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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.
$0 Plan Premium
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$
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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.
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