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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 19, 1997)
P agi A6 F ebruary 19, 1997 • T he P ortland O bserver Tuskegee meeting for minority involvement A national m eeting to discuss w ay s to encourage minorities to join medical clinical trials will be held February 23-25 in Tuskegee, AL, the site o f the infamous Tuskegee Syphilis Study which involved 400 im poverished A frican-A m erican men I he seminar is organized by the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) and sponsored by the na tional Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Office o f Research and W omen’s Health, National Institutes of Health It will be held in Tuskegee to em phasize that such studies will never be done again R TOG is a national cancer research organization spon sored and funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and admin istered by the American College of Radiology (ACR). It is made up of more than 200 leading medical fa c ilities across the nation and Canada. Because of fears generated by the Tuskegee experiments, where the 400 men were left untreated by U.S. Government scientists to examine the effect o f the disease. African Americans have been reluctant to take part in other clinical trials. NCI has reported that w hile African Americans make up 15 percent of the population, only 2-4 percent of those participating in cancer pre vention trials are African Ameri cans. One purpose of the seminar, w Inch will involve federal officials, Afri can-American oncology experts and other health care professionals, is to educate the m edical community about race and cancer treatment re sults The other is to encourage Af rican Americans and other minori ties, including women, to partici pate in clinical studies. Overall, African Americans have poorer cancer survival rates than C aucasians. But those A frican Americans who are treated in clini cal trials have the same cancer sur vival rates as white, according to published studies, therefore, it is often in the best interest o f African Americans w ith cancer toenter clini cal trials, according to R TOG inves tigators. Among those speaking at the seminar w ill be Dr. l.ouis Sullivan, former secretary o f the Department o f Health and Human Services and Dr. Vivian Pinn, director o f the O f fice o f Research on Women's Health Following the seminar a report summarizing the clinical trials re cruitment plans outlined at the meet ing will be distributed to the public and media later this year. Put Children First New Year/New Connections Family counselors, social sci entists and other professionals are stepping up to express their grow ing concern regarding the state of fatherhood in our nation. They report that w hile most women are quire clear about what it means to be a mother, most men do not understand what it means to be a father. Because we as a nation don't lecognize the value o f fatherhood, we are unable to fully understand what a father brings to a child's life that is so important. Most absent parents are fathers and we tend to think o f them pri marily in terms o f being just a source o f financial support How ever, the father/child connection is critical in fulfilling the emo tional needs o f both father and New Eye Care Center To Serve Inner-City Portland - A new eye care center has recently opened to serve the needs o f community members in North and Northeast Portland. The Northeast Eye Center has been established by the Pacific Uni versity College o f Optometry and the Multnomah County Health De partment to provide a full-range o f high quality and affordable eye and vision care services. The facility is located in the Multnomah County Health Center. 5329 NF Ml K Jr Blvd (on the corner o f MLK Jr. Blvd and Killingsvvorth). Services at this Center are pro vided by faculty optométrie physi cians from Pacific's College o f O p to m e try w ho are a ssiste d by optométrie interns and resident doc tors in their final year o f profes sio n a l tra in in g , say s B rooks Alldredge. O.D.. Director o f Clinic at the Northeast Eye Center and an Associate Professor of Optometry at Pacific University Services include com prehensive exam inations for eyeglasses and contact lenses, care for diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure and glaucoma as w ell as treatment for injuries to the eye; optical services for frames and sun glasses, free vision screenings for children and adults, and the avail ability o f 24-hour emergency care through an on-call eye doctor. As a service to the community, the Northeast Eye Center offers free vision screenings throughout the year for people o f all ages, although screenings do not take the place o f a complete examination, they do pro vide information about clarity of vision, ey e health, and how well the eyes are working together. These screenings can be useful for people who have diabetes and high blood pressure - conditions that can cause sight-threatening vision problems, and for those who have not had their eyes examined recently. Addition ally, they are very important for youngchildren whose learning skills — such as reading and writing -- depend on good vision and eye health. In addition to the Northeast Eye Center. Pacific’s College o f Optom etry operatescommunity vision cen ters in downtown Portland, South east P o rtla n d , F o rest G rove, Cornelius, McMinnville, and at the Washington State School for the Blind in Vancouver. For appointment scheduling and more information about the North east Eye Center, please call 248- 3821. child. Too often, we fail to understand that fathers need to offer nurturing, time, direction, guidance, and emo tional support to their children-just as mother do. How do You Re-Connect? If you have not seen your chil dren, or if you are just concerned about your relationship with them, now would ben an excellent time to make some positive changes, a close relationship with your children could be the most satisfying and reward ing connection in your life—and in the lives o f your children. Dr. Ron Klinger, The Center for Successful Fathering, suggests the following tips for reconnecting with your kids. I . Make time to actively play with your children; it increases the par ent-child connection. 2. Cook a meal, with everyone pitching in and working together, then sit down and eat together. 3. Create traditions which will result in lifelong memories. Do things that are familiar and fun for both father and children (could also involve other family members.) 4. Take your children to your workplace and introduce them to your coworkers. 5. Pay attention to what your children liketodo(otherthan watch television), then do it with them. 6. Go to your children's school for lunch and/or meet with their teachers. 7. Build something for or with your children, e g., paint their rooms, tlx an old car, hang a swing, or do a school project. 8. Help with homework Resolution Reminder C’hicago - Now that New Year's resolutions to eat right and get fit have collected as much dust as the exercise equipment you got for Christmas, try jum p starting your commitment to healthy living by picking up the telephone. I he National Center for Nutrition and dietetics' (NCND) Consumer Nutrition Hot fin e (800-366-1655) can help get you back on track by providing information on the latest food and nutrition issues - - from amino acids to zinc. Each month, this toll free service features a new series o f nutrition-related recorded messages from registered dietitians. A new Spanish-language message appears each month too. Researchers hone in on genetics of glaucoma Families throughout the N orth west are helping eye researchers at the Oregon Health Sciences U ni versity find genes im plicated in the most com m on form o f g lau com a, a blinding eye disease. Research has shown that two to four percent o f the population suf fers from the type o f glaucom a in which eye pressure becom es dan gerously high. The research team, led by Mary W irtz. Ph D., a geneticist and d i rector o f the G laucom a G enetics Laboratory at the Casey Eye Insti tute. has located a specific region on chrom osom e 3 that is associ ated w ith high-pressure glaucom a in one, large O regon fam ily. The findings appear in the February 1997 issue o f the A m erican Jour nal o f Human G enetics. W hile o th e r sc ie n tis ts have identified genes for low -pressure and ju v e n ile glaucom as, which occur infrequently. this is the first report o f a gene associated with the classic form o f the disease w hich usually occurs after age 35. Primary open-angle glaucom a is am ong the leading causes o f blindness in the w orld, affecting m ore than 13.5 m illion people. Elevated pressure in the ey e is the main hallm ark o f this disease, which dam ages the optic nerve carry ing visual inform ation from the eye to the brain. Identification o f the genes responsible for this disorder could lead to blood tests and e a r lie r tr e a tm e n t, w hich should, in turn, forestall or elim i nate blinding aspects o f the dis ease John Samples, M.D.. director o f the G laucom a Service at Casey Eye Institute and co-author o f the study, points out that open-angle glaucom a is more prevalent in people w ith diabetes and myopia (nearsightedness). The scientists The NAACP 28th Image Awards Joe Madison, Chairman o f the Image Awards, was on hand at the reading o f the nominations for the 28th Image Awards Press Confer ence held at the Magic Johnson Theatre in Los Angeles, CA. Join ing Madison was actress and pre vious Image Award Winner, Erika Alexander, Living Single, w ho was also nominated again this year in the best actress/comedy category. Y olanda K ing. The G host o f Mississippi, and LeVar Burton. Star Trek; The First Contact, who received a nomination in the O ut standing Youth or C hildren's Se- ries/Special for Reading Rainbow . Myrlie Evers-W illiams. Chair man National Board o f Directors. NAACPand Kweisi Mfume. Presi dent CEO are happy to announce that Arsenio Hall and Patti LaBelle are co hosting this year's event, while Denzel Washington has been named Entertainer o f the Year. The NAACP Image Awards were created to honor those indi viduals who have contributed to the positive portrayal o f African- Americans in the entertainm ent industry. Actor/Producer LeVar Burton and actress Erika Alexander Western Regional Director, NAACP, Ernestine Peters; humorist Dick Gregory; actress Yolanda King: and Image Awards Chairman, Joseph E. Madison Juvenile corrections agency terminates contractor The Oregon Youth Authority is preparing to engage the community in an effort to re-invest resources in Northeast Portland follow ing its ter mination o f a contract with a pro vider of residential services foryouth offenders. OYA D irector Rick Hill said Wednesday the state s contract w ith Yaun Youth Care Center has been terminatedeffective March 10.1997: and that the state juvenile correc tions agency is working with com munity leaders on how best to con tinue to deliver services. "This is not something we take lightly, or do arbitrarily ," Hill said o f • «X* the agency's decision to terminate the contract. "This has been a careful and lengthy process, with input and sup portive inform ation from many sources." Yaun. a 13 bend private non profit residential care center located at 5128 NE Rodney Avenue, is among 30 such programs across the sate with which OYA contracts. These residential facilities are ex pected to provide serv ices to adjudi cated youth offenders w ho are either at risk o f being placed in a secure youth correctional facility, or who are making the transition from a secure youth correctional facility to the community. OYA expects resi dential centers to provide a struc tured living environment, skill build ing. and individualized treatment planning and services. O Y A 's re-investment o f the re sources in the NE Portland commu nity will begin immediately OYA is committed to the resources remain ing in the same community and serv ing African American youth offend ers. Hill said OYA would enlist the involvement of community leaders, the provider community and other stakeholders in defining the need for serv ices and working quickly to re turn those services to the youth at Casey Eye Institute believe that m ultiple genes are responsible for this disease "W e know that not all glau coma fam ilies map to this site.” said Sam ples "In order to deter mine the other sites, we are con tinuing to work with other fam i lies and other ophthalm ologists throughout the N orthw est who have sent patients to us.” The research group from the eye institute has traveled through out the state to evaluate patients in their eye d o ctor's office. Indeed, this work would not have been possible w ithout their cooperation. team members say. "The fam ilies’ enthusiasm and w illin g n ess to participate in these studies have been the key to their success," said W irtz O ther members o f the team were Patricia Kramer, Ph D . a popula tion geneticists and her assistant Jennifer Yount, who used statisti cal analysis to dem onstrate m ap ping o f the subject fam ily's gene to chrom osom e 3. Kristal Rust and Rick Topinka assisted W irtz with the genom e-w ide search that led to mapping o f the gene Ted Acott, Ph D . and Robert Koler. M.D., were also co-authors Melba Moore to highlight February with series of vignettes Odyssey (formerly the Faith & Values Channel) has announced that singer actress Melba Moore will be featured in a series o f 60-second historical vignettes entitled "Persis tence in Faith” tied to Black History Month Melba Moore narrates the "Per sistence in Faith" spots which high light the role religion and the church have played in black history. The spots, which were taped at Abyssin ian Baptist Church in New York City , will air on Odyssey during the month o f February . Abyssinian Baptist Church dates back to 1808 when it was organized in the Greenwich Village area o f New York City by African-Ameri cans and Africans from Abyssinia, who as members o f an all-white church congregation sought to es tablish their own church. The church has been located in New Y ork's Harlem since 1923. Know for her work in the theater. Melba Moore has starred in the origi nal Broadway production o f “ Hair" and won a Tony Award for her per formance in the musical "Purlie." She has also appeared on telev ision in a dramatic series, sitcom and a musical variety show with actor Clifton Davis. Ody ssey is now available in more than 28 million households nation wide via cable and the Primestar direct-to-home satellite service It offers a mix o f religious, moral ethical, values-based family-safe programming. Odyssey isjointly owned by VISN Management Corp., a subsidiary of LIVING LARGE You have it made in the U.S. Coast Guard. 20 careers to choose from, including saving lives, law enforcement and environmental protection. Competitive salary. 30-days’ paid vacation. Free housing & meals, medical & dental care and travel. Earn college credits. Eligibility for G.I. Bill. For more information, call 1 800GETUSCG or visit us at C oast G uard F ebruary is Black History Month Call now to reserv e advertising space,and receive special display ad rates: (503) 288-0033. the National Interfaith Cable Coali tion (NICC). and Liberty Media Corp. (LBTYA). a subsidiary ofTele- Com m unications Inc. (TCOMA). NICC is a consortium o f 64 protes tant. jewish, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox faith groups and evan gelical traditions. Viewer informa tion: 888-390-7474. 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