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J uly 27,1994 • T he P ortland O bserver
P age A6
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Kaiser Permanente Offers
Health Education Classes
Celebrities Support Sickle Cell Anemia
Several classes open to the public
are being offered in North Portland
this summer and fall through Kaiser
Permanente. For registration infor­
mation, call Kaiser Perm anente’s
Health Education department at (503)
286-6816.
“COUPLES
COMMUNICATION”
“MANAGING STRESS AND
ANXIETY”
Communication and decision­
making skills for many couples are
easy to learn but hard to put into
p ractice. K aiser P erm an e n te’s
“Couples Communication” class helps
couples learn and practice basic com­
munication skills. The eight sessions
will be from 6:30to 8:30pm on Thurs­
days, Aug. 11 through Sept. 29, at
Kaiser Permanente’s Education and
Conference Center (Town Hall), 3 704
N. Interstate Ave., Portland. Cost is
$80 for couples who are Kaiser
Permanente members, $140 for the
general public. Please register at least
10 days before the class starts.
Kaiser Permanente’s “Managing
Stress and Anxiety” program can help
manage stress which accompanies the
pressures of life. The eight sessions
will be from 6:30 to 8:30pm on Thurs­
days, Sept. 1 through Oct. 20, at Bess
Kaiser M edical Center, 5055 N.
Greeley Ave., Portland. Cost is $80
for Kaiser Permanente members, $ 140
for the general public (fee includes
textbook). Please register at least 10
days before the class starts.
“DIABETES BASIC SERIES”
Celebrities and public service representatives gather to give their time, money and a little hope to the children of the Marian Anderson Sickle
Cell Anemia Care and Research Center at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia. A Janet Jackson concert sponsored by
Sony Music helped raise money to continue research aimed at eliminating the pain of sickle cell disease.
Powerful Psychotropic Drugs More
Often Used On African-Americans
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».
African-American activists along
with other psychiatric activist groups
have expressed concern that the Afri­
can-American population is being tar­
geted by racial psychiatry'. Many are
concerned the government may insti­
tute a “violence initiative” which, crit­
ics charge, would unfairly target mi­
norities, including young children, for
“treatment’ with powerful mind-al­
tering drugs and other means.
Dr. James Aungst, spokesman for
the Citizens Commission on Human
Rights (CCHR), stated, “Racist psy­
chiatry has been around for a very
long time. Recent statements by people
inside the industry and studies by the
profession itself are now bringing this
into the light. We here at CCHR are
appalled that the psychiatric industry
would target people of color as pre­
disposed to violence and then subse­
quently drug them with powerful and
potentially deadly drugs.”
A recent study published in the
American Psychiatric Association's
“Hospital & Community Psychiatry”
explores why adult African-Ameri­
cans in the psychiatric system are 1.83
times more likely to get a form of
twitch-inducing permanent brain dam­
age (called T.D.) from the powerful
fam ily of neuroleptic-type drugs, such
as H aldol, P ro lix in , M ellaril,
Thorazine, etc. While not finding a
conclusive reason for the high rate,
they did make a stunning observation
about African-Americans and the
long-acting version of the neuroleptic.
The authors of the study stated,
“To our knowledge, we are the first
researchers to document that black
patients received higher doses of
neuroleptic medications and were
more frequently given high-potency
depot neuroleptic than white patients...
Furse Calls
For Abortion
Services
Summertime
Blood Donors
Needed To Meet
Patient Needs
In ordertoensure that pregnancy-
related services arc included in health
care reform legislation Rep. Eliza­
beth Furse and dozens o f House col­
leagues sent a letter to House Speaker
Thomas Foley (D-WA) stating that
those services must be available in
order for them to support reform ef­
forts.
The letter stated that “we feel
compel led to con vey to you our strong
commitment that any health care re­
form package that comes before the
House must contain coverage forcon-
traceptive and abortion services if it is
to gain our support."
At a news conference to release
the letter. Furse said that while she
was touring the District last week, the
top concern was health care.
“The one message that I heard
over and over again is that Americans
don't want the government making
choices for them in their private deci­
sions,” Furse said. “They don’t want
some member of Congress deciding
whether or not they can get an abor­
tion. Abortions are legal in this coun­
try. That’s a personal choice that must
be left to a woman and her doctor
“Women will continue to get
abortions. This is not a question of
abortions or no abortions. It s a ques­
tion o f safe or unsafe abortions. At
this time, a majority of wom en's in­
surance covers reproductive services;
we must not diminish their health care
coverage with health care reform.
All Oregon democratic represen­
tatives signed the letter to Speaker
Foley.
The House is expected to vote on
health care reform legislation within
the next few weeks.
The good old summertime. The
parks are packed with people, the
beaches are getting plenty o f busi­
ness, and the mountains are crammed
with campers. Unfortunately, regional
hospitals are also flooded with cus­
tomers.
No matter what the season, area
hospitals are always filled with people
who need blood and blood products.
While summertime travel and out­
door activity often increases accident-
related blood use, blood is needed on
an ongoing basis by surgery and can­
cer patients, people with blood dis­
eases, and many others.
Red Cross blood donors are the
sole source of this lifesaving fluid.
Just one blood donation can help up to
four people sidelined by surgery, ac­
cidents or diseases including leuke­
mia and sickle cell anemia get back
into the game o f life.
Portland residents can help en­
sure that regional hospitals have an
adequate supply of blood and blood
products by giving blood at the
Maranatha Church, 4222 NE 12th, on
Thursday, August 11th, from 3:00 to
7:00 PM Donors should be 17 or
older, weigh at least 105 pounds, and
be in good general health.
ENROLL
M . Hood
Festival 01 Jazz *
A ikjils I 6 lh -7 lh
JANA TORAN
A ttorney
at
L aw
PERSONAL INJURY, PRODUCTS LIABILITY, ANO EMPLOYMENT LAW
S uite 950, A merican B ank B ldg
621 SW M orrison S treet
P ortland , O regon 97205
We make
it easy
to choose
good health
(NAPS)—The cure for cancer
comes ever closer, th a n k s to
research done by talented young
scientists whose work is support­
ed by the Cancer Research Fund
of th e Dam on R unyon-W alter
Winchell Foundation.
Your contributions can bring
scientists closer to finding a can­
cer cure.
When you choose your health insurance, choose the
One of these scientists is James
M. Slauch, PhD., who had a Damon
Runyon-Walter Winchell Fellowship
at Harvard Medical School. Slauch
studied Salmonella typhimurium, a
bacteria which causes a deadly
typhoid-like disease in mice. Dr.
Slauch and his colleagues were
after virulence factors, deadly genes
that become active only in certain
environments.
The team identified 50 v iru ­
lence genes that enable the bac­
terium to live in the mouse. This
discovery will likely lead to a com­
parable method for detecting viru­
lence factors in viruses, including
those retroviruses tied to cancer.
You can help such im portant
research projects to continue by
sending a contribution to the
C ancer R esearch Fund of the
Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell
Foundation, 131 East 36th St.. New
York, NY 10016. One hundred per­
cent of every donation you make to
the Fund goes to cancer research.
Good Health Plan. It's a simple choice that provides
convenient access to the health care you need:
• affordable health insurance
• choose your own doctor
• convenient access to services
• Sisters of Providence hospitals: St. Vincent,
Providence, Providence Milwaukie, Providence
Seaside and Newberg Community Hospital.
Call us today for more information. Because good
health is a good choice.
GOOD HEALTH PLAN
Our mission: your health.
(503) 280-7500
1-800-878-4445
F ALL
P rovidence M ontessori S chool
Ages 2Vi to 6
Monday - Friday • 7 a.m. - 6 p.m.
NEW! Morning Half-day Montessori Class
SISTERS OF
PROVIDENCE
• Experienced staff • Nutritious lunch/snacks • RN
• Diversity among children & staff • Creative Movement Class
h e a lt h system
8 7 2 -2 4 0 0
Providence C hild Center • 830 N.E. 47th Avenue
f • £2
This is a first and CPR program
for parents o f newboms. The two ses­
sions will be from 6:30 to 9:30pm on
Tuesdays, Sept. 6 and Sept. 13, at
Kaiser Permanente’s Education &
Conference Center (Town Hall), 3704
N. Interstate Ave., Portland. Cost is
$30 for Kaiser Permanente members/
couples, $60 for the general public.
Please register at least 10 days before
the class starts.
SISTERS OF PROVIDENCE HEALTH SYSTEM
Cancer Research:
New Progress
FOR
Uncontrolled diabetes can lead
to serious health problems. Kaiser
Permanente offers several classes
where you can learn self-care skills to
control your diabetes. The three-ses­
sion “Diabetes Basic Series” will be
from 9am to noon on Monday, Tues-
day and Wednesday, Aug. 29, 30 and
“EMERGENCY CARE OF THE
YOUNG CHILD”
(503) 225-0227
Our results indicate that the higher
doses given to black patients can be
explained entirely by more frequent
use o f h ig h -p o ten cy
dep o t
neuroleptic.” While about one-fourth
of the study subjects were African-
Americans, fully one-half of those at
the baseline of the test being given
depot neuroleptic were A frican-
Americans.
Dr. Aungst commented, “ In my
opinion these drugs do nothing more
than turn these people into shuffling
zombies.”
“For the psychiatric industry to
make claims that a person is predis­
posed to having a mental illness on the
basis of his skin color is outrageous.
The American people need to take
heed and take a very close look at
what the psychiatric industry is doing
to their country before it is to late.”
Aungst concluded.
NOW
31, at Kaiser Permanente’s Education
& Conference Center (Town Hall),
3704 N. Interstate Ave, Portland. Cost
is $15 for Kaiser Permanente mem­
bers, $75 for the general public. A
spouse or other person is encouraged
to attend at no extra cost.
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