December 29, 1999
Page A3
ÿtorilanb lObseruer
Health/Education
Ìlo rtla n ò
Cftbstrurr
Lead poisoning awareness campaign launched Department of Human
attention, learning, and behavioral
problem s and hyperactivity. It also
for T he P ortland O bserver
causes ag g ressio n , slow grow th,
hearing loss and headaches.
Jefferson H igh school students
T h is n ew o u tre a c h c a m p a ig n
took to the street, defying early
initiative provides lead poisoning
m orning rain in an effort to prom ote
p re v e n tio n tra in in g to stu d e n ts,
lead poisoning prevention in N orth/
com m unity activists and housing
N ortheast P ortland com m unities.
advocates, so
T h i s
th e y in tu rn
signaled the
■ a a a n H a a M
id e n tif y an d
kickoffofthe
e
d u c a te
“This
cam
paign
will
L e a d
families
in their
E d u c a tio n
work to ensure thatfamilies
c
o
m
m
u
n itie s
f o r A fr ic a
in
this
part
o
f
Portland
f
a
c
i
n g
A m e ric a n
potential
lead
F a m ilie s
claim what is rightfully
hazards.
(L E E F A
th eirs — a lea d -sa fe
" T h e
2 0 0 0 )
c a m p a ig n ’s
environment, ” Promise
c a m p a ig n
activities and
launched by
King
m essages
th e U rb a n
o ver the next
L eag u e’s
tw elvem onths
l e a d
w ould be targeted to reach fam ilies
poisoning prevention program .
living in N orth/northeast Portland,"
Lead poisoning causes brain and
explained King, the league’s lead
nerv e dam ag e, d iffic u lty p ay in g
M a r g a r e t C a rter, in te rim
p r e s id e n t o f th e U rb a n
L eague
p o is o n in g p r e v e n tio n p ro g ra m
c o o r d in a to r a n d L E E F A 2 0 0 0
cam paign organizer Prom ise K ing
explained.
“This cam paign will w ork to ensure
that families in this part o f Portland
claim w hat is rightfully theirs - a lead-
safe e n v iro n m e n t,” K in g sa id ,
“T hrough this in itiativ e w e w ill
strengthen this com m unity’s capacity
to advocate for public policies that
promote environm ental justice for all
O regonians, to stan d up against
policies that have threatened current
lead screening and testing efforts
and dem and m edical providers yield
to M edicaid’s Blood testing mandate.
Our children m ust not be poisoned
out o f o p p o rtu n ities in the next
m ille n n iu m .” T h e c a m p a ig n ,
sponsored by the E nvironm ental
Protection A gency (EPA ) and the
N orthw est H ealth Foundation, is
seeking com m unity partners to get
involved in doing surveys o f hold
homes and door-to-door outreach.
F or m o re in fo rm atio n on the
Cam paign or to becom e a partner,
please contact Prom ise K ing at 503/
2 8 0 -2 6 6 2 o r e - m a il h im at
promiseking@ hotmail.com.
Legacy Emanuel Hospital named one of the Nation’s best
c a re w as p u b lis h e d in M o d e rn
H ealthcare m agazine, the leading
health care industry publication.
H C IA an d th e H e a lth N e tw o rk
c o n d u c te d the stu d y to id e n tify
hospitals that have dem onstrated
benchm ark perform ance during the
year. Results are based on objective.
A m ong the m easures considered are
m ortality and com plication indexes,
le n g th - o f - s ta y e x p e n s e s , a n d
(.UfllRlBLIEUSIQRY
him T he
P ortland O bserver
Legacy Em anuel H ospital is one o f
tw elve hospitals in the five-state
Pacific region recognized by H CIA
and the health N etw ork as a recipient
o f the 1999 T op H ospital regional
B e n ch m ark s fo r su c c e ss aw ard .
E m anuel’s recognition for clinical
excellence and efficient delivery o f
productivity.
“W e are dedicated to providing the
best quality care to our patients w hile
k eep in g a clo se ey e on m ed ical
e x p e n se s,” sa id Ja n e C u m m in s,
L egacy H ealth System S enior V ice
P r e s id e n t. “ T h a t m e a n s b e in g
c o m p a ssio n a te , lis te n in g to o u r
patients and keeping abreast o f new
th e ra p ie s . It f e e ls g r e a t to b e
recognized by expects for the success
o f our efforts."
“ T he an n o u n cem en t o f the T op
H ospital aw ards is a tim ely response
to President C linton’s concern about
h o s p ita l o u tc o m e s ,” s a id J e a n
C henow eth, senior vice president o f
HCIA.
“ T h e s e h o s p ita ls a re s h in in g
exam ples o f hospitals that have built
a culture around continuous quality
improvement.”
Services encourages a
sober holiday
(O N T R lB L T tD ST O R Y
FOR T h E PORTL AND O BSE R V E R
This holiday season is a good tim e to consider celebrating w ithout alcohol,
advises the O regon D epartm ent o f H um an Services. H ow ever, if you do plan
to drink, the DHS O ffice o f A lcohol and D rug A buse Program s says there are
steps to m ake your party safer.
“ It’s really easy to celebrate at parties and gatherings w ithout alcohol,” says
Barbara Cim aglio, O A D A P director. “ It’s the sm art thing to do, given the
problem s caused by drinking, but people can also do several things to m ake
parties safer if they do serve alcohol.’
A lcohol is a key factor in traffic fatalities, dom estic abuse, assaults, m urders
and other crim es. Cim aglio says being alcohol-free, at the holidays and other
tim es, saves lives and sends the right m essage to children that drinking and
celebrations d o n ’t necessarily go together.
I f you decide to serve alcohol to friends or family, C im aglio offers several
sim ple tips to m ake this a safer holiday season:
Serve snacks so guests d o n ’t drink on an em pty stom ach. M eats,
cheeses, vegetable strips and dips all can help slow alcohol absorption.
A void salty foods such as salted nuts that m ake people thirstier.
A void carbonated mixers that speed alcohol absorption.
Space out the drinks you serve, d o n ’t let guests serve them selves;
m onitor how m uch they drink.
A n hour or so before the party ends, stop serving alcohol and offer
a snack w ith coffee, tea o r other beverage to dilute the effects o f the alcohol.
D o w hatever you have to do to prevent an inebriated guest from
driving after the party. D o n ’t let guests leave drunk!
C im aglio says serving alcohol-free drinks is the best w ay to go. “N o t only
do people increase the risk o f having auto accidents if they drink and drive,
but hosts o f parties also can be held liable if a guest becom es drunk and gets
into an accident.”
M any alcohol-free drink recipes are available. H ere’s one example:
Holiday punch
M ix equal portions ofcranberry juice and apple juice. A dd ginger ale or soda
w ater for a sparkle. Float lem on and orange slices on top. For a spicy effect,
add a cinnam on stick or a few cloves. Serve over plenty o f ice.
O ther recipes and party hints are available from the O regon Prevention
Resource C enter in Salem by calling toll-free 1 -800-822-6772. The center also
has copies to loan o f a 13-m inute video, “ Responsible H osting.”
Portland chosen for health video proj ect
EURTHfcJEuRILASIiUBSltRVtR
In F ebruary 2000, Portlanders w ill have the opportunity to
“test-drive” an interactive health education video programs
- and get paid $40 for their tim e! A nd the tim e to sign up
is now.
Participants in the federally funded H ealth V ideo Project
will be scheduled for two appointments at their convenience.
A t the first appointm ent, w hich takes about an hour,
p a rtic ip a n ts w ill view th e p ro g ra m an sw e r a few
questionnaires, and receive $20. T he second appointm ent
will be a m onth later w hich takes about 1 5 -3 0 m inutes, and
participants w ill receive another $20. P astparticipants say
that it’s easy, inform ative and fun to do.
To sign up, o r to get m ore inform ation, call toll-free: 1 -800-
934-0626. All information given to Health Video Project will
be kept confidential, and there are no gim m icks, sales or
m ailing lists involved. Participant m ust be at least 18 years
old and able to speak and read E nglish (unfortunately, the
program is not yet available in other languages).
" M aybe before you call, y o u ’d like to know w h at’s an
interactive health education video p ro g ram ," according to
program s creator B lair Irvine at the O regon C en ter for
A pplied Science (O R C A S) in E u g e n e ," It’s like a video,
except the inform ation is personalized to fit each person
w ho views it, based on the answ ers they give to the
q uestionnaires.”
“W hen w e w ere creating the program , w e included ideas
and opinions from m any people including experts and
people from all w alks o flife,” says Dr. Irvine: N ow that the
program ’s done, it’s tim e to see how it w orks, and w hat
people think about it.”
The H ealth V ideo P roject is a research project o f the
Portland youths speak out on education
CONTRIBL TED STORY
It’s the student’s turn to speak out
ab o u t th e ir w h o c o n c e rn s from
Portland Public Schools descended
on the N ike cam pus in Beaverton. For
12 h o u rs, th e y h ad a v o ic e — a
pow erful, determ ined, questioning,
and som etim es frustrated, voice—
asking for change. O n W ednesday,
January 5 at 8PM , O regon Public
Broadcasting (O PB ) w ill air a 60-
m in u te d o c u m e n ta ry c a lle d O ur
V oice, O ur Future: A Y outh Sum m it
th a t r e v e a ls o n o v e r w h e lm in g
sentim ent from teens— the desire for
som eone to listen. T his isn ’t m ade for
TV event; this is T V covering an
event. Cameras capture the excitement
o f th e s u m m it as w e ll as th e
s p o n ta n e ity o f in d iv id u a ls in
interview done in hallw ays and on
sidew alks. T he dialogue that ensues
is heartfelt, direct, and imm ediate.
T eenagers speak in their ow n w ords
about school funding, standardized
testing and involvem ent from the
com m unity in the school system.
T he students present their concerns
to a panel o f decision-m akers hosted
by Jack M cGow an, executive director
o f Stop O regon L itter and V andalism
(SO LV ). T he panelm em bers include
education funding and youth issue
specialist such as Dr. B en Canada,
superintendent o f P ortland Public
S c h o o ls; R on S ax o n , ch a irm an ,
P ortland B oard o f E ducation; Bill
Sizem ore, executive director, Oregon
T axpayers U nited, and State Senator
Tom H artung.
Just think; Your son
is b rig h t, h ea lth y
a n d h e a d e d fo r
college one day You
love the direction your
career has taken. You're doing a lot of the things you planned
and even a few you didn't. Living life to the fullest is easy w hen
Mercy Corps assessment team
en route to Venezuela
tOftIRlBLIEDSTQRY
for T he P ortland O bserver
A MERCY Corps assessment team will travel to V enezuela
to assist survivors o f the devastating floods and landslides
in Venezuela. V enezuelan and US m ilitary sources estimate
that the death toll could reach 30,000. A n estim ated 500,000
have been im pacted on w hat calls to be the w orst natural
disaster to hit V enezuela this century
T he assessm ent team includes Jim and Beverly Hinton,
seasoned veterans ofM ercy C orps’ relief w ork in Honduras
follow ing H urricane M itch and other trouble spots. The
team w ill c a n y m edical supplies w ith them. Additional
supplies are being airlifted from the U S and Europe. These
item s w ill address the m ost im m ediate health problem s
am ong survivors, such as gastrointestinal disorders,
respiratory infections skin diseases and trauma.
M edical supplies and equipm ent, enough to assist
30,000 people for one m onth, w ill be airlifted from
A m sterdam this week. This shipm ent includes health care
item s such as antibiotics, bandages, pain relievers,
analgesics anesthetics, IV solutions, and m idw ifery
supplies for em ergency childbirth situations. Additional
first-aid supplies are being airlifted from California.
The assessm ent team will w ork w ith local organizations
to identify the greatest needs and secure local suppliers
w ith additional em ergency relief item s
D onations are urgently needed to help the V enezuelan
people recover from this disaster.
H ow to help By Mail: M ercy Corps International
V enezuela Relief, Dept. N R PO Box 2669 Portland, OR
97208-2669. By phone 1 -800-292-3355 x 250, Online. Visit
w w w .m ercycorps.org. o r m ake a credit card gift via ©in­
secure server at any branch o f U S Bank Please specify
that your gift is for M ercy C orps International V enezuela
R eliefF und
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