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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 15, 1998)
! f W /T ic JU L Y 15,1998 Page Aì-------------------------- -------------------- (The ^ilortlanò (Observer-------------------------- -_ _ _ _ _ _ H ealth & SciGlìCG Legacy Health System Sets Aside $10 Million For Community Health Fund Oregon H ealth Plan expanding coverage to thousands of children and teens « The share of Oregon’s children covered by health insurance, already ahead of the national rate, is ex pected to grow with July 1 start up o f the new Children’s Health Insurance Program combined with new out reach efforts. The program, known by the acro nym CHIP, was encouraged by the federal government to cover children who are older and who live in higher income households than were previ ously eligible for Medicaid coverage. “This is another significant step in reaching Oregon’s goal o f broaden ing access to health care,” said Hersh Crawford, state Medicaid director. “The outcome will be thousands of healthier children and families." The state share o f CHIP costs will be financed by the 1996 voter approved increase in the state tobacco tax. Legacy Health System ’s Board o f D irectors has voted to estab lish a $10 m illion Com m unity Health Fund as a key com ponent o f the o rg an izatio n ’s m ission to im prove the health o f the com munity. Lip to $500,000 per year will be available for two or three high priority com m unity health projects. “This fund represents an in vestm ent in prevention as well as health im provem ent. It will be a perm anent and stable source o f funds for im por tant health initiatives and pro» gram s capable o f im pacting the health o f our com m unity,” ac cording to Jam es A. Perry, C hair man o f the Board o f D irectors. The fund w on’t replace L egacy’s Newly eligible for Oregon Health Plan coverage under the Children’s Health Insurance Program will be uninsured children and teens through age 18 if family income is under 170% o f the federal poverty level. This means a child or teen under age 19 in a family o f three would qualify for CHIP if household income falls below $ 1,934 a month. Previously, Oregon Health Plan coverage was limited to people liv ing in households below the federal poverty level ($1,138 for a family of three) and children through age 5 living in households up to 133% of the federal poverty level ($1,513 a month for a family o f three). People wishing to apply for CHIP coverage may seek an Oregon Health Plan application by calling toll: 800- 359-9517 (TTY:800-621-5260). long-standing practice o f making smaller community donations and sponsorships through the use o f operating funds. The C om m unity Health Fund repre se n ts e f f o r ts by Legacy’s board and management team to put both a committee and funding source in p la c e to a u g m e n t Legacy’s community health initiatives and to keep the organiza tion focused on ef forts that will posi tively affect people’s health. Ac cording to Steve Johnson, Senior Vice President Continuum ofCare, “ Legacy has a history o f rich in- vestm ent in com m unity services and programs. Development ot this fund keeps us true to our mission as we enter the 21st C en tury.” Com m u n ity H e a lth Fund al locations w ill be d e te r mined by the Com munity Health Committee, a new committee o f the Legacy Board. Committee members have already begun an assessment of community health needs and plan to identify specific areas o f focus by this fall. The Committee is comprised of Legacy Board members, a physi cian, church-appointed representa tives and community members. Legacy H ealth System is the o n ly O re g o n -b a se d , n o t-fo r- profit health care system in the state, and is the sixth largest private sector em ployer in the four-county Portland m etropoli ta n a r e a . F a c ilitie s w ith in L egacy include four hospitals, a hom e health agency, prim ary care clin ics and occupational m edicine clinics. L egacy was form ed in 1989 by the m erger o f several o f the re g io n ’s m ajor ho sp itals and health care o rg a nizations. Legacy Offers Lecture On Sleep Disorders Do you have problems sleeping? Do you or your spouse snore? There may be an answer for you. Legacy Health System is sponsoring a free lecture on sleep disorders on Wednes day, July 29 from 7:00-8:30 pm at Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center. The presenter is John J. Greve, MD, pulmonology and sleep medicine, who is a medical expert on sleeping disorders and di rector o f the only certified sleep cen ter in Portland. Legacy Good Sa maritan Sleep Disorders Center. He will be available to answer your specific questions on a serious problem for many Americans. In fact, more than 100 million Ameri cans o f all ages suffer from some type o f sleeping disorder. Ten to 30% o f adults snore. Space is limited. Registration is requiredby calling335-3500. Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital is located at 1015 NW 22nd Ave., Portland, OR, 97210. You’ve spent your whole life paying into Medicare. ‘Pregnancy and the HIV T est’: New Brochures Available in English, Spanish HIV testing is crucial for pregnant women because the virus not only threatens the mother’s health, it also can be passed to her baby before or during birth. If a pregnant woman tests positive for HIV, she can get treatment that will lower the chance o f transmitting the virus to the baby and slow the impact o f HIV on her self. Two new brochures from the American Social Health Association, "Pregnancy and the HIV Test" and a Spanish version, “El embarazo y lay prueba del V1H,” five sensitive, re assuring information for all women o f child bearing age. The brochures Here’s how to make sure you get something back. explain how getting tested for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, can help a woman protect her baby. According to the brochures, the chance that an HIV positive woman will pass the virus to her baby before or during birth is about one in four. The odds are lowered significantly it the woman takes the drug AZT while she is pregnant. To request a brochure, write to the American Social Health Association, Dept. PR90. P.O. Box 13827, Re search Triangle Park, NC 27709, enclosing $ 1 for each copy to cover postage and handling. Specify the English or Spanish version. $0 Plan Premium •k V $ U b Teenagers are at especially high risk for sexually transmitted dis eases, accounting for an estimated one-fourth o f new STD infections each year, yet surveys by the Ameri can Social Health Association re veal little knowledge among teens aboutSTD ’sotherthan HIV/AIDS. To help educate teens about STD risk and prevention, ASHA is de veloping a website especially for this age group, supported by grants from the Merck Company Founda tion and the A.J. Fletcher Founda tion. “Nearly 80% o f schools in this country have Internet access, and 65% o f teens have Internet access at hom e,” said Linda A lexander, ASHA president and chief execu tive officer. “However, there are no websites dedicated to STD infor mation especially for teens. We see this as an incredible opportunity to reach young people with informa tion about STD risk and prevention. 3 k you paid, and on high plan premiums, deductibles or loads 100% Medically necessary hospitalization it went. And all of paperwork. $10 Office visits expected that a depend on us, simply attend one of the meetings Preventive services comprehensive below. A sales representative will be on hand health plan to answer your questions. Or, call us at the while, you To find out why more Medicare beneficiaries would be there to take care of your needs 1-800-728-8158 or TTY 1-800-257-5799. upon retirement. We’ll explain how you can use your Medicare dollar to get the health care coverage you've called Secure Horizons. And Secure Horizons specializes in the health care needs of Medicare been missing. And, you'll be happy to know, we contract recipients. In fact, we actually provide more with what we believe to be one of the finest, benefits than traditional Medicare does. most convenient networks of private practice How? As a Medicare contracting plan, we provide health care coverage—hospitalization, physicians available. Perhaps this is why Secure Horizons has physician visits and vision care—to Medicare become the largest Medicare risk plan in the recipients. In exchange, the U.S. (iovernment nation—with 90.000 m embers in the pays us to provide benefits above and beyond Northwest alone. those offered by traditional Medicare.You simply SecureHorizons ’ designate your Medicare premium to be applied Offered by PacifiCare o f Oregon i your Secure Horizons plan, and that s it. >cure Horizons is offered by PacifiCare which is a federally qualified H M O w ith a Medicare mtract. A nyone with Medicare m a y apply M embers m u st use contracting p k in providers. Plan rem ium s a n d benefits vary' by county. Beneficiaries m u st continue to p a y Part B p rem iu m or tedicare brem ium . HeatthFirst Medical Group - Broadway Conference Room 265 N. Broadway, Portland Tuesday, July 21 1:00 p.m. Information About Your Medicare Or Medigap Insurance Policy Do you need information about your Medicare or Medigap insur ance policy? Are you having diffi culty making decisions about addi tional coverage? Is M edicare's ex planation o f benefits confusing? Providence St. Vincent Medical Center can help An experienced volunteer trained by the State Health coverage while not having to worry about Fortunately, there is such a plan. It’s through a modality they will use and enjoy.” The teen website will be com plete and publicized in spring 1999. General STD information currently available on A SH A ’s w ebsite, www.ashastd.org. In creating the website, ASHA draws on its decades o f experience educating the public about STDs. A national, nonprofit organization founded in 1914, ASHA operate three hotlines under a federal con tract: the CDC N ational AIDS Hotline (800-342-8437; Spanish 800-344-743 2; TYY for the hearing impaired, 800-243-7889); CDC Na tional STD Hotline(800-227-8922); and CDC National Immunization Information Hotline(800-342-2522; Spanish 800-232-0233). The pro gram also operates the National Her pes Hotline(919-3618488) and sup port programs for people with geni tal h erp es and hum an papillomavirus. As a result, you receive more health care paid, you worked, No Deductibles W ebsite for Teens Will Focus on Sexually Transmitted Diseases You worked, you ¡urance B enefits A ssistance IIBA) program, Pat Fullenwider now on site one day a week tc iwer your questions. For a free wintment, call (503) 216-2655 stop by the Health Resource Cen , located in the lobby of the medi office building at Providence St. ncent (entrance A). This location is wheelchair accessible. Please contact us at least 72 hours in advance if you have specific needs. A snips rpfyrpspntathp will bp prvspnt with information dtulapphcdUotis. Questions? Coil 1-800-728-8158 (TTY 1-800-257-5799) Refreshments will be served. t q0OO2i V
