I nt P ortland O bserver • A ugust 21, 1996
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The board o f directors o f Center
for Com m unity Mental Health
[C C M H ] rose from its annual meet
ing last April with a new plan to help
create a healthier North/Northeast
community.
Already, C C M H is responding
to the mental health care needs o f
North Portland inner-city neighbor
hoods with a host o f preventative
and therapeutic programs.
The plan announced by the non
profit agency’s board chairperson
Margot Allen seeks increased part
nership and support from the pub
lic. It also embraces new and cre
ative ways o f problem-solving.
Changes in managed care have
caused the mental health care center
to streamline operations and con
solidate services into a more effi
cient continuum.
“C C M H has responded by com
bining our children and youth pro
grams into family services and our
substances abuse and adult outpa
tient services into adult services,"
the agency’s executive director, Car
ol R. Chism, said.
C C M H relies heavily on volun
tary donations from well wishers to
fulfill its commitment to over 400
clients.
The Center provides treatment
services for children and their fam
ilies, support services for adults,
treatment programs for adolescents,
mental health support, and chemi
cal dependency treatment pro
grams.
After 3 years o f operation, the
agency regrettably closed the door
o f its transitional living facility for
chemically dependent women and
their children because o f lack o f
funding. Over the years, the facility
served a home to about 39 women
and 53 children. Five drug-free ba
bies were also bom at the house
during that time.
“ We w ill work to expand our
collaborations and seek varied re
sources for continuing our work.
We need every dollar we can get.
We want to respond quickly to these
needs,” says Chism.
lood pressure awareness
by
J oey Mt
rphy
Over 50 m illion adults in the U S
have high blood pressure.
Ifthat doesn’t alarm you, it should.
High blood pressure, or hyperten
sion, is easy to cure, but if ignored
can lead to serious health problems,
O H S U nurse practitioner Veronica
Legg said.
Studies also show that minorities
are more susceptible to hyperten
sion, Legg said Hypertension is more
common in the Southeastern U S then
in the rest o f the nation.
High blood pressure can be nor
mal even in healthy individuals. It’s
when elevated blood pressure levels
become consistent that a physician
w ill diagnose hypertension
Blood pressure rises naturally with
physical activity, excitement, fear,
or emotional stress, but such eleva-
tions are usually transient.
There are a number o f risk factors
for hypertension. Some are unavoid
able, like an inherited tendency for
hypertension, race, old age and sex,
Legg said.
In young adulthood and early
middle age, high blood pressure
occurs more frequently in men than
in women; thereafter the reverse is
true.
However, there are also a number
o f "changeable" risk factors, Legg
said.
They include a sedentary lifestyle,
overweightness, excessive alcohol
consumption, too much salt and not
enough calcium Legg said.
Consequencesofhigh blood pres
sure vary. Legg said hypertension
can lead to eye damage, heart en
largement, kidney damage and “car-
diovascular incidence.” It causes ath
erosclerosis, or hardening o f the ar
teries, which contributes to heart
attack and stroke
She recom m ended “ k e e p in g
good control o f your blood pres
sure.” C hecking your blood pres
Make Self Care A Priority
Making a personal commitment to take time o ut for
you may mean reshuffling priorities.
With our unique roles as mother, wife, sisters, career
women - and sometimes all of the above - our schedule
is already full.
Cherish’your body for the great g ift th a t it is, and give
it the best o f care.
It is recommended th a t women 4 0 and older get
annual health exams. Early detection saves lives.
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Call:
If you are 4 0 or older you may
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Check, which includes a pap te s t
and mammogram.
503-288-0033
Seven myths about contact lenses
M yth: C o ntact lenses hurt.
Fa ct: Many patients experience
no discomfort when first wearing
contact lenses. Contact lens fitting
by professional eye care practitio
ners can minimize the early irritation
sometimes associated with new con
tact lenses. After a brief adjustment
period o f a few days, most wearers
report they can no longer feel contact
lenses on their eyes.
Myth: Contact lenses can not cor
rect astigm atism .
Fact: Contact lens have made tech
nological advances to meet the needs
o f patients with astigmatism. Indi
viduals with astigmatism can be fit
ted with contact lenses designed to
correct this problem. The misshapen
cornea is precisely measured and
special lenses are used to direct light
rays to one spot on the retina. More
than 60 thousand different contact
lens prescriptions are available for
this condition, offering the nearly 71
m illion Americans affected by astig
matism a potential alternative to eye
glasses.
M yth: Young people should start
with eyeglasses for vision correc
tion, then switch to contact lenses
later in life.
Fact: Teenagers and pre-teens can
safely wear contact lenses with guid
ance from parents, proper profes
sional fitting and instruction in eye
care and hygiene. Adolescents are
usually appearance-conscious which
makes them motivated to properly
care for contact lenses. Therefore,
contact lenses can be an appropriate
initial prescription for vision correc
tion.
M yth: C ontact lenses are too
delicate for teenagers who might
dam age or lose their lenses.
Fa ct: Contact lenses come in a
variety o f different materials, some
o f which are stronger and more resis
tant to tearing. Because teenagers are
usually highly motivated to trade
eyeglasses for contact lenses, they
learn to properly and carefully han
dle contact lenses. Typ ically, teen
agers do not have a signi ficantly high
er incidence o f lens loss or damage
than their adult counterparts. A s al
ternatives, single use contact lenses
that are worn once and disposable
lenses that are worn for a limited time
can help minimize loss, handling and
associated damage.
M yth: C o n tact lenses are not
appropriate for people who p ar
ticipate in sports.
F a c t : W h atever the s p o r t -
aerobics, basketball, football, ice
hockey, running, biking, tennis or
softball—today’s contact lenses offer
improved depth perception and pe
ripheral vision. Many athletes report
that contact lenses offer a wider field
o f view that is not limited by eyeglass
frames. Contact lenses do not fog up
or smudge, and they can improve the
athlete’s ability to judge the distance
and speed o f objects and other players.
M yth: Co n tact lenses should not
be worn w hile p articipatin g in wa
ter sports.
Fact: Contact lenses go well with
water sports. Swimmers, surfers, sail
ors and other water athletes no long
er have to worry about wiping o f
logical or psychiatric treatment and
sends a clear warn ing to psych iatrists
and their institutions and organiza
tions to keep their hands o ff or face
litigation or criminal proceedings.
A strong measure, but one that
International President o fC C H R , Ms.
Jan Eastgate, said is necessary. She
recently released the psychiatric liv
ing w ill and other safeguards against
psychiatric interference, at a Euro
pean Hearing into Psychiatric Sexu
al Abuse and Other Human Rights
Violations held in Brussels.
T h is week she released the w ill in
the U S. saying that C C H R plans to
get m illions o f copies o f the w ill
distributed, includingthrough its new
Web Site (http:/www.ccchr.org).
“ People need legal protection
against involuntary commitment
which deprives people o f their liber
ty, or against enforced psychiatric
treatment which takes away their free
dom o f choice and frequently results
in a person being drugged senseless,
electroshock and even being sexual
ly abused.
Psychiatric sexual abuse destroys
Screenings may be scheduled during
evenings and weekends as well as
regular business hours In addition to
free screenings at P acific’s Fam ily
Vision Centers, vision screenings are
also available on an off-site basis for
schools, businesses, and community
organizations. Off-site screenings are
provided without charge for non
profit organizations, and at a nomi
nal charge to for-profit groups.
The American Optometric Asso
ciation recommends that infants and
children receive vision screenings
and examinations beginning at six
months; and at three years, five years,
and every year thereafter throughout
lives, electroshock damages minds
and powerful psychotropic (mind
altering) drugs ruin people. I f protec
tion is not provided by governments,
then the protection must rest with the
public itself. The psychiatric living
w ill is a step towards achieving this,”
Ms. Eastgate said.
C C H R also recommends that it be
mandatory for psychiatrists, psychol
ogist and psychotherapists to sign
Loyalty Oath For Mental Practice
before they be allowed to practice.
Internationally, there is a move to
strengthen the Ethics Codes o f psy
chiatrists, with the United Nations
referring to this in their 19 9 1 guide
lines for the protection o f the mental
ly ill, and the Council o f Europe
Recommendation on Psychiatry and
Human Rights in 1994.
Ms. Eastgate said that if these
practitioners cannot sign the oath,
then they shouldn't be tampering with
people’s mind. “The signing o f the
oath is essential; it is a written con
tract \vith the patient and not just a
code psychiatrists are expected to,
but don’t often, keep," she said.
school years. A Ithough vision screen
ings do not substitute for a complete
vision examination, they do provide
important information about clarity
o f vision, eye health, and how well
the eyes are working together as a
team. This information is essential
for assuring correct development of
important learning ski Ils such as read
ing and writing, and for avoiding a
reduction in classroom performance
and self-esteem.
Statisics identify that approximate
ly one out o f four patients receiving
screenings at Pacific's Vision Cen
ters fail because o f various vision
problems.
For more information call 795-3908
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Free Vision screenings before school reconvenes
The Pacific University College o f
Optometry Fam ily Vision Centers,
and affiliate clinics, provide a vear-
around program o f free vision screen
ings for all ages including infants,
pre-schoolers, school-age children,
and adults. Vision screenings are
especially beneficial in assuring prop
er development o f learning skills for
infants and children if they are re
ceived prior to or early in the school
year
Free screenings offered through
the Pacific UniversityCollegeofO p-
tometry are scheduled by appoint
ment, take about 30 minutes to com
plete, and do not cause discomfort.
Sign Up for the Race For The Cure
September 8th, 1996
their glass when splashed with water,
or risk losing or breaking their glass
es. For swimmers, tight-fitting gog
gles should be worn to protect the
eyes and contact lenses.
Myth: C o ntact lenses require
tim e -co n su m in g d a ily m ain te
nance.
Fact: While daily maintenance is
necessary for many types o f contact
lenses, regular cleaning o f lenses has
become much more convenient than
in the past. Multi-purpose lens care
products make caring for contact lens
es quick and easy. Popular alterna
tives include single use contact lens
es, which typically require no main
tenance because they are designed to
be worn once, and disposable lenses
that are worn for only a limited time.
Living will to protect
Every 75 seconds, an American
citizen is involuntarily committed to
a psychiatric institution and treated
against their w ill; and if you are A f
rican American, you are twice as
likely be committed then someone
white.
The Citizens Commission on Hu
man Rights International, however,
has come up with a means for people
to protect themselves from unwanted
psychiatric intrusion.
Called a “Letter o f Protection from
Incarceration and/or Treatment” or a
psychiatric “living will,” the idea is the
brain-child o f C C H R ’s Honorary C o
founder and Commissioner, Dr. Tho
mas Szasz, professor o f psychiatry
emeritus. State University New York.
The w ill is signed by people “o f
sound mind" and prohibits psychiat
ric intervention should others dream
that the person needs psychiatric
hospitalization or treatment. It au
thorizes attorneys to take appropri
ate criminal and civ il action against
anyone who violates the declaration.
The w ill is an expression o f an
individual's right to refuse psycho-
sure regularly is also important.
But to maintain a health pressure
level, Legg said a balanced diet and
regular exercise program is needed.
And if alcohol consumption or
weight is also a problem, they need
to be reduced.
H o m e L o a n s F r o m
Id
U.S. B a n k
U S .IB A N K
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