November 15, 2000
Page A3
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Health/Education
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(Observer
Oregon Group Crafts Health
Care Plan for Minorities
statewide group has
created a plan to
address the high
number of racial and
m in orities who d o n ’t get
proper health care in Oregon.
The group o f 22 politicians,
health professionals and mi
nority advocates will send the
plan to Gov. John Kitzhaber
this month, hoping to close the
gap between the state’s mi
nority and white populations.
The plan calls for increased
access to basic treatment and
prevention programs. It also
aims to reduce five health
problems that plague minori
ties: diabetes, asthma, HIV,
lead poisoning, and alcohol and
drug abuse.
Policy and legal changes
dom inate the plan. These
changes include recruiting
more minority health workers
to Oregon, restructuring the
state’s Office of Multicultural
Health, collecting more minor
ity health data and boosting
accountability by creating con-
A
sumer oversight committees
for local health departments.
Extra money would pay for
more
ethnic interpreters for clinics,
more prevention programs,
such issues as asthma and in
centives for physicians who
treat HIV patients in rural or
underserved areas. No price
tag has been placed on the
plan. But some new fund-rais
ing ideas are potentially con
troversial, such as taxing wine
and beer to pay for health care
for migrant workers and new
immigrants or imposing real
estate fees to bankroll lead-
rem oval projects in older
homes.
Sen. Avel Gordly, D-Port-
land and co-chairwoman of the
task force, said the 29-page
document should be more than
a guide for Kitzhaber.
“It should be a call to ac
tion", Gordly said, adding that
physicians, hospital leaders,
insurers, politicians and the
public have ignored the dis
parities in health care for mi
PCC Wants Input on
President’s Search
T
“Being at Oregon
my eyes to so
Dear Doctor John,
I ’m a senior in high school.
M y parents have been pressur
ing me about my grades. My
G.P.A. is a 3 .6 .1 play sports and
am very active in school. My
parents feel that I should be
getting a 4.0. It gets me de
pressed and stressed out about
their dem ands. I ’m alw ays try
ing to please them. People in my
school think I have the perfect
life because I’m always smiling.
In reality, I have very low self
esteem . How can I w ork things
out w ith my parents? HELP!
Brad o f Lansing, MI
I have been dating this guy
for 18 m onths. I found out that
he has been cheating on me. We
have been having unprotected
sex for the last six months. He
has told me this will never hap
pen again. I still love him very
much. I ’m confused and need
your help.
Darcy o f Portage, IN
Dear Brad,
Dear Darcy,
I w ant to thank you for w rit
ing. It appears that you are do
ing an outstanding job. I t’s
time to pat y ourself on the back.
I feel if som eone is m aking out
standing grades and playing
sports on the side, in m y book,
you are doing great.
Darcy it’s time to get your life
back. It’s tim e to leave him. It
seem s that you have low self
esteem because you are allow
ing him to use you. If he loves
you so much, he would have
never cheated on you. I t’s time
for you to get a m edical check
Dear Doctor John,
d
a
y
,
J S2J ¿J
many things,
not only
about the
A t Oregon State University, w e recognize
world that
th a t some o f the best lessons are learned
surrounds me,
The Doctor's Corner
By John Oda, Ph.D.
for The Portland
Observer
t o
State has opened
not just inside the classroom but by example.
but about
T i,'
myself. The
.7O 1
And we have a strong com m itm ent to en
suring that every student w h o attends OSU
receives a quality education that is relevant
things I have
I feel that you and your par
ents need some type o f counsel
ing to better understand their
rules. I also w ant to thank you
for recognizing that you need to
w ork on yourself. It’s time to
take o ff your mask to deal with
your issues. A gain, when you
are always sm iling, you are put
ting on a mask. W ork on your
se lf and find a counselor that
you can relate with. Keep up the
outstanding job. Make Your Life
O utstanding!
It’s a novel health care approach for
aging Oregonians - preventive medi
cine. This fall, Oregon Health Sciences
University’s kicks off as 15-month
demonstration project as part o f its
new Center for Healthy Aging.
The goal is to improve the overall
heal th of middle-aged people to senior
citizens.
Participants will receive personal
ized health care through a team of
health professionals. Patients will de
velop individualized goals and receive
ongoing education and support to
achieve those goals.
Formore information, call 505-494-
7757.
he board o f directo rs o f
lic com m ent on the ch allen g es
P o rtla n d C o m m u n ity
and opportunities that lay ahead
College has hired the na
for PCC and desirab le c h a ra c te r
tional A ssociation o fC om m unity
istics sought in a new p resid en t.
C o lle g e ’s T rustees to co o rd in ate
The forum is set for T uesday,
the search for P C C ’s next p re si
Nov. 28, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the
dent.
S ylvania C am pus, 12000 S.W .
49th Ave. in Room 107 o f the ST
C urrent P resident D aniel F.
Building.
M oriarty, who has been w ith the
T hose who w ish to com m ent
college since 1986, announced
but are unable to attend the fo
his re tire m e n t e ffe c tiv e Sept.
rum can contact N eal N aigus,
2001.
C om m unity R elations M anager,
The PCC board is seeking com
Portland Community College, P.O.
m unity input to help w ith the se
Box 19000, Portland, OR 97280 or
lection process. T he board w ill
e-m ail him at nnaig u s@ p cc.cd u .
hold a com m unity forum for p u b
norities.
African American children
in Oregon are nearly three
times more likely to die in in
fancy than white children.
AIDS is the fourth-largest
cause of death for the state’s
Latinos, making it much more
deadly than for any other
group. M eanw hile, N ative
Americans, Asians and Afri
can Americans are more likely
to die from diabetes than their
white or Latino neighbors.
The reasons for the minor
ity health gap are varied, ex
perts say. They cite poverty,
language barriers, lack of in
surance or cultural differences
that may prevent some from
seeking care out of fear or
shame.
”It’s a pretty complex set
of factors,” said Mark Gibson,
the governor’s health care
policy adviser and the other
task force co-chairman. “But
they all add up to worse health
outcomes for minority com
munities.”
Good Grades, Deserve
Pat on Back
Prevention Behind
New Health Project
taken from
to his or her life and dreams fo r the future.
Talk to our Ujima Education Office and learn
* ■
a b o u t all the support programs, financial
here will last 'ttiep
aid and scholarships available. Open your
me a
mind to the possibilities, and w e'll open the
door to your future.
lifetime,
f
Chala Harrington,
O R EG O N STATE
A SO SU Vice President
and Senior majoring in
Speech ( .ommimications
(graduated from Park rose
H.S. in Portland).
U
n
i v
e
r s
i t y
Open minds. Open doors.
oregonstate.edu
1 .8 0 0 .2 9 * 1 .4 4 9 2
out and see if you have con
tracted any sexually transm itted
disease. It’s time to start loving
yourself, and find the greatest
love o f all which is Y OU!
It appears that he w ill keep
lying to you because he knows
that you w on’t leave him. It’s
time to step up to find out about
who your self-w orth. W hen you
are confused, it is an opportu
nity to deeply learn about your
self. Take time to heal. Enjoy the
process.
John P. Oda, Ph.D., NLP is a
peak performance expert with
13 years experience in the men
tal health fie ld and a regular
featured writerfor the Portland
Observer. I f you have any ques
tions fo r The D octor's Corner
send us your email, the address
is news@portlandobserver com.
FIVS «TA »
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