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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2000)
N o v e m b e r 1, 2 0 0 0 Purtlaub - w - Tg- Page A 3 :}$ortlattò (Dbseruer « -M Si Health J I -* Stop-Smoking Program Wins First Place National Award A p ro g re ssiv e , m u ltifa c e te d sm oking cessatio n pro g ram c o n d u c te d by P ro v id e n c e H e a lth S y ste m h a s w o n a n a tio n a l achievem ent aw ard. T h e p ro g ra m h as re d u c e d sm oking rates lo w er than state and national averag es and has becom e a m odel for o th e r p ro gram s th ro u g h o u t the coun try . T he first-p la c e h o n o r b y the A m erican A sso ciatio n o f H ealth Plans in m anaged care a c h ie v e m ents fo r to bacco c o n tro l p ro gram s was m ade Oct. 12 on b e h a lf o f the P rovidence H ealth System Sm oking P rev en tio n T ask Force headed by Dr. C h arles B en tz, a P rovidence St. V incent p h ysician and lead er in to b acco c o n tro l in i tiatives. “ W e ’re proud to be a le a d e r in th is field o f p re v e n tiv e health c a re ,” said B entz. “ T he aw ard re p re se n ts the su c c e ssfu l c o l lab o ratio n o f m any p ro fessio n als and in teg rated effo rts to help our p a tie n ts and o u r c o m m u n itie s becom e sm o k e-free.” T he P ro g ra m ’s success is a t trib u ted to sev eral key c o m p o nents, including im proved access to and a v a rie ty o f sm o k in g c e s satio n effo rts for m em bers o f P rovidence health plans, in te g ra tion w ith p h y sician s and m edical staff, and collaboration w ith other com m unity agencies w ith sim ilar goals. P ro v id e n c e ’s success is evident in the num bers: The sm ok ing rate am ong p ro v id en ce m em bers w as at 16.7 p ercen t last year, w ell below sta te and n atio n al averages. In c o m p ariso n , across the state in 1999, 21 p ercen t o f adult O reg o n ian s sm oked a m ere 1 percent dro p sin ce 1994, a c c o rd in g to s ta tis tic s from the O regon H ealth D ivision. N atio n ally , ab o u t 25 p ercent o f adult A m erican s sm oked in 1998, a rate th at hard ly budged during the 1990s. F or those p e o p le w ho w ant to quit sm oking, the program offers m u ltip le re so u rc e s, in clu d in g a f fo rd a b le c la s s e s ; th e n ic o tin e patch or Z yban m edication is free w ith class p a rtic ip a tio n o r for those w ho d o n ’t w ant to c a n ’t attend a class. A stop sm oking handbook and o th e r e d u catio n al m aterials The Doctor's Corner Don’t Let Grey Skies Get You Down By John Oda, Ph. D. for the Portland Observer Dear Doctor John: I have recen tly m oved to P o rt land from C alifornia. I’m feeling very d e p re sse d b ecau se o f the w eather. W hat sh o u ld I do? Sarah o f G resh am , OR Dear Sarah, T he w e a th e r sh o u ld not d e term in e the w ay you feel. M ost peo p le p u t a label on the w ay they feel and call it d ep ressio n . I t ’s o n ly a label. W hat you say, th in k and feel, you becom e. I t’s tim e to tak e ch arg e o f y our life , an d w h en you feel d e pressed you m ove y o u r b o d y in a d ifferen t way. W hen you m ove y o u r body slow and th in k o f all the n eg ativ e th o u g h ts, you can feel d ep ressed . Y ou can c h an g e y o u r focus and stop th in k in g o f the w eath er to focus on the p o sitiv e things that are g o in g on in y o u r life. W hen you c h an g e y o u r body m ovem ent, it can ch an g e your m en tal, em o tio n a l and sp iritu a l state. D ep ressio n is only a state, so tak e co n tro l o f yo u r life , enjoy y o u r stay. M ake y our day outstanding! Dear Doctor John, I ’m a high school stu d en t and my b o y frien d is pressu rin g m e to have sex. I love him a lot and d o n ’t w ant to lose him . W hat sh o u ld I do? R om aine o fC h ic a g o , 111. Dear Romaine, T hanks for w riting. I feel you sh o u ld only have sex w hen you a re m e n ta lly an d p h y s ic a lly ready. It appears that you are not and are having second thoughts. A lw ays listen to your gut feeling. I f y our b o y frien d tru ly loves you, he w ould never pressure you in to having sex. In life, there is alw ay s a c o n seq u en ce. W hat w ould h appen if you did re le n t to h aving sex? C an you handle b e ing a m other, raising a child. W ill y o u r b o y frie n d be w ith you, or w ill he leave? W hat i f you c a u g h t som e type o f disease? R em em ber if you sleep w ith any o n e, you have slep t w ith everyone they have. H o w ’s your self-esteem , do you really love yourself? M aybe i t ’s tim e to find y o u r self, and w ork on you. R e m e m b e r a lw a y s th in k about the conseq u en ces in life by asking y o u r s e lf ‘W hat is this going to cost me one year from n o w ? ’ I hope you m ake the right decision. Speak w ith your parents or a school counselor. M ake Y our Fate! JohnP. Oda, PhD ., NLP is a P eak P erform ance E xpert w ith]3 years experience in the mental health fie ld and a regu larfeatured writer fo r the Port land Observer. I f you have any questions fo r The Doctor's Cor ner, email your question to news@PortlandObserver.com. O*\»r £& ****« Mt/WCCNCE j- . NCtN’ CIP, C* »AC»A rv RMC1“ * ojrt 8 Dr. Charles Bentz, a physician at Providence St. Vincent, leads a successful stop smoking program. Medical Marijuana Registry ‘Working as Intended’ O re g o n ’s m edical m ariju an a program re g iste re d 594 p atien ts in its first year o f o p eration, and r e g is tr a tio n s h a v e s in c e i n creased to 1,068, according to public health o ffic ia ls at the state D epartm ent o f H um an S ervices. “ A num ber o f states allow the m edical use o f m arijuana, but O r egon w as the first to im plem ent a statew id e re g istra tio n system for p a tie n ts,” says M artin W asser- m ann, M .D ., a d m in istra to r o f H ealth D ivision. “O ur first-y e a r review show s the system is w orking as it was intended. A su b sta n tia l num ber o f q u a lifie d p a tie n ts and their p h y sician s are u sing it, and only few inq u iries from en fo rcem en t o ffic ia ls regarding reg istered p a tien ts have o c c u rre d .” A review o f the re g istry from M ay 1, 1999 th ro u g h A p ril 30, 2000, found that m ales accounted for 70 p e rc e n t o f the 594 patien ts w ho re g iste re d , the averag e age w as 46, and p a tie n ts ranged from 14 to 87 years old. 67 p e rc e n t o f the p a tie n ts used m edical m ariju an a to control se vere and chronic pain. O r e g o n v o te r s p a s s e d th e M edical M arijuana A c tin 1998. It allow s p a tie n ts to possess and grow th e ir ow n m arijuana for m edical purposes. P atients are exem pt from pro secu tio n under state and local law s as long as they follow provisions o f the Act. P h y sic ia n s can n o t p re sc rib e m arijuana as m edication, but they can p rovide a statem ent that their p atien t has a qualifying d e b ilita t ing m edical co n d itio n and that I m edical m arijuana might alleviate th eir sym ptom s or disease. This allow s the p a tie n t to request a re g istra tio n card. The A ct directed the H ealth D ivision to set up a p atien t re g is try, w hich w as im plem ented on M ay 1,1999. B efore issuing the one-year id en tific a tio n card to the patient, the d iv isio n verifies all re g istra tion inform ation. The registration card fee is $ 150, and the program is e n tire ly su pported by p atient fees. County opens new health center in Rockwood Multnomah County has opened a new Neighborhood Health Access Cen ter in the Rockwood area. The R i x. k .u Neighborhood Health Access Center, 1800 SE 181, is consid ered a model o f innovation and collabo ration by joining together with Wallace Medical Concern and the National Col lege of Naturopathic Medicine. This partnership o ffers a unique com bination o f conventional, multilingual, and natural health services under one roof. “Multnomah County is pleased to join the growing national movement that recognizes both traditional and alterna tive philosophies of medicine that so many families prefer,” stated Commis sioner Sharon Kelly. “Residents o f the Rockwood neighborhood have had lim ited access to affordable health services. I am thrilled to open this center to all c hildren and families in the area,” contin ued Kelley. According to Portland State University’s Center for Population Re search, vulnerable populations, such as senior ci tizens and non- English speaking immigrants, increased significantly over the last several decades. The new Rockwood Neighborhood Health Ac cess center will offer a Variety o f health serv ices in English, Spanish, and Rus sian, and will remain open several eve nings a week. rheRockwoodNeighborhoodHealth Access Center is one of four access centers throughout the county. Designed as a direct point of access, the centers treat basic health needs by focusing on prevention, education andreferrals. Some of the services that will be available in clude prenatal care, well-baby checkups, immunization, WIC (Women Infants and Children) nutrition program s, and Or- egon Health Plan screening andreferrals. rQ V O Y *O’ ' tpg Your life changes with the tim es and so do your insurance needs. - We can provide a f ree no obligation insurance review to check your current coverage for costly duplications and gaps. Check your local telephone directory for the agent nearest you. AMERICAN FAMILY S U Ft A N C E AUTO H O U E BUSINESS HEALTH U FE Al Your Protection Under One Roof www.amhm.com ©1997 Amecicon Family Mutual Insurance Company and its Subsidiaries Rev. 4 /0 0 Home Office - Madison, Wl 53783
