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Si Health
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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.
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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
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