working toward improvements in long term care. The meeting was long and filled with excellent ideas and plans. It is good to see Fair Share evolving into a broader based organization that is involving itself with key Issues of the society EDITORIAL/OPINION Politics Will Prevent Mayor from Naming Outsider As Chief tains within the Bureau and the Union who wanted Harrington out as Chief. By forcing Harrington to resign or be fired, Clark has de monstrated that he is reluctant to push his police agenda too far on those managers and the Police Union. Since the resignation of former police Chief Penny E. Harrington, many have suggested that Portland Mayor Bud Clark go outside the state for his new Police Chief. Proponents of an outsider for the chief's position claim there is no individual within the Bureau who is committed to Mayor Clark's community oriented style of policing Indeed the Mayor should consider this issue when Secondly, if the Mayor decides to select an outsider to head the Bureau, it could result in another Harrington type situation, in that the new Chief, in an effort to carry out the Mayor's desires for a community oriented Po lice Bureau, could face stiff opposition from some managers in the Bureau and the Police Union and, therefore, create an atmosphere that will lead to an all out power struggle with in the Bureau This will result in what police term "lo w morale” among the troops selecting a permanent Chief However, given the political reality of such a move, it is unlikely that the Mayor will make such a bold political decision. There are two .reasons for this prediction. First of all, Mayor Clark does not want to anger upper level managers in the Bureau and the Police Union again. One of the main rea sons why the Mayor insisted on former Chief Harrington's resignation (in addition to the re commendation made by the Lezak commis sion that she he replaced) was due to political pressure placed on the Mayor by some cap J p ORTWND OBSERVER Given the political ramifications of the situa tion, citizens of Portland shouldn't expect Mayor Clark to name someone from outside the Bureau as Chief. ♦25 £ * r- 5 X _ -• zip Portland Observer O ’ e q i'o N ew spaper P u l «.hers A . ■ Tho o»“ Dtmrrvrf (USPS n n x v ta y by b * PtitMTvng Constant Im 1 4 0 N t K4 worth Portland Omgon 47711. Po*i Offtca Boa 3137. Portland O a g o n 977GB Sacond clam poataga p ad W Portland. Oragon ... “ ‘ -i ’ 8 k& X *' M < H 0 k Tha r w ila n d r z h tm r r w m aaiataahad at 1970 ccw C». w S u h an xiiw m 115 00 par w a r at iha T e C o w d y araa Pool maataa Sand addaaaa changea io Iha P o la n d O t a m r r . P O Boa 3137. Portland. O ago n 973OB MEMBER N Ê N p A per titoeitton ■ Founded IM S This June and July, at least six white supre dred local whites attended the rally, which was protected by several hundred police officers. Although most residents weren't persuaded to join the KKK, not a few shared its racist senti ments. As one white resident stated to the press: "The Kian is a bunch of goofs. But 1 don't want no niggers com min’ into this neigh borhood. I'll fig h t'e m I'll k ill'e m ." The latest manifestation of white supre macy, as recently cited by the Atlanta based Center for Democratic Renewal, are the "skin heads" or "skin s". The "skins" are white gangs who usually shave their heads, don paramilitary attire, and often tatoo themselves with Nazi markings. These young white men and women "are united in their hatred of 'peace punks', homosexuals, liberals and left ists, and in their frequent attacks also upon Blacks, Chicanos, Puerto Ricans, and Jew s.” According to the Center's publication, the Monitor, "their record of violence in the U S. is staggering considering their relatively small numbers. Since 1981, skins have been accused of murders, assaults and vandalism, sometimes on a weekly basis, in Detroit, Chi cago, Atlanta, San Francisco, New York City, Denver, Balimore, Boston, Austin, Philadel phia and Washington D .C ." The m otto of Atlanta skins is "SW P: Supreme W hite Power." In other cities, skins chant "K ill all niggers." Certainly, the vast majority of Americans who actually voted for Reagan in 1984, as well as others who favor a conservative political agenda, are opposed to racist vigilantism. But the battle against American racism cannot be won solely by concentrating on these extrem ist sects. The real victory can only begin when we remove from public office through the poli tical process all politicians who casually or de liberately provoke racial vigilantism by their own anti Black, anti Civil Rights policies. Letters to the Editor RE: FIVE YEAR REVIEW HEARING Dear Parole Board Member: My growing frustration is |ustified due to the fact that your agency is performing inconsistently in regards to my having a scheduled five year review hearing Tiue, my initial hearing was rightfully cancelled because I did not have the full five years completed Your Board Action Form dated July 9 reflected the same information but specified that another hearing would be scheduled after August third Several weeks ago I received an additional notice stating a hearing date for August fifth. Again I was. figuratively speak mg, slapped in the face and filled with disappointment Through someone's error I was not listed on your copy of the hearing schedule I do not want to believe you're not sincerely interested in reviewing the progress I've made since my initial board appearance of March 1982. my positive future plans, and making my cell available — prontol Are you still unaware I have a Federal detainer? I come from a business background whereby the team players of management work together with profi ciency to help their paperwork progress steadily, timely, orderly, correctly I’m willing to |Oin your team to help it perform more professionally As you already know, concerned citizens of Oregon are growing more dis pleased with your present mess I happen not to be one of your "favorite recalcirant recidivists" who seem by your standard of considéra tion more eligible for release time after time after time Because I do not fit that description, I guess I'm just an endangered species in this particular environment Frankly, I will not feel disappointed next time you cancel the review hearing, because this note has served as an adequate channel to exhaust my current frustra tion My attitude has stablized back to positiveness So see you next Tuesday maybe Respectfully, Raymond Cornelius Alexander O SPNo 40341 ...TELEVISIO N 8E LO N O S TO B IL L COSBY ON THURSDAYS ! > 3J k The Reagan administration's fierce resis tance to meaningful reforms which promote racial justice creates a political and social envi ronment conducive to the growth of white racism. Whether Reagan is personally a racist or not is irrelevant. The fundamental issue is whether the administration's callous disregard for the socioeconomic welfare of national minorities, and its polemics and policies against civil rights laws and affirmative action, foster the ideological and political terrain so essential for the development of racist vigilan- tism. On balance, virtually all Black Americans agree: the noxious weeds of Ku Klux Klanism, Nazism, and even newer manifistations of white terrorism, are directly related to the Rea gan agenda, albeit in a more extreme form. Only three weeks ago, white extremists held the ' Aryan Nations World Congress" in Hay den Lake, Idaho. Their manifesto calls for the secession of idaho, Montana, Washington, Oregon and Wyoming as an exlusively white supremacist territory. The leaders of this racist formation call for unrelenting war against the U S. government, which they term the "Zionist Occupation Government." macist rallies and protests were staged in and around Chicago. In Dolton, Illinois, Black youths were stoned and verbally abused in a July 4th parade by a white mob. On June 28, tiie Knights of the Ku Klux Kian held a demon stration in Marquette Park. About three bun AND SCHEDULE MY PRESS CONFERENCE ON EITH E R A WEDNESDAY OR A F R ID A Y ... Iwt) f r y Ap» STATf The old political maxim, "one step forward, two steps back” , characterizes the politics of racial equality this summer of 1986 On the positive side, last m onth's Supreme Court decisions which reinforced the use of race conscious affirmative action programs was a step forward. NAACP leader Benjamin Hooks described the decisions as a rebuttal to the Reagan administration's "pernicious ef forts" to uproot affirmative action. Unfortu nately, these decisions were sufficiently am biguous that the forces of racial inequality could still maintin that the high court's rulings should not contitute the final word on the con troversial issue. Reagan's solicitor general Charles Fried, who argued the losing side be fore the Supreme Court, offered these sour grapes: "W e have said that race-conscious re medies which are victim specific are never per missible. The court has said: 'N ot never, but hardly ever. " 115 for on * v **r Boi 11)1 . ............ «» ’.I»* I I The Summer of Racism, 1986' A tfrrd l. H tn dtno n , Editor/Publisher At William*. (¡rn tro l Manager 288 0033 N a tio n a l A d v e rtla ln g R a p ia a a n la liv a A m a lg a m a te d RubMshera Inc N a w VorX
