PORTLAND OBSERNER
Volume XVI, Number 46
September 24, 1986
25C
Candidates For Chair Address Forum
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by Jerry Garner
Gladys McCoy and Glenn Otto,
the two candidates for Chairman of
Multnomah County Board of Com
missioners. addressed a forum at
tended by 35 people last Saturday
at the Fist AME Zion Church, 109
North Skidmore
The forum was
sponsored by the Oregon Assembly
For Black Affairs
The Oregon Assembly For Black
Affairs is a non profit, statewide
corporation committed to improving
the status of Blacks in Oregon
It
was founded on April 9, 1977, and
is registered with the Oregon Cor
poration Commission.
Although
nonpartisan, the organization is po
litical and places a maior emphasis
on building a better Oregon for the
Black community.
Each candidate was given 10 mi­
nutes to address the meeting. Du
ring the ten minutes, each candi
date was asked, if elected, how she
or he will involve Blacks in econo
mic development in Multnomah
County; address the issues and con
ditions of African Americans in
Multnomah County; and whether
Blacks will be members of her or his
immediate staff.
Otto said that he believes that one
way to reduce the unemployment
among African Americans in Mult
nomah County is to get them into
apprenticeship programs in plumb
ing, carpentry, construction, and
painting He said it's vital that Black
community leaders stress the impor
tance of a high school education to
Blacks.
"In order to be accepted
into these programs, one must have
a high school education." There
fore, he encourages Black commu
nity leaders to stress the importance
of a high school diploma to Black
youths
., :
Otto said the county doesn't have
an economic development plan and
that the community colleges are do
mg more in the area of economic
development
than
Multnomah
County He said, as county chair,
he would work with the colleges in
developing a solid economic devel
opment program in the county
Otto said he is committed to having
a staff in his administration that is
representative of the county
Not
only will there be qualified Blacks on
my staff, there are other minorities
besides Blacks who are out there
McCoy said that not only would
she support apprenticeship pro
grams, she would also make sure
those trainees get the opportunity
to practice their craft once they
graduate
" There should be a
strong affirmative action program to
ensure that African Americans get a
fair share of the |obs that are gener­
t
ated.''
McCoy said the county doesn t
have |urisdiction over economic de
velopment in Northeast Portland.
"This is the responsibility of the city
of Portland. However, as county
chair. I will facilitate the coopéra
tion and coordination with the dif
ferent governmental bodies to ere
ate new businesses throughout all
(LI Glenn O tto and IR I Gladys M cC o y, candidates for Chairperson
of M u ltn o m a h C ounty Board of C om m issioners, get together fol
low ing a forum sponsored by the Oregon A ssem bly For Black A f
fairs Calvin Henry (C). O A B A president, joins them .
Photo by Richard J B row n
areas of Multnomah County "
She sa d this can be done by of
fenny businesses incentives such as
having a trained work force, finan
these incentives.' McCoy said.
McCoy said she would also focus
her attention on small businesses,
saying that 85 percent of all new
cing, deferred taxes, prepared land,
sewers, streets, etc
"This is why
businesses have been locating in
Clark County, because they have
<r.
r «
business is in the small business
category.
McCoy said Blacks will also be on
her immediate staff
140,000 People Killed From Trauma Neglect
Dr D onald Trunkay. chairm an of Surgery at the O H S U . w ill speak
on "T ra u m a The N eglected Epidem ic" at the first M a rq u a m Hill
Lecture on W ednesday. O ctober 1 at 8 00 p m at the O H S U A u d i­
to rium . A noted traum a a u th ority. Trunkey w ill address the traum a
crisis in A m erican and the d evelopm ent of O regon's traum a system
Trauma kills more people under the age of 34 in Oregon than heart
disease, cancer, AIDS and all other diseases combined
Dr Donald Trunkey, chairman of the Department of Surgery at the Ore
gon Health Sciences University, will discuss "Trauma
The Neglected
Epidemic" at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, October 1 at the OHSU Auditorium
Trunkey, a nationally recognized trauma authority, says that while the
State Legislature has recognized Oregon's trauma epidemic, many people
still do not understand the size and complexity of the trauma crisis in this
country. Last year, for example, trauma killed 140,000 Americans and per
manently disabled at least twice that number Trauma costs the United
States more than $200 million a day. Trauma is particularly tragic because
its victims often die or are permanently disabled, needlessly
Studies have consistently shown that trauma systems save lives Even
with this evidence, however, the medical community has not fully em
braced the need for a statewide trauma system
Many hospitals still be
heve they can handle everything," says Trunkey
'Unfortunately, that's
just not the case Trauma patients have a higher survival rate when they are
treated by specialists who deal with trauma every day
According to Trunkey. there are several obstacles to improving the sys
tern of trauma care in this country First, more needs to be done with pre
vention Trunkey says that about 40 percent o, all trauma cases could be
prevented by getting drunk drivers off the road, enacting handgun control
legislation, requiring the use of motorcycle helmets and passive or manda
tory restraints for automobiles
Trunkey says these tough social issues
could have a frig impact on the incidence of trauma This is particularly
true in the United States where the trauma death rate for teenagers and
young adults in about 50 percent higher than in any other western country
Another problem is delivery of health care to trauma patients The Port
land metropolitan area has addressed part of the problem with the estab
lishment of a 911 system Even so, says Trunkey, that's |ust the tip of tho
iceberg
Trunkey says there should be a hospital that has in house, 24
hours a day, the necessary medical staff to care for critically injured trauma
patients Trunkey likens it to the concept of a firehouse
"Taxpayers pay
to have firefighters available in house, 24 hours a day. to save their proper
ty; the same should be true for treating trauma
Rehabilitation is another problem Trunkey says that only one out of
every 10 critically injured Americans later gets into a rehabilitation program
"Of all the people who are currently receiving long term institutional care
for injuries, three fourths could be deinstitutionalized at one tenth the cost
People who don't go to rehabilitation centers rarely become taxpayers; they
become tax receivers.”
"People almost accept trauma as part of their lives," Trunkey says
"When almost 50,000 American soldiers lost their lives in Vietnam over an
11 year period, the American public was rightly upset and concerned Yot.
during that same period, we lost about 530,000 lives in automobile acci
dents There was no comparable outrage or concern It’s time for the pub
lie to be more informed about the trauma crisis in this country."
Trunkey, president elect of the American Association for the Surgery of
Trauma, is chairman of the Committee on Trauma for the American College
of Surgeons and vice chairman of the American Board of Surgery
Before coming to the OHSU in April 1986, Trunkey was instrumental in
developing the trauma center at San Francisco General Hospital and served
as vice chairman of the Department of Surgery at the University of Califor
ma at San Francisco.
Trunkey's trauma reserach is primarily directed towards the study of
shock, praticularly at the cellular level. He is interested in learning more
about how cells and cell functions change following injury Additional stu
dies concern resuscitation following shock and the identification of immune
deficiencies in the body following shock insult and thermal injury
As a consultant in the development of numerous other trauma centers
throughout the country. Trunkey works regularly with such agencies and
organizations as NASA, the U S Army, the National Academy of Sciences
and the American Burn Association.
Trunkey has written or collaborated on nearly 70 journal articles. 60 book
chapters and five books, including Current Therapy of Trauma 1984 85 and
Surgical Clinics of North America: Symposium on Trauma. His work with
professional publications includes a role as c -nsulting editor for the Journal
of Surgery and editorial board positions with the Archives of Surgery,
Surgery and Journal of Pre hospital Care.
The lecture by Trunkey is the first of six in the annual Marquam Hill Lee
ture Sones All lectures are free and open to the public Ample free parking
is available near the OHSU Auditorium
For more information about Trunkey's lecture, or the Marquam Hill Lee
ture Series, please call 225 8231
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Carla Davis and A leem Shabazz
Photo by Richard J Brow n
NEHRC Offers Health
Information
by Jerry Garner
In an effort to provide health ser
vice information to citizens living in
North Northeast Portland, North
east
Health
Resource
Center
INHRC) was created
"We pro
vide referral services such as health
counseling, doctor referrals, sen
iors' information, and information
on pregnancy, venereal diseases,
and cancer," said Aleem Abdual
Shabazz, President of NEHRC
Besides this, NEHRC provides
health care information to the pub
lie. NEHRC's goal is to establish
ari alliance with local agencies, such
as the Heart and Kidney Founda
tion and the Cancer Society, to
gather health information to better
serve the community and to form
health centers at local schools
NEHRC has been in operation
since 1985
Besides Shabazz and
his administrative assistant Carla
Davis, the center is staffed by three
volunteers in the hoalth care field
Shabazz said there is a need for
a grass roots medical information
center in the North/Northeast area.
"Preventative health care must take
presidence over all other types of
health care. To precent a disease
is much more cost effective to a
family than the high cost from a
major illness "
Ho said funds available for health
care throughout the county is de
dining as a direct result of the
Graham Rudmann Bill, therefore,
making it essential that individuals
practice preventative health care.
NEHRC
provides
preventative
health care information by network­
ing with local health care agencies.
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