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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 22, 2000)
March 22, 2000 P ortland © b»rm er Page A3 (Eh? ÿ o rtlan b ©bserucr Health & Education $7.5 million available to treat women affected by substance abuse, mental illness and violence CONTRIBUTED STORY I Q R T I U : PO B T L A W C Q B iiE K V tK T he Substance A buse and M ental H ealth Services A dm inistration’s (SA M H SA ) C enter for Substance A buse T reatm ent (C SA T) today announced the availability o f $7.5 m illion dollars to support 10 grants to expand treatm ent o f w om en w ith histories o f substance abuse, physical and sexual abuse and m ental illness. T he grants are available only to those program s that currently are grantees for phase one o f this program . This restriction will enable grantees to proceed im m ediately to im proving the know ledge base, since they have already established an integrated system o f care for w om en w ith co-occurring disorders, including histories o f physical and sexual abuse. An additional $1.2 m illion will be available to support as many as five grantee aw ards for study sites and an aw ard fo racoordinating center to evaluate children o f these w om en w ho have been im pacted by their m others’ co-occurring disorders and histories o f violence. “SA M H SA is com m itted to follow ing through with grants and technical assistance to generate important know ledge on how to develop integrated services for w om en that w ork,” SAM H SA A dm inistratorN elbaC havez, Ph.D ., said. “T hese grants w ill help fill in the gaps in w hat w e now know about histories o f violence and how they affect treatm ent o f co-occurring disorders. Phase one identified promising models for intervention services. N ow w e must test these m odels to see w hat will work to reach w om en who have suffered com plex interactions from traum a, substance abuse and m ental illness.” CSA T Director H. Westley Clark, M. D., J D„ M.P. H„ noted that “substance abuse cannot be addressed in a vacuum . T he com bination o f substance abuse, m ental illness and violence has to be addressed together if w e are to give hope to these w om en, and their young children, that recovery is possible and the cycle o f pain can be broken.” This im plem entation study o f program s for w om en is a partnership am ong the C enter for Substance A buse Treatm ent, the Center for Mental H ealth Services and the C enter for Substance A buse Treatment. Applications for grants o f $700,000 to $750,000 forthe w om en’s program and a maximum o f $200,000 for the ch i ldren ’s study wi 11 be accepted from current phase one grantees until June 13,2000. A pplications are available on S A M H S A ’s w eb site, w w w .sam hsa.gov. as wel 1 as by calling 1 -800-729-6686. Refer to GF A N umber T100-003 for the w om en’s program and T I 00-006 forthe children’s subset. Q uestions on program issues should be directed to, M elissa Rael, RN, M.A., project officer, at 301 -443-8236. Grants management questions should bedirected to C hristine Chen at 301-443-8926. Health Briefs Using contam inated bottled w ater to rin se co n tac t len ses p asses the bacteria to the surface o f the lens. If bacteria or other microorganism s get into the eye, they could potentially cause a serious infection o f the cornea. W ilelm us urges those who wear contact lenses to use contact- lens solution and follow a strict disinfection regim en to avoid serious eye infections. Parents should set tim e for Easter candy Parents should set a tim e limit for how long candy from the Easter bunny rem ains in the house. “ M ake a deal with your kids that E aster candy will be rem oved after about a w eek,” said Dr. Janice Stuff. N u tr itio n ’s at th e U S D A /A R S C h ild re n ’s N u tritio n ’s R esearch C enter at BaylorCollege o f M edicine in Houston. After that tim e, pick special tim e to give candy to your kids. An occasional taste well help satisfy their sweet tooth.” Eating too much candy can affect a ch ild ’s appetite and cause the child to dev elo p bad eatin e habits. If children d o n ’t have a good appetite, they m i ght not regu larly eat the fruits, vegetables and meats needed to grow up healthy and strong. Bottled water and contact lenses don’t mix. A new study finds using bottled water to rinse and store contact lenses might do m ore harm than good. Researchers at Baylor C ollege o f M edicine H ouston purchased 23 brands o f bottled w ater and tested them for contam ination. “W e found that nearly a third o f the bottled w ater w as contam inated with bacteria and other microorganism s, in c lu d in g m o ld s , a lg a e an d am oebas,” said Dr. Kirk W ilhelus, a Baylor professor o f ophthalm ology. e le m e n ta l liq u id m e rc u ry , and thimerosal, a mercury compound used in vaccines. “Children who com e in contact with m ercury can d ev elo p respiratory problem s, and i fth e metal penetrates the brain, brain dam age,” Said Dr. Erin Endom, an assistant professor o f pediatric em ergency m edicine at Baylor Col 1 ege o f Medic i ne and Texas C hildren’s H ospital in Houston. A lthough thim erosal has never been proven to cause m ercury poisoning in children, physicians are concerned ab o u t th e in c re a se d n u m b e r o f thimerosal-containing vaccines given to children. T ypical signs o f depression include: Sleep problem s F a ilu re to g a in p le a s u r e fro m previously enjoyed activities Decreased energy or concentration C hanges in appetite F e e lin g s o f h o p e le s s n e s s an d h elp lessn ess Thoughts o f death and suicide. If you know an elderly person with any o f these sym ptom s, encourage them to seek m edical attention as soon as possible, M olinari said. D epression is not a normal part o f aging, but rather a medical condition that should be treated aggressively. “A bout three percent o f the elderly liv in g in d e p e n d e n tly in th e c o m m u n ity w ill e x p e r ie n c e depression, said Dr. V ictor M olinari, a psychologist at Baylor C ollege o f M e d ic in e and d ir e c to r of g ero p sy c h o lo g y at th e V ete ran s A ffairs M edical C enter in H ouston. That num ber increases to betw een 20 and 30 percent o f people in nursing hom es or w ith chronic i llnesses such as em p h y sem a, heart d isease or d iab etes.” Tw o personality types are also high risk: obsessive/com pulsive people bothered by their lack o f control over c h a n g e s re la te d to a g in g , an d dependent persons who lose loved ones. “ W e can help permenopausal women by giving them low-dose birth control pills help regulate her periods and supplem ent the estrogen she is no longer producing adequately.” P e r im e n o p a u s e u su a lly o c c u rs around age 45 and can last anyw here from a few days to a few years. A pproxim ately 80 percent o f women g o th ro u g h so m e fo rm o f perim enopause. During this tim e a w om en might experience irregular periods, hot flashes, night sweats, sleep problem s, changes in weight skin and hair, depression, m ood sw ings and poor concentration. Birth-control pills com bined with a low-fat, high- fiber dietrich in calcium and vitam ins can m ake life more bearable for these women, Zuraw in said. Listeria could harm pregnant P e r im e n o p a u s e women and unborn can make life child D epression not difficult for women A bacteria called listeria can have a P erim enpause, a tim e betw een a devastating effect on a pregnant normal part of w om en ’ s reproductive years and her w om en and her unborn final m enstrual cycle, can be di fficult. aging “Listeria has been known to cause B ut re lie f is available. c h ild . an infection in the lining o f the uterus b e fo re b irth th a t ca n b e life - threatening for both m o th er and child,” said Dr. Flor M unoz, an infectious-disease expert with Baylor CollegeofM edicine in Houston. “The infection can trigger a spontaneous abortion o f Listeria found in foods such as unpasteurized milk products, uncooked meat, hot dogs deli meats and soft like brie. Mercury poisoning can be deadly M e rc u ry p o iso n in g is not v ery com m on, but it can be deadly for children. M ercury is a silvery metal that is extrem ely poisonous. Children can becom e exposed from broken glass therm om eters, w hich contain Calm your Web site anxiety » > AT&T Small Business Hosting Services AT&T W eb Hosting: $25/month Finally, Web hosting without a host of complications. Now you can have a busi ness-quality Web site and the support of AT&T at an affordable price. Starting at $25/month, you get a world-class Web site with business features like domain name service, CGI scripting, e-mail, and more. 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