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Page
6 • r Portland
January
5, 1989
I ayo u
w i HUHU Observer
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H ealth W atch :
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by Steven Bailey
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Hospital & City Plead ...
Legislative Alert
.......
appointment of Rep. Katulski as chair
of the Human resources Committee,
last session Rep. Katulski distin
guished himself for his favoritism to
the medical and insurance lobby, yet
he was re-appointed chair of this all-
important committee. This is the
committee that oversees most legis
lation related to health care.
The chair of any legislative com
mittee has the power to singularly
choose not to schedule a bill for a
hearing or even to table it for the
entire session. Thus, one person’s
personal opinion can dictate the entire
year’s agenda for a committee
As we welcome 1989, many of us
do so with hopes and dream s for the
future. We look forward to a year that
provides growth and healing for our
troubled neighborhoods. Our com
munity has witnessed disproportion
ately high levels of drug use, increas
ing teen pregnancies, worsening
racism, substandard pre-natal care
and qualitatively poorer health care
in general. W e need and deserve a
brighter future. Positive change will
not be served graciously on a platter,
but will be earned through hard work
and the power of a united effort.
1988 was a year of growth in many
ways for our community. The devel
opment of the Black Health Coalition
stands out as one of the most im por
tant groups to be formed, and with
other groups, like 100 Black Men,
may help define and achieve our
future goals. The task will not be
easy, for as I read our State Legisla
ture, there is little reason to believe
that the upcoming session will choose
to prioritize our needs without our
persistent encouragement.
There are many reasons why I
feel this legislative body is already
signalling hardships for progressive
change. The primary reason is the
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Fortunately most chairs do not
abuse their power, but I feel that Rep.
Katulski has. Last session he signed
a support sheet for an insurance bill
in my presence, later denying his
support and actually arguing against
the bill on the House floor. He chose
to table another uni
bill »ho»
that nnocari
passed tha
the
Senate 24-3, stating that it was "too
controversial’ to even give a hearing
in his committee. He infuriated
members of the Senate Human
Resources Committee with his power
play. It appears that Rep. Katulski is
highly motivated to carry the torch for
the major medical lobbies.
Why should this concern us? It
appears obvious that if the legislative
agenda favors the high profit direc
tions of these monied lobbies, we will
never realize low-cost health care,
affordable drug detox programs for
the inner-city, or other important
medical and preventive services now
absent in our community.
What should we do? As the ses
sion begins, we should keep a w atch
ful eye on health care and other
agendas. We should read between
the lines, and look toward the whole
nintnre
picture, versus
versus the
the Dromises
promises appar
ent on the surlace. We should op
pose the re-institution of the single
parent welfare bill (which requires
one parent to move out of the house
for family assistance to be granted).
W e should be wary of programs that
cater to P.P.O.s (preferred provider
organization) and H.M.O.s (health
maintenance organization) as these
dramatically narrow choice. (This is
why Mariah Taylor’s clinic lost 3rd
party payment from the state, be
cause as a Nurse Practioner she
could not practice in a P.P.O.) And
finally, we should keep com m unica
tion with ou r elected representatives,
and hope that they can collectively
promote legislation to solve some of
our long standing needs.
Participation in dem ocracy does
not end at the ballot box, it is an
ongoing process.
Concerned Parents ...
• Continued From Page 3
Continued From Page 1
what they would do about that de
funct project if elected. Challenger
Ron Still asserted that it was a sub
ject that certainly needed study. Mayor
Bud Clark, the incumbent, trivialized
that subject as “ something that oc
curred in the past and we need to
move forward.”
involvement is imperative to the
constructive development of our
children. W e want to preserve the
ASK Center as a stalwart against the
counter productive influences of drugs,
crime, Crips, and Bloods. We note
that the ASK Center is the only re
source available to our community
that provides our children with the
necessary exposure to math, sci
ence, com puter and technical skills.
W EM USTPRESERVETHEASK
CENTER, MR. W HITE AND HIS
HIGHLY QUALIFIED AND COMMIT
TED STAFF AT ALL COST!!!!
Bob Nelson, a long time resident
and realtor, asserted that the demise
of that area was intentional in order
to make it available to developers
who would com e in with the advent of
the convention center. He detailed
how real estate speculation had
multiplied in the recent interval.
The fact that someone in authority
is listening who has the capacity to
address this problem is significant. It
is the squeaky wheel that attracts the
attention of the person who holds the
reins.
Births Down,
Deaths Up
Every 14 minutes during 1987, a
new Oregonian entered the world,
while every 22 minutes an Oregon
resident died. During the year there
were 38,674 births and 24,181 deaths.
The Health Division released its
1987 basic health report on Oregoni
ans today. It shows Oregon’s death
rate (898.9 per 100,000 population)
increased slightly (2.5 percent) from
1986 to 1987, and remained higher
than the nation’s (873.9) for the fourth
year in a row.
The three leading causes of death
for both males and females were
diseases of the heart, cancer, and
cerebrovascular disease. For the first
tim e since 1975 there was a change
in the rank order of the five leading
causes of death. During 1987, more
Oregonians died from chronic ob
structive pulmonary disease than from
unintentional injuries (accidents),
displacing the latter from the fourth to
the fifth leading cause of death.
SIDS (sudden infant death syn
drome) was the leading cause of
death among infants, claim ing 115
children under one-year-old. Unin
tentional injuries were the foremost
cause of loss of life for ages one to 44
years. (Suicide was the third leading
cause of death for those 15 through
44 years of age). For Oregonians 45-
64 years old, cancer was the leading
cause, while heart disease claimed
more persons 65 and older than any
other cause.
Although the total number of births
declined in 1987, the number of births
to unwed mothers (8,659) reached a
new high, accounting for 22.4 per
cent of all births. Over one-half (58.5
percent) of all Black infants were
bom to unmarried mothers. Unmar
ried mothers are more apt to have
received inadequate prenatal care
and to give birth to low weight infants.
Low birthweight is the single most
important determinant of the chances
of a newborn to survive and experi
ence healthy growth and develop
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SAFEW AY
Growing To
Serve You Better!
NEWLY REMODELED
UNION & AINSWORTH
We want you to come see your
New Safeway In-Store Bake Shop
and fill your senses with the fresh
baked aromas of delicious pastries,
tasty assorted cookies, fresh baked
pies and custom decorated cakes
for any special occasion.
Our in-store Bake Shop employs
the use of new, steam injected
ovens of European design. These
ovens allow us to offer you genuine
french breads, baguettes,
croissants and other European
breads and rolls.
And don’t forget, we have fresh
assorted donuts daily at 6:30 a.m.
to start your day out right and fresh
baked french bread daily at 4:00,
just in-time for your dinner feast.
Hurtis Hadley Jr.
Bakery Manager
ment.
Oregon’s rate of inadequate care
(86.2 per 1,000 births) is higher than
it has been anytime during the past
decade. The trend was downward
from 1975 to 1980, but in 1981 re
versed direction. Since 1980, the
inadequate care rate has soared 48 6
percent in Oregon.
Mothers of Indian and Black in
fants were notable for their lack of
prenatal care. Their inadequate care
rates were 191.0 and 165.8 respec
tively. Japanese mothers, with a rate
of 16.6, were most apt to have re
ceived adequate care. Infants of
mothers with inadequate prenatal care
are about four times more likely to die
before their first birthday. Adequate
care is defined as care starting be
fore the last trim ester and consisting
of more than four visits.
These data, along with many other
basic statistics on the health of O re
gonians in 1987, are detailed in Oregon
Vital Statistics 1987. The 205 page
report is available from the Center for
Health Statistics, P O . Box 116,
Portland, OR 97207
COME, CHECK OUT THESE
SPECIALTY DEPTS. TODAY!
New Bakery with French Ovens
Full Service Seafood Market
Open Service Produce Area
New Frozen Yogurt Machine
New Frozen Vitari Machine
New Fresh Squeezed
Orange Juice Machine
• New Full Service Deli
• New Soup & Salad Bar
• New Full Service Floral
• New Pharmacy
• New Decor
SAFEW AY
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Come See What’s
New At Your
Neighborhood
Safeway Store!
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