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M arch 26, 1997 • T he P or h
and
O bserver
Communities of color health leadership awards
W
-i- and
O M z-l k M cFarlane
r? — — I —
_ _
H ealthPartners
Media Interests presented the first
annual Com m unitiesofC olor Health
Leadership Awards at the Health
Culture Recognition Luncheon held
at the International Market Square
in Minneapolis.
The leadership awards were pre­
sented to six health professionals for
their achievements in their medical
careers and serving communities o f
color
Recipients o f the 1997 C o m m u ­
nities of C o lo r H ealth L eadership
A w ards were:
— R o b erta B arn es, Certified
Medical Technician, lead medical
technician at HealthPartners River­
side Medical Clinic, Minneapolis.
Barnes was recognized for her ef­
fo rts in se rv in g p a tie n ts at
HealthPartners Riverside Medical
Clinic. She is also recognized for
her volunteer work with at-risk ado­
lescent girls at the Martin Luther
King Center, St. Paul.
— Vidal C a sta n e d a , Sr., Certi­
fied Medical Assistant, West Side
Community Health Center, St. Paul.
Castaneda was recognized for his
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•
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work with Latino youth and their
community, including conducting
research and providing street out­
reach on such issues as HIV/AIDS,
drug use and abuse education. He
was a key participant in the Health
Care Finance A dm inistration’scom -
mittee to assist low-income clients
access health care programs.
— Meh mood K han. M.D., divi­
sion chief, Endocrinology, Metabo­
lism and Nutrition, Hennepin County
Medical Center and Hennepin Dia-
betesCenter,M inneapolis. Dr. Khan
was recognized as a leader in ad­
dressing diabetes health issues, es­
pecially within the Muslim commu­
nity. He initiated the Al ‘Shifa
clinic at the Islamic Center o f Min­
nesota and donates his time to edu­
cation and direct patient care.
— G e n e v a L a w re n c e, R.N .,
C.D.E., Hennepin County Medical
Center staff nurse and certified dia­
betes educator, Minneapolis. In
addition to her work at Hennepin
County Medical Center, Lawrence
was recognized for her work with
the Native American Indian com ­
munity which includes a special fo-
cus on diabetes. Colleagues cited
her leadership in being an advocate
for patients and families in attend­
ing their physical care, emotional,
psycho-social and spiritual needs.
— S h erry P ittm an. R.N., Diver­
sity coordinator, Hennepin County
Medical Center (HCMC), Minne­
apolis. She serves as liaison be­
tween HCMC and communities o f
color, serving on boards such as the
Center for Cross Cultural Health
and the Minnesota Cultural Diver­
sity Center and develops diversity
competency descriptions for train­
ing and evaluating HCMC staff.
— H enry Sm ith, M.D., chief,
Hennepin Faculty Associates, Inter­
nal Medicine Section, Department
o f M edicine, H ennepin C ounty
Medical Center, Minneapolis. Dr.
Smith was recognized for his work
in the African American and Native
American Indian communities, es­
pecially in the prevention and treat­
ment o f hypertension. He serves
with several organizations, includ­
ing the Brother-to-Brother program
and the Minnesota Medical Asso­
ciation Committee on Minority Af-
fairs and devoted a great amount of
made by people o f color in improv­
Assurance Company and St. Paul-
time to direct patient care, as well
ing health and the quality o f life
Ramsey Medical Center. Health-Part­
The Communities o f Color Health
throughout their communities. We
ners is one o f Minnesota’s leading
Leadership Awards program, devel­
hope these awards will inspire more
health care organizations, providing
oped to celebrate the ach ievements of
people o f color to consider health
health care coverage and services to
health care professionals who serve
care careers.”
more than 730,000 members.
as role models for their communities
HealthPartners is the parent com­
McFarlane Media Interests is a
recognize different health care pro­
pany of a family of health care orga­
media buying service, specializing
fessionals each year. The I997awards
nizations that includes the Health-
in marketing tocom m unitlesofcolor
program recognized medical doctors,
Partners medical and dental centers,
using ethnic media. Al McFarlane
registered nurses and health techni­
the HealthPartners Medical Group
is publisher o f Insight News and
cians (laboratory, radiology, phar­
and Group Health, Inc., Central Min­
president o f M innesota Minority
macy, etc.). Award nominees were
nesota Group Health Plan, Midwest
Media Coalition.
evaluated on their commitment to
their community, leadership in the
health care industry and profession,
service to patients and/or leadership
in health care research
"Medical professionals can em­
s -A
power people and communities of
color to manage health and lifestyle
c o n c e rn s ,” said G e o rg e C.
I lalvorson, HealthPartners president
and chief executive officer. “They
also serve as role models for indi­
viduals who are considering career
opportunities in the health care field.
The Communities o f Color Health
While you read this, new prod­ stand and apply m ath co n c e p ts.
Leadership Awards recognize the
ucts, and technologies are shaping This suggests teachers may need to
the w o rld in fre q u e n tly s ile n t, change how they teach.
accomplishments and contributions
imperceptible increments. We know
B ut ch a n g in g the w ay we do
that the future is where our children
things is a tough task. Just as we
will live. A re all o f our teachers
have a hard time shedding unwant­
prepared to prepare them well?
ed pounds through proper diet and
The findings from the new Third exercise, so changing how we think
The state’s campaign is paid for
International Mathematics and Sci­ about math and science, and how
by money raised under Proposition
ence Study (TIMSS) have implica­ we teach these subjects, is just as
99, a 1988 ballot measure which
tions for answ ering that question.
d if f ic u lt. M aybe m o re so. T he
raised tobacco taxes to fund a vari
TIMSS is a major research study of study showed that, while American
ety of anti-smoking, health and en­
41 international classrooms, includ­ teachers are beginning to im ple­
vironmental programs.
ing the U.S. It was sponsored by m en t re fo rm te c h n iq u e s , w hen
Health organizations have ham­
thc-N ational C enter for Education a sk e d to p ic k o u t a s p e c ts o f a
Statistics of the U.S. Department of v id e o ta p e e x e m p lify in g c u rre n t
mered the Republican governor for
E ducation, the N ational S cience
what they claimed was ineffective
id e a s on te a c h in g an d le a rn in g
Foundation, and the Canadian G ov­ m ath, less than 20 p ercen t m en­
use o f the Proposition 99 money
ernment to assess school achieve­ tio n e d a fo cu s on m a th e m a tic a l
On Thursday, they gave some
ment in m athem atics and science.
th in k in g , w h ich is the h e a rt o f
what grudging approval to the ad
One of the study’s benefits is infor­ mathematics reform.
campaign.
mation to help us learn how we can
T here is a long-term jo b to be
“ It’s definitely a step in the right
improve.
done to help teachers understand
direction,” said Kirk Kleinschmidt,
The first report deals with the and use the reform techniques. The
communications director for the
math and science achievem ent of Japanese and Germans are ahead of
American Heart Association.
eighth graders, revealing that Sin­ us in providing o p p ortunities for
gapore, K orea, Japan, the C zech
“ I also feel very strongly that if
increased professional learning and
Republic, and Hungary outperform
we hadn’t been very vocal about
in s tru c tio n a l im p ro v e m e n t. F or
the U.S. in both math and science.
our issues, we would not be seeing
exam ple, new Japanese and G er­
We did better, how ever, when
m an te a c h e rs have a lo n g -te rm
the type o f ads we saw today,” he
lined up with many o f our trading apprenticeship, and Japanese teach­
added.
partners: Our math scores were not ers have more opportunities to talk
all that different than those o f G er­ with each other about teaching.
many and England, and our science
The report points out that the
scores not significantly different p e rc e n ta g e o f new te a c h e rs in
than those o f G erm any, England,
schools is sm all com pared to the
cereal boxes.
C anada, and R u ssia . (G e rm a n y , size of the existing teaching force
The education campaign incor­
however, had more older students
in the United States. “T herefore,"
porates other recommendations of
than the study allow ed.) O verall,
the re p o rt c o n c lu d e s , “ m any
we stand about in the middle of the e x p e rts a g ree th a t, in the sh o rt
pediatricians, including putting ba­
41 TIMSS countries. In math, U.S. run, the quickest way to im prove
bies to sleep on firm surfaces, with
e ig h th g ra d e rs o u tp e rfo rm th e ir s tu d e n ts ’ learn in g o p p o rtu n itie s
no fluffy bedding or soft toys and
counterparts
in seven nations; in
is to im prove the instruction pro­
pillows. They also stress that women
s c ie n c e , th e y o u tp e rfo rm th e ir
v id e d by e x is tin g te a c h e r s .”
should get prenatal care and avoid
counterparts in 15 nations.
The future starts now.
cigarettes and alcohol during preg­
M ath te a c h e r s th e m s e lv e s —
This colum n is p r o v id e d as a
nancy.
through their professional organiza­ p u b lic se rv ic e by the N o rth w e st
tio n s — h a v e b een le a d in g the R egional Educational Laboratory,
charge for reform, advocating that a nonprofit institution working with
more com m only linked to raw
instruction must be more than mas­ schools and communities in Alaska,
chicken. It is a potentially fatal i
tery o f facts and routine skills; it Id a h o , M o n ta n a , O re g o n , a n d
must also require students to under-
ness that causes diarrhea and vomit­
Washington.
ing.
The cases occurred around Eas­
ter. O f the 23 people who got sick in
Idaho and Washington, at least 17
had touched chicks. Seven of the 16
people in Oregon had held a chick,
hen or rooster, the CDC said.
The CDC said people shou Id a void
feces o f fowl and should thoroughly
wash their hands after touch ing them
Researchers linked chicks and
ducks to salmonella in 1992.
The
Future
is Now
Anti-smoking campaign unveiled
As the maker o f Chesterfields
conceded cigarettes are addictive,
California unveiled a $22 million
anti-smoking campaign that paro­
dies the M arlboro Man and fea­
tures a woman who smokes through
a hole in her throat.
Gov. Pete W ilson’s adm inistra­
tion Thursday released 16 radio,
TV and billboard ads that high­
light nicotine addiction and the
dangers o f secondhand smoke. The
campaign begins Monday.
The announcem ent came the
same time as the Liggett Group, the
D urham , N .C .-b ased m aker o f
Chesterfields, admitted that sm ok­
ing is addictive and causes cancer.
It agreed to settle 22 state lawsuits
by putting warning labels on packs
that say smoking is addictive and
causes cancer.
California was not among the 22
states that filed the lawsuits against
tobacco companies over health ex­
p enses. A tto rn ey G en eral Dan
Lungren said he could not do so
because o f California’s product li­
ability laws.
The state decided to use advertis­
ing instead to fight tobacco, and
especially to target teen-age sm ok­
ers who aren’t swayed by lectures or
statistics about long-term health ef­
fects.
The most powerful of the TV ads
features a 47-year-old woman who
lost her larynx to throat cancer in
1992. Smoking through a hole in
her throat, she tells the audience she
began smoking when she was 13,
tried to quit when she became aware
ofdangers to her health, but couldn’t.
In another commercial, cowboys
representing the tobacco industry
herd children, instead o f cattle, into
a pen, slamming the gate shut and
riding o ff in a cloud o f dust with
lassos twirling.
“They spend millions trying to
grab your attention and push you
into smoking,” a voice says. “Be­
cause once they get you where they
want you... they’ve got you for good.”
A billboard parodying tobacco
industry ads features two cowboys
on horseback, with one confiding in
the other: “ Bob, I’ve got em phy­
sema.”
An industry group said it was too
soon to respond to the ads. “Until we
have a chance to see and review
them it would be inappropriate for
us to com m ent,” said Tom Lauria, a
spokesman for The Tobacco Insti­
tute
Tippers Gore campaigns against SIDS
Tipper Gore on Thursday joined
a public health drive to educate par­
ents and caregivers that babies should
sleep on their backs in order to lower
the risk o f sudden infant death syn­
drome (SIDS).
“ Placing babies on their backs to
sleep is one o f the most important
steps that caregivers can take to re­
duce,he risk o f Sudden Infant Death
Syndrome, bu, too many people still
don’t know this important, simple
message," said the wife ofVice Presi­
dent Al Gore.
The American Academy o f Pedi­
atrics in 1992 recommended putting
babies to sleep on their backs to
avoid SIDS, sometimes called “crib
death.”
The U S. death rate from SIDS
dropped 30 percent from 1992-95,
and declines have been reported in
other countries who have been simi­
larly e d u c a tin g p a re n ts and
caregivers.
Gore and Health and Human
Services Secretary Donna Shalala
attended a SIDS education event
at a W ashington child develop­
ment center. Gore is m aking pub­
lic service announcem ents for ra­
dio about SIDS, and Shalala said
G erber baby foods would put the
“ Back to Sleep" m essage on its
Easter pets can cause illness
Cancer enzyme promising
Baby chicks and ducks, a popular
Easter present for children, caused
salmonella poisoning in three states
in 1995 and 1996. the government
said Thursday in warning again that
people who handle fowl should wash
their hands afterward.
Thirty-nine people, almost half of
them 2 or younger, got sick with
salmonella Montivideo in Idaho,
Washington and Oregon, the Cen­
ters for Disease Control and Preven­
tion said.
Salmonella, which sickens about
two to four million people a year, is
California researchers said Thurs­
day they had identified an enzyme
that interacts with a crucial cancer-
causinggene and may holdout prom­
ise for new ways o f fighting cancer.
The research, reported in Friday’s
edition o f the journal Science, has
only been done so far on yeas, and
not tested on human cells, so it is far
too soon to know whether it will be
safe and effective in people.
Still, scientists say it is a key
discovery because the enzym e inter­
acts with a protein made by the ras
gene. That gene is believed to be the
second-most-common cancer-caus­
ing gene in people and has been
linked to colon, lung, pancreatic and
liver cancers.
"Ras has been the focus o f much
scientific research beause o f its role
in cancers which are difficult to
treat,” said Matthew Ashby, direc­
tor o f biology at the privately held
Acacia Biosciences in Richmond,
Calif.
GT, eftneri oj
Couch Potatoes should ease into exercise
PU RPO SE
Join us for an evening of spe­
cial dessert buffet, special
music & a special message
from D r. O. V irg in ia Phillips
the evening of April 3. 1997
at the Lloyd Center Red Lion
7:00PM -9:00PM . $8.50 at
the door. If you have any
questions, please call Zaria at
331-0330.
Women o f Purpose is a non-
denom inational C hristian
group.
Couch potatoes may trade the
couch for "ouch” if they pursue and
exercise program too aggressively.
“ It’s not uncommon at this time
o f year for patients to complain o f
chest-wall pain near the rib cage,”
said Dr. Wayne J. Riley, a general
internist and an assistant professor
o f medicine at Baylor College o f
Medicine in Houston.
“Often, they are sedentary people
who have made a New Y ear’s reso­
lution to exercise. Instead o f getting
back into shape slowly, they try to
achieve their athletic goals immedi­
ately by playing basketball for six
hours or doing 50 stomach crunches
on an abdominal-flexor machine,”
he said.
Thechest-wall pain usually stems
from a sprained muscle or an in­
flammation o f the rib cartilage
“ If your left side hurts when you
press on your ribs or take a deep
breath or move your shoulder, that’s
a strong indication you have injured
a chest m use le or ri b carti läge.” R i ley
said.
The injury can be treated with
o v e r - th e - c o u n te r n o n s te ro id a l
drugs that decrease inflam m ation
and pain. Riley also recom m ends
applying an ice pack to the chest
during the first two days after the
injury.
If the intensity o f the pain does
not decrease within 48 to 72 hours,
see your physician. X-rays may be
needed to determine whether you
have broken a rib or dislocated a
shoulder.
Rest at least a week before exer­
cising again to allow time for the
muscle to recover.
“ When you resume exercising,
stan at a lower level o f intensity and
t
M ature African-Americans
With High Blood Pressure
pace yourself to avoid re-injuring
the muscle,” Riley said
His recommendations:
• Instead of doing 50 abdominal
crunches at the start, begin with 10
and increase the number by fiv e
each day until you reach your goal
• Start weight-lifting routines with
a moderate load a n d perf orm rep­
etitions several times a week In­
crease the volume by five to 10
percent as you become com f ortable
with the weight load
• Limit tennis, basketball and
other sports that require strenuous
shoulder-arm movements to an hour
of play the first fe w times, and build
up to more strenuous workouts
“Those good intentions to im­
prove your health by exercising can
be salvaged ifyouexpandyourw ork-
out gradually and give your body
time to adjust," Riley said.
Be part of a nationwide research program sponsored
by the N a tional Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of
the N ational Institutes of Health that w ill help identify
the best medicine for preventing heart attacks and
strokes in African-Americans age d 5 5 and above.
As a participant, you w ill receive medicine that is
currently used to treat high blood pressure.
To be considered for participation, you should:
• Be at least 5 5 years old
• H ave high blood pressure
• Have one other risk factor for having a heart attack or stroke,
such as diabetes, heart disease or be a current cigarette smoker
Qualifying participants receive FREE high blood
pressure medicine for up to 5 years.
For more information, please call toll free, 8am - 5pm
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