February 9, 2000
Page A5
(Elje P ortlanò ©bseruvr
Health/Education
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CObsrruer
AAHC and county fight AIDS
O n D ecem ber 1, 1999, the A frican
A m erican H ealth C o alitio n , Inc.
(A A H C ) through a partnership with
M u ltn o m a h C o u n t y ’s H e a lth
D e p a r t m e n t’s H IV P re v e n tio n
program, launched an HI V community
education/aw areness cam paign. This
awareness campaign will provide HI V
inform ation, support, referrals, and
resources to the A frican A m erican
com m unity. Ruthie C ulver is the new
HIV Prevention Coordinator working
to provide aw areness in the A frican
A m erican C om m unity Ms. C ulver is
concerned that “w ithout education
and prevention efforts, HIV will
spread through the A frican Am erican
com m unity uncontrollable rates” It is
tim e fo r th e A fric a n A m eric an
com munity to catch up on information
about HIV /A ids.
A frican A m ericans are dying from
preventable diseases at higher rates
than all other races. N ationally, and
here in O regon, A frican A m ericans
are disproportionately affected by
HIV and Aids. M ultnom ah County
Health D epartm ent’s HI V Prevention
Program reports that:
In th e U SA A fric an A m eric an s
constitute 13% o fth e population, but
are 3 7% o f total AIDS cases, and 45%
o f new HIV cases.
In the Portland M etro area, A frican
Americans are 3.2% o f the population,
but 12.6% o f the total num ber o f
people HIV affected.
Last year in O regon, th e cum ulative
A ids incidence rates w ere highest
am ong African Am ericans (331 cases
per 100,000
T h e A fr ic a n A m e ric a n H e a lth
C oalition, Inc. is here to provide
inform ation and support. O ur model
is to re c o n fig u re so c ial su p p o rt
system s for A frican A m ericans. We
are established as an access point for
in f o r m a tio n
on
H IV /A ID S
prevention. T he A frican A m erican
H ealth C oalition is the only agency
that focuses solely on the H ealth o f
A frican A m ericans in Oregon.
A A H C w as established as a volunteer
organization in 1989 to address health
disparities o f A frican A m erican in
O regon. In 1989 AAHC developed
an d im p le m e n te d th e W e lln e ss
Village and Conference. The coalition
re c o g n iz e d th e need to h av e a
perm anent organization that focuses
on A frican A m erican health in 1998.
In 1999,over738community members
and exhibitors attend the W ellness
Village.
T h e A fr ic a n A m e ric a n H e a lth
C oalition, Inc. was established as a
non-profit organization in 1998. T he
adm inistrative office o f A A H C is
lo c a te d at 2 1 4 0 N W O v e rto n e ,
Portland, O regon 97210. T he current
location houses the President/C E O -
C o rlis s M c K e e v e r C o o rd in a to r-
M arilyn Boss, and HIV O utreach-
R uthie C ulver. T o contact A A H C
em ployees call (50 3 )4 1 3 -1 8 5 0 , Fax
(503) 413-1851. T he office hours o f
A A HC are M onday-Friday from 8:00
a.m.-5:3O to help us realize our vision
o fb ein g the healthiest Com m unity in
the nation. W e cannot do it alone. W e
need ev ery o n e’s help
Black History M onth
Robert Ford was one o f
the first Black teachers
in Portland. He taught
at the Holladay school.
This week's observation
o f Black History Month
cover the years o f 1900-
¡950. Can you name the
Black “Sister" who
learned in her youth that
there was power in the
word. Her dream was to
build a school fo r
blacks to educate them
beyond the elementary
grades. She eventually
did and founded one o f
this country’s oldest
black colleges. For the
answer, see Focus.
1
High blood pressure seminar offered
ro «
T he P o rtland O bserver
T he N ational K idney Foundation o f
O regon and W ashington is offering
a free educational program about high
blood pressure from 10:30 a.m. to
noon on February 26 at M eridian Park
H o s p ita l C o m m u n ity H e a lth
Education Center, located 19300 S. W.
65,h A ve., Room B and C in Tualitan.
The program is entitled, “ Living with
High Blood Pressure.”
A nyone is invited to attend.
T he goal o f this w orkshop is to
m*
provide education about high blood
pressure, w hich is the leading cause
o f heart attack, strokes and kidney
disease.
People can have high blood pressure
for years w ithout know ing it. M ore
than 50 m illion A m ericans have high
blood pressure.
Dr. Sharon A nderson, w ho is the
guest speaker, will discuss possible
causes, the affects on your body and
the lifestyle changes and dietary
co n sid e ra tio n s a v a ila b le to help
reduce and possibly prevent high
blood pressure. “ It is im portant for
people to leam the different treatment
o p tio n s a v a ila b le and ta lk to a
physician before m aking a decision,"
said Dr. A nderson.
T he N ational K idney Foundation o f
O regon & W ashington is one o f 52
affiliates o f the N ational K idney
Foundation, Inc., the n atio n ’s largest
voluntary health agency dedicated
to the prevention, treatm ent and cure
o f kidney and urologie diseases. For
m ore inform ation, or to reserve your
place at this free educational seminar,
call(503)282-0990,or 1 -888-3-KIDNEY
outside the Portland area.
Oregon Food Bank launches cooking classes
for T he
chefs Pascal Sauton and Lether Storrs Will introduce the
children to the O peration Frontline curriculum.
Each child will be joined by a parent, grandparent, elder
sibling or other adults for the final three w eeks o f classes,
when the chefs will present the Side by Side curriculum.
T he classes will be held Thursdays 4:15 PM to 6:15p.m.
From February 3 through M arch 30 at Self-Enhancem ent,
Inc., Inc. 3920 N. Kerby.
G ood nutrition is critically im portant to developing m inds
and bodies, and children are particularly vulnerable to
hunger and under-nutrition.
C hildren m ake up m ore than 40 percent num ber o f people
w ho receive em ergency food assistance each year.
P ortland O bserver
H ealthy nutrition, like m ost good habits, begins at home.
But kids are learning to eat on their ow n after school and
m any parents them selves d o n ’t have skills they to teach
them to eat w ell on a tight budget.
T hrough a nine-w eek class series that began February
3,2000, Oregon Food B ank’s operation Frontline program
is team ing up w ith S elf E nhancem ent, Inc. to introduce
low -incom e children and their parents to healthy eating
habits and the jo y s o f cooking as a family, w ithin a lim ited
budget.
In the first six w eeks o f the series, professional Portland
Serving the under-served
H
ealth
F ocus
James L. Phillips, M.D.
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas
M illio n s o f A fric an -A m erica n s,
M exican A m ericans, N ative A m eri­
cans and m ainland Puerto Ricans do
not have access to healthcare and are
under-served medically. These same
groups are also the m ost under-rep­
resented in the m edical profession.
W ith the know ledge from several
studies that physicians tend to prac­
tice am ongst their ow n ethnic groups,
and w ith a concern to m ake m edical
care available to all A m ericans, the
A m eric an A sso c iatio n o f M ed ical
Schools (A A M C ) developed “ Project
3000 by 2000.” The goal o f this pro­
gram is to see that 3,000 students from
th e fo u r m o st u n d e r - re p re s e n te d
groups enroll in m edical school by the
year 2000. This w ould reduce the dis­
parity between the percentage o f these
groups and the country at-large and
the percentages o f these groups in the
medical profession. For exam ple, four
p erc en t o f th e co u n try is A frican -
A m erican, yet, less than four percent
o f physicians are A frican-A m erican.
There are numerous sum m er enrich­
m ent p rogram s estab lish ed to help
students becom e m ore co m p etitiv e
applicants and successfully com plete
m edical school. O ne such program ,
the R ice/B aylor H onors Prem edical
A cadem y Program , a part o f the n a­
tional R obert W ood Johnson F oun­
d atio n p ro g ra m , an d th e M in o rity
M edical Education Program (M M EP),
is held at B aylor C ollege o f M edicine
in H ouston each sum m er for under­
rep resen ted co lleg e students. S tu­
dents m ust have com pleted one year
o f a college science course to partici­
pate. D uring the program , students
are able to follow physicians on their
rounds, becom e acquainted w ith the
m edical college adm issions tests, gain
exposure to m edical school-type lec­
tures, and other aspects o f life in m edi­
cal school.
By helping m ore under-represented
m in o ritie s g ain a c ce ss to m ed ical
school, w e w ill help m any m ore gain
ac cess to h ea lth care and m ake the
population as a w hole a healthier one.
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