Page A5 October 13, 1999 (E^e ÿlox tlanò ©baeruer Oregon Vital Statistics 1997 Annual Report PORTLAND- “Oregon Vital >- Statistics Volume 1 1997” and "Or­ egon County Data Book 1997,” have been released, according to public health officials at the De­ partment o f Human Services. Research analysts at the O r­ egon Health Division found posi­ tive changes, but work is still needed in some areas. Findings from “Oregon Vital Statistics Vol­ ume 1,1997,” which contains birth, teen pregnancy and abortion data, include: •In 1997, O regon recorded 43,765 births. The birth rate to Oregon women 15 to 44 years old was 63.0 per 1,000 females, a slight decrease o f 0.3 percent from 1996. •Eighty-one percent o f Oregon mothers received early prenatal care in 1997, an improvement over the 1996 rate o f 80 percent. Early prenatal care is associated with improved infant health. Oregon’s year 2000 benchmark goal is for 90 percent ofpregnant women to be­ gin prenatal care early, in the first trimester. •Just over six percent o f Oregon women who gave birth in 1997 were uninsured, an increase from 1996. The Oregon Health Plan ex­ panded eligibility in 1998, so this may decrease in the future. The percentage o f women who smoked while pregnant declined to 16 percent in 1997, from 18 per­ cent in 1996. However, O regon’s rate remains 23 percent higher than the national rate. Women who smoke w hile pregnant have a h ig h er risk o f having a low birthweight baby. •The pregnancy rate among teens age 10 to 17 years decreased 3.7 percent to 18.1 per 1,000 teen females. Oregon’s benchmark goal is 15 pregnancies per 1,000 teen females by the year 2000. For the first time since 1974, the proportion o f births to unm ar­ ried women declined from the pre­ vious year (from 30 percent in 1996 to29percent in 1997). The "O regon C ounty Data Book 1997” contains both birth and death data by county. Some findings: In 1997 a death occurred every 18 minutes in the state, for a total o f 28.750 deaths. This is a death rate of 8.9 per 1,000 population. During the past several de­ cades, the heart disease death rate has fallen and the cancer death rate has risen. In 1997, among counties with at least 50 resident deaths, cancer was the leading cause o f death in four counties. Baker, Grant, Lake, and Lane. A record 816 Oregonians died from diabetes in 1997. Diabetes- caused deaths have risen every year during the past decade, and diabetes is now the seventh lead­ ing cause o f death in Oregon. Ninety-three Oregonians died from AIDS in 1997. This was 130 fewer than the year before and the lowest num ber since 1988. M ore than o n e-h alf (56 percent of d e c e d e n ts ) liv e d in M ultnomah County. M ultnomah C ounty contains only 20 percent o f the sta te ’s population, but 40 percent o f all h o m ic id e v ic tim s w e re M ultnom ah C ounty residents. T h e re w ere 53 m u rd e rs in M ultnomah County; the state­ wide total was 131. O regon’s ho­ micide rate has declined annually since 1994. For the first time since 1989, O regon’s infant death rate in­ creased (5.8 per 1,000 live births), but this increase was statistically insignificant. Complete copies o f both reports may be obtained from the Health D ivision's Center for Health Sta­ tistics at 503-731 -4354. They may also be accessed, along with other h e a lth d ata, on the In te rn e t through the Health Division’s web page at http ://w w w .o sh d .o rg / cdpe/chs/statinfo.htm C o lle g e T u itio n S lo w s Its C lim b Rise is Less Than 5 Percent; Average In-State Tuition $3,356 For Public University Good news for folks with col­ lege-age kids: Tuition and fees nationwide rose less than 5 per­ cent for the current school year, the sm allest increase in four years, according to a study re­ leased today by The C ollege Board. Students and their families can thank a thriving economy, brim ­ ming state coffers, a vigorous stock market boosting endow­ ments and efforts by schools to rein in costs, experts said. They also cautioned it may not last. " I t ’s a zigzag phenom enon," said Jane W ellman, a fiscal and policy analyst at the nonprofit Institute for Higher Education Policy in W ashington. "T im es are good. State bud­ gets are better than they’ve been in over a d ecad e," she said, add­ ing that higher education fares well in good times. But she warned, "W hen times are bad, it’s the first thing to get c u t." The encouraging news was tem pered by a second board study: There was a record $64 billion in financial aid last year - most o f it in the form o f student loans. And with inflation running at less than 2 percent in recent years, college costs still seem steep, said Patrick C allan, who runs the National Center for Pub­ lic Policy and Higher Education in San Jose, Calif. C allan warned that many stu­ dents are getting deeper into debt: " T h e fact that everybody needs to go to college to get a m iddle-class job ... The fact that you have to borrow more than you used to, this is a problem ." C a lla n ’s c o n c e rn w as r e ­ flected in the second survey, which found that loans, scholar­ The College B oard’s first sur­ ships and grants for 1998-99 added up to $64 billion - 85 per­ vey found the average under­ cent more than a decade ago, graduate at a four-year public school in their home state pays after figuring for inflation. In all, 58 percent o f the aid $3,356,or $109more forthe 1999- came from loans, up from 40 per- 2000 school year than last year - a 3.4 percent increase. centin 1980-81. The p rice hike w as m uch It’s all worth it, College Board higher at a four-year p rivate President Gaston C aperton said school. The av erag e stu d en t Monday in an interview from there paid $ 15,380, or $671 more W ashington. He said a four-year this school year than last, a 4.6 college degree doubles the earn­ percent rise. ings o f a high school graduate. C o sts o f tw o -y e a r p u b lic " T h e a v e ra g e is a ro u n d $30,000 a year vs. $60,000 a year,” schools were $ 1,627, or $73 more, he said. The $30,000 difference a 4.7 percent increase; and at pri­ over a 40-year career equals $1.2 vate two-year schools $7,182, fora rise of $242, or 3.5 percent. million. T Advertise In " T h a t’s the value o f a college e d u c a tio n ," said C aperton, a