P age A5
T he P ortland O bserver • J une 1, 1994
Arthritis Encouraging
by Sam Pierce
Early Agressive Treatment Key To Preventing Disability
New research on the treatment of
rheumatoid arthritis may help mil­
lions of people avoid the pain and
disability associated with this chronic
disease.
Recent studies show that rheu­
matoid arthritis responds better to
aggressive treatment during the first
few months of the disease than to the
same treatment after the disease ad­
vances. That approach is the reverse
of the traditional method of treating
rheumatoid arthritis, in which the
least aggressive therapy was used first.
“We now know that early detec­
tion and aggressive treatment of rheu­
matoid arthritis are the keys to pre­
venting severe pain and disability,”
said Elizabeth T indall, M .D., a
rheumatologist at Portland Adventist
Medical Center, a board member of
the
A m erican
C o lle g e
of
Rheumatology and the Arthritis Foun­
dation, Oregon Chapter.
Several recent studies show that
se c o n d -lin e d ru g s, such as
methotrexate, hydroxycholoroquine,
azathioprine, sulfasalazine, and gold
salts, work much better in people who
have had the disease for only a short
time.
Rheumatoid arthritis affects more
than 2 million Americans, two-thirds
of whom are women. Rheumatologist
and health agencies such as the Ar­
thritis Foundation are hoping to in­
crease public understanding of this
disease. This chronic disease causes
pain, stiffness, swelling and loss of
function in the joints. Though most
people associate arthritis with aging,
the peak onset of rheumatoid arthritis
is between the ages of 30 and 65.
Because it strikes primarily young to
middle-aged people, the economic cost
of this disease is high.
“Obviously, not every episode of
joint pain is a sign of rheumatoid
arthritis,” Dr. Tindall said. “But
people with persistent joint pain or
stiffness who wait to see a physician,
hoping their pain will go away, may
be passing on an opportunity to change
the course of their disease and protect
their quality of life. It is important for
people to understand that this disease
is treatable.”
For further information on rheu­
matoid arthritis, please contact the
Arthritis Foundation at (503) 222-
7246 or Portland Medical Associates
Clinical Research Center at (503)
255-5828.
Wear a Bike Helmet!
Bike Helmet Sale And Safety Program To Be Held At Legacy Emanuel Children’s
Hospital To Prepare For July 1 Law Protect Your Brain
Now it’s the Law...
Top quality bike helmets at sub­
sidized prices will be the feature of a
bike helmet sale and free bike safety
pro g ram at L eg acy E m anuel
Hospital’s Medical Office Building
Atrium, Saturday, June 4 , 10a.m .-2
p.m.
Safety-rated bike helmets by Bell
Sports Inc. will be on sale for $12.00
each. The helmets, available in size
toddler to adult, come in teal, pink,
purple and white, and include a decal
k it The bike safety program will run
concurrently and will kick off with a
20-minute presentation of “Trauma
Nurses Talk Tough About Bicycle
Helmet Safety” and a showing of the
“Bicycle Camp” video.
Speakers following from 11 a.m.
- noon will include Oregon Senator
Ron Cease, champion of Oregon’s
bicycle helmet law, which goes into
effect July 1; Dr. William Long, di­
rector of Legacy Emanuel Trauma
Services; Dr. Kathleen Masarie, co-
chair Bike Safety Committee, O r­
egon P ediatrics Society; Joanne
Fairchild, RN, trauma coordinator/
injury prevention, Legacy Emanuel
Hospital; Mary Strebig, community
relations manager, Kaiser Permanente;
and children who survived because of
their bicycle helmets.
The Pediatric Board of the Eman­
uel Medical Center Foundation has
also donated 600 vouchers to children
from low income families, who will
be able to purchase helmets at the sale
for $5.00 each. The vouchers will be
distributed by Multnomah Public
Health Department to children whose
families qualify for the W.I.C. pro­
gram, and by school nurses in several
schools “Trauma Nurses Talk has
worked with to children on the school
lunch subsidy program.
The program is sponsored by
Legacy Emanuel Children’s Hospi­
tal, Trauma Nurses Talk Tough, the
Children’s Services and Public Safety
Subcommittees of the City Club of
Portland, Children First for Oregon,
and the Oregon Pediatrics Society.
For additional information or to
volunteer to help at the program call
280-4960.
Research To Examine Effects Of Aging
The Oregon Brain Aging Study
is recruiting people for a five year
study on the effects of aging on the
brain. The purpose of the study, funded
by the Department of Veterans Af­
fairs, is to learn about cognitive
changes in healthy seniors.
Researchers, Drs. Jeffrey Kaye
and Diane Howieson, hope to gain an
understanding of normal changes in
brain structure and mental function­
ing in healthy older adults. The data
collected will be used to make com­
parisons with the cognitive function-
ing and brain structure changes of
Alzheimer’s patients. The informa­
tion gathered may help in the diagno­
sis, prevention and treatm ent o f
Alzheimer’s disease.
Research volunteers come in for
two or three morning visits once a
year. Volunteers are initially given a
physical exam ination, blood test
screen, chest x-ray, and EKG. Addi­
tional testing, including a MRI (M ag­
netic Resonance Imaging) scan of
the brain, and concentration, memory
and problem solving skill tests are
also given the first year and in annual
follow-ups. All testing is conducted
at Oregon Health Sciences Univer­
sity and the Veteran’s Medical Cen­
ter in Southwest Portland and is pro­
vided at no cost to the research volun­
teers. Transportation is also avail­
able.
The study is currently enrolling
men and women 85 years of age and
older. Interested seniors who are not
on medication for heart disease, high
blood pressure of diabetes can call
Dara Wasserman at 494-7616
Profiles In Leadership:
Margaret Carter
“The purpose of management is
leadership. And it begins in the Board
Room. Further, it must be presented
in a way that [people] can use iL" The
preceding phrase is a quote from Dr.
W. Edwards Deming in an interview
granted to Tim Stevens of Industry
Week. Ittum edoutto be Dr. Deming’s
Last interview as he passed away in
December 1993 at the grand old age
of 93. Dr. Deming’s legacy is that of
the man who single-handedly trans­
formed Japan into a formidable busi­
ness partner.
As a young boy growing up in the
fifties and sixties, I vividly remember
the condescending and snickering
disdain applied to any product whose
label read “Made in Japan.” Today
any label bearing that seal represents
the very essence of quality and work­
manship. From the cars we drive and
the televisions we watch - to VCRs,
stereo equipment, video and still cam­
eras, Walkmans, lawn mowers and
high speed trains - it appears that we
“snickering” Americans cannot seem
to get enough of “Made in Japan.”
How did this major tum-a-round oc­
cur in just thirty short years? Well,
according to Deming, the answer is
Leadership. And wouldn’t you know
it - Dr. Deming offered this same
leadership to America first. B ut in our
arrogance, we sent him to Japan be­
cause, after all, it was they who needed
help -- not us!
However, the purpose of this ar­
ticle is not really to discuss Dr.
Deming’s “Fourteen Points of Lead­
ership,” or any such thing. But rather
to use his legacy of leadership as an
introduction to talk about leaders and
leadership right here in Portland,
Oregon We are currently in the middle
of an election year and just Tuesday
Oregonians went to the polls to vote.
In such a climate, I can think of no
more appropriate topic than Leader­
ship. In my column this week, I want
to profile two candidates who in my
opinion give people hope. These indi­
viduals are State Rep. M argaret
Carter, Disc 18, and City Council
member Gretchen Kafoury.
I caught up with Rep. Carter in
her office at the PCC Skills Center on
North Alberta and Killingsworth: an
office she prefers to the much nicer
one she previously occupied on the
plush PCC Sylvania Campus in South­
w est Portland. Says C arter, “At
Sylvania I can take an hour lunch, see
fewer students and leave when my
contract allows, which is at 5:00 pm.
But I love it here because I know that
I am going to see students from the
moment I arrive, even sometimes
during lunch, until the time I leave -
- which at times is well past six.” It is
all a part of her “caring for constitu­
ents” and the “work ethics" she
learned form their father growing up
in Louisiana.
No one can deny that Margaret
Carter has great charm and in spite of
several grown daughters who have
made her proud grandmother, she
does not look a day over fort-five.
However, beneath her charm and good
looks is an astute politician who be­
lieves that she is the most qualified
person to lead her district; and quickly
points to a sol id record of accomplish­
ments to prove it. Like Dr. Deming,
Rep. Carter believes that it is the
“responsibility of leadership to set
and exact a standard.”
Rep Carter is responsible for the
legislation that produced the PCC
Skills Center. In 1989, as a leading
member of the House Education Com­
mittee, she led the fight to get House
Bill 2705, or the Martin Luther King
SchoolHoliday Bill,out of committee
and passed into law. The Bill required
all school districts around the state to
commemorate Dr. K ing's birthday.
In addition, she, along with then State
Senator Jim Hill, made sure that O r­
egon joined the international com ­
munity in putting pressure on South
Africa’s apartheid through our di­
vestment policies. Those efforts, along
with the efforts of the world commu­
nity have led to defeat of apartheid
and the right of all South Africans to
vote; and the presidential election of
Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first
black president
Carter’s current passion is to get
“young people in [her] district not
only trained, but placed into skilled
jobs.” Rep. Carter also believed it is
time for the silent majority to stand up
and be counted against the wave o f
“lo tk ’em up and throw away the key”
mentality that is running rampant
through our nation. As she well
knows, youth of color will be the most
exploited by such a policy. Quoting
from H al O g b u rn , M u ltn o m ah
County’s Juvenile Justice Director,
“We must teach our children the part
that' racism and poverty play in their
lives.” Those who are incarcerated
must be taught to go from “criminal
justice to the work place.” Relative to
legislation concludes Rep. Carter,
“We must work for legislation that
will make Portland an enterprize
zone.”
Continued next week with
Grechen Kafoury.„
Sam Pierce is a freelance writer whose
column appears bimonthly. His work
is in the process o f syndication. He
can be reached at (503) 281-9741.
Starlight Parade starts
Saturday, June 4 at 8:30 p.m.
Location: Downtown Portland
Save More At Safeway
Prices effective June 1 through June 7, 1994 at Safeway
Snow Star Half Gallon
Ice Cream
creamy
•F IR S ST
T 2
•SAVE UP TO 1.84 on 2
H
f
ea.
R e d F lam e
Seedless Grapes
Sweet & juicy.
Look In The This Week
Magazine for your Safeway
Shopping Guide for a complete
list of specials on sale this
week at Safeway!
E n j o y E x t r a S a v i n g s W it h T h e
N ew ‘
S a f e w a y S h o p p in g G u id e
Avallai
tole at your Safeway store.