* *
• '
HMMMWT4IH h Ì
“j f - .- f
P age A4
BUSINESS PROFILE
First Black Woman Chiropractic
Physician In The State Of Oregon
Dr. M arcelitte Gallian-Failla
recieved her Bachelors degree from
Rutgers University in New Jersey
and her Doctorate from Western
States Chiropractic here in Portland
Dr. Gallian-Failla's Family orig
inates from Lafayette and New Ibe
ria Lousiana o f which she is pleased
to see a large community o f people
from her family's roots. In her prac
tice she strives to reach the N.E.
community to deliver quality care
and respect to her patients.
She is presentely located at 2 124
Hancock Street and can be reached
at 287-5504 for an appointment.
Dr. Marcelitte Gallian Failla
Electric Heart Brings
Hope To Sufferers
A British man was given an
electric heart last week in an opera
tion that could bring hope to hun
dreds o f heart disease sufferers.
Abe! Goodman, a 64-year-old
retired film producer who suffered
from heart failure, received the im
plant at the John Radcliffe Hospital
in Oxford in the first operation o f its
kind.
The electric heart, developed
by scientists at the Texas Heart In
stitute, is battery-operated and un
like heart assist devices designed to
keep patients alive until they re
ceive a transplant, it should work
indefinitely.
The Texas Heart Institute was
unable to carry out the operation in
the United States because the de
vice has not been approved by the
Rood and Drug Administration.
■Goodman, who had been given
just six months to live and had been
ruled too old to receive a heart
transplant paid for by B ritain’s
National Health Service, decided
that he had nothing to lose from the
operation.
“ I w eighed up the o p tio n s
My life was se rio u sly at risk
and th is seem ed the only way
fo rw a rd .” he told a n ew spaper,
w hose front p ag e-sh o w ed him
stan d in g a fte rth e operation with
the aid o f tw o nurses.
For the rest ofhis life, Goodman
will have to wear a harness carrying
the two 1.5 pound batteries that
operate the heart. These must be
changed every eight hours. Theelec-
tric heart, stitched into the left ven
tricle ofGoodm an’s own heart, gives
o ff a just audible whirr as it pumps
oxygenated blood around the body,
the newspaper said.
Kaiser Permanente Offers Health
Education Classes In North Portland
Several classes open to the pub
lic are being offered in North Port
land this fall th ro u g h K aiser
Permanente. For registration infor
mation, call Kaiser Permanente’s
Health Education Department at
(503)286-6816.
Ending a love relationship can
be difficult. Kaiser Permanente’s
“Divorce Adju stm ent "program fo
cuses on adjustments to make di
vorce less painful. The eight ses
sions will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
on Wednesday, from now through
Dec. 20, at Kaiser Permanent’s Ed
ucation & C o n feren ce C en ter
(Town Hall), 3704 N. Interstate
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.
Kaiser Permanente's “M anag
ing Stress and A n x ie ty ” program
can help manage stress which ac-
com paniesthepressuresoflife. The
eight sessions will be from 6:30 to
8.30 p.m. on Thursdays, from now
th ro u g h D ec. 2 1 , at K aiser
Permanente’s North Interstate Ser
vices Building, 7201 N. Interstate
ave., Portland. Cost is $80 for Kai
ser Permanente members, $140 for
the general public (fee includes text
book). Please register at least 10
days before the class starts.
Protect
Your Child
Minority and low-income eld
erly face greater barriers to care
than other older Americans, despite
almost universal Medicare cover
age for individuals over 65, accord
ing to a report released by HHS
Secretary Donna E. Shalala.
Secretary Shalala said new
studies by the Health Care Financ
ing Administration show that ac
cess to health services remains high
overall for Medicare beneficiaries.
However, the studies also make clear
that lower socioeconomic status and
race remain risk factors for reduced
use o f certain services paid for by
Medicare.
The report is the fifth in an
annual series. It continues analyses
in previous reports o f racial dispar
ities in the medical services used by
Medicare beneficiaries. In addition,
this year’s report looks at effects o f
socioeconomic status, independent
o f race.
The report finds higher mortal
ity and hospitalization rates for black
Medicare beneficiaries, indicating
that health status is lower among
black beneficiaries than for whites.
But in spite o f lower health status,
the data show that the rate o f physi
cian visits was lower for black ben
eficiaries than white beneficiaries.
HHS Deputy Secretary Walter
Broadnax, speaking at a conference
with representatives o f Historically
Black Colleges and Universities,
invited researchers at HBCUs to
make use o f Medicare and M edic
aid data to help better understand
Free Immunizations
Offered In Northeast
Portland Community
Kaiser Permanente, the N eigh
borhood Health Clinics, Inc., and
Multnomah County Health Depart
ment, are providing immunizations
at nocost for children living in North/
Northeast Portland.
Immunizations will be offered
on January 6, 1996, as the Mult
nomah County NE Health Center,
5329 N.E. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Blvd. (park and enter at rearofbuild-
ing)
The immunizations are free to
all children. Parents should bring
th e ir c h ild r e n ’s im m u n iz a tio n
records, if available.
Immunization during the first
two y earso fach ild ’s life iso neofthe
most widely accepted and effective
strategies for improving public health.
The U.S. Public Health Service has
set a chi Idhood immunization goal o f
90% by the year 2000 for the entire
U.S. Population. In Oregon, immu
nization rates are at 66%*. Immuni
zation is a low-cost prevention that is
highly effective and vital in the fight
against diseases. By joining togeth
er, Kaiser Permanente, the Neigh
borhood Health Clinics, Inc., and
Multnomah County are helping to
improve the health o f children and
the community. For more informa
tion call (503) 288-5995.
Join In
Celebrating
ahnrntnrv S
Çorrtinar’
Legacy 1/ I Laboratory
ervices’
MetroLab recentely won the con
tract for substance abuse testing ser
vices for several Washington state
abuse monitoring, treatment and pre
vention programs. This is MetroLab’s
largest toxicology contract to date
and will mean a significant increase
in testing volume.
“One o f the main reasons we
obtained this contract is because
w e’re O regon’s largest, federally
certified reference laboratory,” says
Robert K. Velander, M etroL ab’s
Director.
The State o f W a sh in g to n ’s
Treatm ent A lternatives to Street
5|Jortlanù
(©bseruer’s
A N N IV E R S A R Y
Advertise In
(The
(Ob ser uev
Call 503-288-0033
the barriers to care faced by minority
beneficiaries and to aid in overcom
ing them. Broadnax was speaking at
an HHS-supported conference on
expanding the availability o f data
from the Health Care Financing Ad
ministration for HBCHs.
“The truth is that just about ev
ery health care problem in this coun
try is exacerbated in Black Ameri
ca," Broadnax said. “ It is time not
only to understand these trends -- it is
time to reverse them, once and for
all.”
“To remove these obstacles to
care, all o f us need to work together
across disciplines and across the
country,” Broadnax said in his speech
to the conference. “ We need to tap
into the deep reservoir o f your expe
rience and expertise, your ideas and
your insights, so that we can better
serve all Americans.”The conference,
being held today and Thursday in
Atlanta, Ga., is aimed at enhancing
research opportunities for faculty
members at HBCHs by improving
availability o f HHS data on health
care utilization, cost and other is
sues.
The report also examined the
links between disparities in access
and income differences.
“The patterns o f health care use
which are documented in this report
continue to suggest that black bene
ficiaries are facing more barriers to
comprehensive, continuous care than
white beneficiaries,” said HCFA
AdministratorBruceC. Vladeck, who
oversees the Medicare program. “Our
analysis also examines the role that
income plays with regard to access
to M edicare-provided services."
Looking at income factors, the
studies found that:
•
The rate o f physician vis
its declines 18 percent for white
beneficiaries and 12 percent for
black beneficiaries as income de
creases.
•
Among the lowest income
black beneficiaries, the rates o f use
o f certain procedures usually re
quiring referrals from general phy
sicians were lower than the rates for
black beneficiaries at the highest
income levels. These procedures
include coronary artery bypass sur
gery and coronary angioplasty.
•
Among white beneficia
ries in the lowest income level, the
rate o f hospitalization for high-
blood pressure was more than twice
as high as the rate for beneficiaries
at the highest income level.
The findings are contained in
HHS’ fifth annual report to Con
gress on “ Monitoring the Impact of
Medicare Physician Payment Re
form on Utilization and Access,”
submitted in response to the Omni
bus Budget Reconciliation Act o f
1989.
Under the act, HHS is required
to monitor and report annually to
Congress on the impact of the imple
mentation o f the Medicare fee sched
ule on changes in utilization and ac
cess, by population groups, geograph
ic areas, types o f services and possi
ble sources o f inappropriate care.
MetroLab Named Provider For Large SW
Washington Drug Testing Contract
Crime (TASC) drug abuse preven
tion program will be one o f the larg
est drug testing client for MetroLab
and will increase the monthly testing
volume by approximately 5,000 tox
icology tests.
Says V elan d er, “ W e’ve re
cently acquired technical system s
and e q u ip m e n t w ith in c re a se d
c a p a c ity and te stin g s e n s itiv ity .”
T he c o n tra c t w as recen tly a w a rd
ed to Legacy w hich had to c o m
pete w ith both reg io n al and n a
tio n al la b o ra to rie s.
MetroLab is part o f Legacy Lab
oratory Services. MetroLab is ac
credited for federally mandated drug
testing programs through the Sub
stance Abuse and Mental Health Ser
vices Administration’s NIDA certi
fication. This designation allows the
lab to handle a large variety o f toxi
cology and forensic urine drug test
ing and services as well as emergen
cy/ medical toxicology, therapeutic
drugs and industrial biological test
ing.'
W ashington’s TASC drug abuse
prevention program operates in six
counties throughout the state o f
Washington: King, Clark, Snoho
mish, Spokane, Yakima, and Pierce
Counties and will forward to Lega
cy’s lab tests from all over the state.
Eating Fish Weekly May Foil Heart Attack
■
Program To Trains Minority Medical Students
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation
ic medicine, who are members o f
o f Battle Creek, Michigan recently
g ro u p s
c o n s id e re d
to
be
aw a rd e d a fo u r-y e a r g ra n t o f
underrepresented in medicine by the
$851,587 to National Medical Fel
Association o f American Medical
lowships, Inc. The grant will under
Colleges. The first cohort o f 15 fel
write N M F’s new W.K Kellogg
lows will be selected early in 1996.
C om m u n ity -B ased F e llo w sh ip s
The $10,000 fellowships will
Training Program for Minority M ed
provide 24-week community-based
ical Students. The goal o f the new
tra in in g e x p e rie n c e s in m odel
fellowship program is to increase the
projects that are part o f major health
number o f primary care physicians
professions education initiatives of
practicing in underserved areas by
the W.K. Kellogg Foundation: the
targeting minority medical students
Community Health Partnerships and
for community-based training dur
Com m unity-Based Public Health
ing the medical school years.
Projects.
“At a time when much about
Students will serve under the
health care delivery remains unset
guidance o f senior staff at the com
tled, virtually everyone agrees on
munity-based facilities, assisting in
one point: there are far too few pri
health care delivery, community ep
mary care physicians and other pri
idemiology, and health education.
mary care practitioners in the sys
“ P r o v id in g
c o m m u n ity -
tem, particularly in poor urban and
based tra in in g , w hich is not o rd i
rural areas,” said H. Jack Geiger,
n arily part o f the m edical school
M D .National Medical Fellowships
cu rric u lu m , w ill stre n g th e n the
board member and chairman o f the
p re p a ra tio n o f stu d e n ts in co m
fellowship program’s national advi
m unity m ed icin e, and rein fo rce
sory committee. “ By targeting mi
th e ir c a re e r in terest in prim ary
nority medicai students, we are able
c a re ,” G eig er said
to give support to exactly those stu
I he W.K. Kellogg Foundation
dents who are likely to choose to
was establ ished in 1930 to “help peo
practice in areas o f physician short
ple help themselves through the prac
age and among the urban poor.”
tical application of knowledge and
A total of45 fellowships will be
resources to improve their quality o f
awarded, over a three-year period, to
life and that o f future generations.”
second and third-year medical stu
As a private grant-making organiza
dents enrolled in accredited U.S.
tion, it provides seed money to non
schools o f allopathic and osteopath
profit organizations and institutions
Health Care Access For Medicare
that have identified problems and
designed constructive action pro
grams aimed at solutions.
M ost fou n d atio n gran ts are
aw arded in areas o f higher ed u
catio n ; youth d ev elopm ent; lead
e rs h ip ;
p h ila n t h r o p y
an d
v o lu n te e rism ; in teg rated , com
p re h e n siv e health care system s;
food system s; and rural d e v e lo p
m ent. G rants are co n cen trated in
the U nited S tates, Latin A m eri
ca, the C a rib b e a n , and Southern
A frica.
N a tio n a l M e d ic a l F e llo w
sh ip s, Inc. was founded in 1946
to increase the p articip atio n o f
m in o ritie s in m edicine, and p ro
m ote an e q u ita b le health care
system N M F has aw arded more
than $33 m illion to over 15,000
men and w om en. In 1995, NMF
rem ains the only n ationw ide, p ri
vate, n o n p ro fit o rg an izatio n in
the U nited S tates that provides
sc h o la rsh ip and fellow ship aid,
as w ell as e d u catio n and le a d e r
sh ip o p p o rtu n itie s, to m inority
m en and w om en in m ed icin e
N M F seeks to d evelop m inority
phy sician lead ersh ip in p re v e n
tiv e m edicine and health e d u c a
tio n , health care, public health
and po licy , su b stan ce abuse re
search and treatm en t, b io m e d i
cal research and academ ic m ed i
cine.
Eating fish once a week of
fers protection against heart attack,
researchers said on Tuesday.
A University o f Washington,
Seattle, study added to the growing
amount o f evidence that eating fish is
good for the cardiovascular system
— though no one is sure why.
Researchers studied the diets o f
334 victims o f sudden heart attacks
and 493 people in a control group
who had similar characteristics but
were otherwise healthy. They corre
lated heart attack risk with fish con
sumption and the presence in the
body o fa particular type o f fatty acid
found in most fish and shellfish.
The study found m o d erate
amounts o f the fatty acid, called long-
chain n-3, could reduce the risk o f
sudden heart attack sharply — from
roughly two people in 10,000 to few
er than one in 10,000.
Heart disease is fatal to nearly
one million Americans each year,
ranking it as the nation’s top killer.
More than one-quarter ofthose deaths
occur without warning with the first
heart attack, according to the Amer
ican Heart Association.
In the current study, published
in the Journal o f the American M ed
ical Association, researchers asked
questions about subjects’ diets and
also took blood samples to deter
mine the levels o f n-3 in blood cells.
They determined that moderate lev
els o f n-3 — corresponding to one
serving o f a so-called fatty-fish such
as salmon each week — was the best
protection against sudden heart at
tack.
“These particularly polyunsatu
rated fats get incorporated into cell
membranes, and may aid in heart
cell function,” study author David
Siscovick said in a telephone inter-
v ie w .
The fatty acid from fish may pro
vide heart cell membranes with the
strength or flexibility to expand and
contract rapidly as the heart beats, he
said. Problems with heart cells could
lead the heart to fibrillate or spasm.
The n-3 substance may also re
duce the clumping o f blood platelets
and play a role in preventing block
age o f the arteries, or arteriosclero
sis, that can trigger heart attacks, the
study said.
OYSTERS
FRESH PACIFIC
Medium
Size
lO oz.
JAR
$019
S H R IM P MEAT
$499
■
POUND
JÍM M Y
SAUSAGES
ROLLS or LINKS
$499
M l Jimmy
__ Dean
? [I r « « ......... ..
V
I RtGUIAR »7
t
I
EACH
s
iïl
K S
Th® FRIENDLIEST STORES In Town since
SPECIALS n M
E& ^EBERE
S £ O TUESDAY
F ^ X a C .hrouabSATURD1!??
E ^s'
FOR YOUR NEAREST KIENOWS STORE CALL asa-«»n
» T O O HOURS
W IIK O A Y t
• • m.
SUNDAY
R a .m . t o t p.m.
HOME DELIVERY IS AVAILABLE CALU245-4SQ*