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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 13, 1994)
P age A5 T he P ortland O bserver • J uly 13, 1994 First African American To Lead Medical Group A s o s te o p a th ic p h y s ic ia n s c o n v e n e in A tla n ta , G a ., fo r th e A m e ric a n O s te o p a th ic A s s o c ia t io n ’s a n n u a l b u s in e s s m e e tin g , th e y a ls o w ill be c e le b ra tin g an h is to r ic e v e n t: th e in a u g u ra tio n o f the a s s o c ia tio n ’s f irs t A fric a n A m e ric a n p re s id e n t. W illia m G . A n d e rso n , D .O ., w ill b e in a u g u ra te d as A O A p re s i d e n t o n Ju ly 17. A t a lu n c h e o n c e r e m o n y , he w ill p r e s e n t h is in a u g u ra l sp e e c h o u tlin in g h is p r e s id e n tia l in itia tiv e s fo r t h e u p c o m i n g y e a r . D u r in g th e a d d r e s s , A n d e r s o n w i l l a ls o u n v e il h is th e m e fo r th e y e a r w h ic h is “ O s t e o p a t h i c M e d ic in e : A n Id e a W h o se T im e H as C o m e .” “ A s a ll o f h e a lth c a re e n te rs th is n e x t y e a r o f re f o r m a n d p a th ic p ro fe ssio n has b e e n c o m m itte d to p rim a ry c a re fo r m ore th an a c e n tu ry an d th e a g e -o ld id e a ls o f o s te o p a th ic m e d ic in e now re p re se n t the b a c k b o n e o f the c u rre n t re fo rm d e b a te .” A n d e rso n b e g an h is p ro fe s sio n a l m e d ic a l c a re e r in A lb a n y , G a ., w h e re h e p ra c tic e d fo r six y e a rs. D u rin g th is tim e , h e w as a fo u n d e r an d fir s t p r e s id e n t o f the A lbany M o v em en t. A s a frie n d o f D r. M a r tin L u th e r K in g J r ., A n d erso n w orked e x te n s iv e ly to sp e a r the C iv il R ig h ts m o v e m e n t in so u th w e st G e o rg ia th ro u g h o u t the 1960s. A t th is a n n u a l p o lic y -s e ttin g m e e tin g , m em b ers o f th e A O A c h a n g e , o s te o p a th ic m e d ic in e H ouse o f D e le g a te s w ill a ls o d e c o n tin u e s to be a n a tu ra l s o lu b a te v a rio u s h e a lth c a re refo rm tio n ,” sa id A n d e rso n . “ T h e o ste o - to p ic s. Car Phones May Be Dangerous To Health Can you talk and drive at the same time? M aybe not, if you’re talking on a telephone. Car telephones can divert the d riv er’s attention from the road so, if the car in front o f you stops suddenly and y ou’re talking on the phone, you may react slow er than norm al - and that could be the differ ence between an accident and a “close call.” “ W ith millions o f cellular car telephones now in use, m otorists should think about how to use them safely,” says Marianne M acina, a re gional m anager for the W estern In surance Inform ation Service of B ea verton. M acina said certain sensitive calls should be m ade or taken only in a car safely parked at the side o f the road or in a parking lot. “D on’t stop on a highway shoul der unless you face an emergency because that can also be hazardous,” M acina warns. “Operating a vehicle at 55 or 65 mph is no time to learn that your company lost a m ulti-m illion spouses and children. “If the car breaks dow n or is involved in an accident, help can be sum m oned quickly. A nd car phones are used to report accidents involving other m otorists and disabled vehicles to the police,” M acina said. O ther tips for safe driving and telephoning: *D on’t attem pt to take notes w hile driving and telephoning. ♦Avoid giving com pany secrets or credit card num bers on a car phone. Radio transm issions could be picked said M acina. “ C a r te le p h o n e s to d a y a re no up by others. ♦Remove the external telephone lo n g e r the sta tu s sy m b o l they w ere antenna w hen parking the car. T he w h en c e llu la r se rv ic e first sta rte d . antennajnakes it easier for thieves to A s p ric e s h a v e p lu m m e te d , th e y ’ve b e c o m e p o p u la r w ith re a l spot cars w ith phones. ♦D on’texpect the police to be too e s ta te a g e n ts, s a le s p e o p le , e x sympathetic to an accident caused by e c u tiv e s , tru c k d riv e rs a n d re p a ir a phone conversation. Y ou could even p e rso n n e l, to n am e a few , b e c a u se th ey sav e tim e an d im p ro v e s e r get a ticket. ♦Be aw are that many car insur v ice. M any say th e y w o n d e r how ance policies exclude coverage if the th e y g o t a lo n g w ith o u t th e m .” M acina says a grow ing num ber phone isn ’t perm anently installed in o f people are purchasing car tele an opening in the dashboard o f the phones as a “ safety net” for their console. dollar contract. People forget that driving in today’s traffic dem ands full attention.” A c c o rd in g to s ta tis tic s from th e In s u ra n c e In fo rm a tio n I n s ti tu te , th e re w e re 3 1 .8 m illio n m o to r v e h ic le a c c id e n ts in th e U n ite d S ta te s in 1 9 9 2 , c o s tin g m o re th a n $98 b illio n . “ A good rule o f thum b to rem em ber is: If your car is m oving keep phone conversations short, light and simple - unless you have a chauffeur,” Free Contact Lenses Available Through Study J » A free pair o f contact lenses will ie given to persons who successfully om plete a research study evaluating arious types o f contact lenses and ens care solutions at the Pacific U ni versity Portland and Forest Grove Jamily Vision Centers. Both current rigid and soft con- act lens w earers, as well as non- vearers may be eligible for studies, rhose qualifying for the study will ¡valuate perform ance characteristics j f both soft frequent replacement con- a c t lenses and rigid gas permeable RGP) lenses and solutions. Subjects ,vill be required to complete several visits during the study at either the Portland or Forest Grove Family Vi- KXL Anchor Wins Top Award For the second year in a row, KXL new s radio 750 anchor and reporter D iana Jordan has received a first-place award from the N a tional Federation of Press W omen. The aw ard, for Best Radio News A nchor in the 1-50 top m ar ket category, was presented June 18 in Las Vegas. “W e ’re e x tre m e ly p ro u d o f D ia n a fo r w in n in g th is p r e s ti g io u s a w a rd ,” said K X L O p e ra tio n s M a n a g e r/N e w s D ire c to r D e n n is K e lly . “ T h e fa c t th a t she h as re c e iv e d it tw o y ears ru n n in g is a te s ta m e n t to h er ta le n t, h a rd w ork and a b ility . Thus far in 1994, m em bers of the KXL news team have won over 20 national and regional radio news I awards. sion C enter for the evaluation pro cess. Upon successful study com ple tion, participants will receive a free pair o f either soft or rigid contact lenses. Lens care solutions will also be provided at not cost throughout the study. Those qualifying for the study will be required to purchase a contact lens care agreem ent w hich provides one full year o f vision care protection. C ost for this lens care agreem ent is $80. However, this $80 fee may be discounted for specific studies. For study registration and m ore inform a tion, please call the Pacific University Portland Fam ily Vision Center, 224- 2323, Ext. 402. Medicine Guide Available Modem medicines are powerful tools in the fight against disease. They prevent, cure and soothe many illnesses, and have saved millions of lives. The pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associa tion has prepared a booklet to help people understand medicines and assist users in the proper care and use of prescription medicines. For a free copy of the “Consumers Guide To Prescription Medicines,” which contains a form for listing the medicines you take, write: Larry Lucas at the Phar maceutical Manufacturers Association, 110015 th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20005 MEDICAL ASSISTANT/ LIMITED X-RAY Classes Forming Now: Phlebotomy X-ray EKG Front Office Medical Lab Procedures Pharmacology Medical Lab Skills • National Certification available • Financial Aid for those who qualify • Job Placement Assistance • Day & Evening Classes Health Careers for The Future ConCorde Career Institute 1827 NE 44th Ave. Portland, OR 97213 (503) 281*4181 Vancouver: (206) 281-4181 JANA TORAN A ttorney at L aw PERSONAL INJURY, PRODUCTS liabltty , ano employment law S uite 950, A merican B ank B ldg 621 SW M orrison S treet P ortland , O regon 97205 (503) 225-0227 Mental Health And Mental Illnesses In Black America T h re e g ro u p s c o n v e rg e d on C a p ito l H ill to d isc u ss th e im p act o f m ental illn e s s e s on the B lack A m erican c o m m u n ity . The b rie fin g , c o -sp o n so re d by the C o n g ressio n al B lack C a u c u s, the N a tio n a l M ental H e a lth A sso c ia tio n (N M H A ) a n d the N a tio n a l In stitu te o f M en tal H ealth (N IM H ), e x p lo re d the c u ltu ra lly u n iq u e fa c to rs th a t a re p a rt o f the re c o g n itio n an d tre a tm e n t o f d e p re ssio n and m e n ta l illn e sse s in B la c k A m e ric a n s . M e n ta l h e a lth p ro fe ssio n a ls and civ ic le a d e rs a lso d isc u sse d the need to fo cus m ore a tte n tio n on the full ra n g e o f fa c to rs a ffe c tin g m en tal illn e sse s am ong B lack A m e ric a n s. A m o n g th e g u e st sp e a k e rs w ere M a rtin L u th e r K ing III and N F L H all o f F am er E arl C a m p b e ll. “ T h is b rie fin g co m es a t a c ritic a l tim e ,” Rep. L o u is S tokes (D - O h io ) to ld m e m b e rs an d g u e sts. “ Issu e s re la tin g to m e n tal and b e h a v io ra l h e a lth play an im p o rta n t ro le in a w id e ran g e o f le g isla tio n , e n c o m p a ssin g e v e ry th in g fro m th e c rim e b ill and h e a lth c a re to the co m in g deb ate on w e lfa re refo rm . B ro a d e n in g the u n d e rsta n d in g o f d e p re ssio n an d m e n ta l illn e s s e s a n d th e ir im p a c t on so c ie ty is a very im p o rta n t first ste p to w ard c h a n g e .” D r. F re d a L e w is-H a ll, special a d v ise r, N IM H O ffic e o f S pecial P o p u la tio n s, c a lle d a tte n tio n to th e fa c t th a t a lth o u g h m ental ill nesses do n o t d isc rim in a te -- strik ing B la c k s, W h ite s, A sians and H isp a n ic s a lik e -- som e o f the fa c to rs th a t c o n trib u te to d e p re s sion a n d o th e r m e n ta l illn e sse s in B la c k A m e ric a n s m ay be unique. “ C la rify in g the im p a c t o f cu ltu re on d ia g n o sis a n d tre a tm e n t w ill e n h a n c e the a b ility to effectiv ely tre a t m e n ta l illn e s s e s and lesson th e ir to ll on th e B lack co m m u n ity ,” she sa id . A c c o rd in g to e x p e rts, stig m a and lack o f u n d e rsta n d in g about m e n ta l illn e s s e s and th e ir root c a u se s have c o n trib u te d to a low ra te o f re c o g n itio n and tre a tm e n t a m o n g th o se w ith th ese c o n d i tio n s. F o r in sta n c e , w h ile clin ic a l d e p re ssio n s trik e s m ore 17.5 m il lion a d u lts e a c h y e a r, e n c o m p a ss ing 3.5 p e rc e n t o f B lack a d u lts, less than tw o -th ird s o f th o se w ith d e p re ssio n seek tre a tm e n t. Few p e o p le re a liz e th a t d e p re ssio n is a se rio u s m e n ta l illn e ss th at can ru in c a re e rs , fa m ilie s and m a r ria g e s. It is o fte n acco m p a n ied by a lc o h o l an d d ru g ab u se. F ifte e n p e rc e n t o f th o se w ith se v e r c lin i cal d e p re ssio n die o f su ic id e . E f fe c tiv e tre a tm e n ts (th e ra p y and m e d ic a tio n ) a re a v a ila b le and hig h ly e ffe c tiv e , y e t fe a r, stig m a and lack o f k n o w le d g e p re v e n t the m a jo rity o f th o se w ith c lin i c a l d e p r e s s io n fro m s e e k in g tre a tm e n t. A n d , in th e B la c k A m erican c o m m u n ity , th e p e r c e n ta g e o f p eo p le w hose sy m p to m s go u n re c o g n iz e d or m is d i a g n o se d is e v en h ig h e r. H a v in g p e rso n a lly e x p e r i e n c e d p a n ic d is o r d e r , fo rm e r H o u s to n o ile r E a rl C a m p b e ll s tre sse d the im p o rta n c e o f p u b lic e d u c a tio n in d e -stig m a tiz in g m en tal illn e sse s. “ M any p e o p le c a n ’t a c c e p t the fa c t th a t th ey s u ffe r from a m en tal illn e ss b e c a u se th e y th in k so m ehow i t ’s th e ir fa u lt, th a t th ey have fa ile d o r th a t th e y can h a n d le it on th e ir o w n . W e ll, w h e th e r i t ’s d e p r e s s io n , p a n ic d is o rd e r o r som e o th e r c o n d itio n , the fa c t is i t ’s a d ise a se th a t n eed s p ro fe s sio n a l, m e d ic a l tre a tm e n t.” “ O n c e I w as w illin g to c h a l le n g e th e stig m a I w as lucky e n o u g h to g e t tre a tm e n t. N ot e v ery o n e is as fo rtu n ate. W e need to m ak e su re th a t h e lp is a v a il a b le to all p e o p le - ric k and p o o r, B la c k and W h ite — and th a t they know w here to tu rn to h e lp f o r .”