March 7, 2001
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Health/Education
Student Instruction
Plans Under Review
Portland Public Schools Super­
intendent Benjamin O. Canada,
Ph.D., has announced that the dis­
trict will reviseitsmethodfordevel-
opingplans forindividual students’
educational needs.
“ W e will continue to indi­
vidually assess students as we
h a v e a lw a y s d o n e ,” s a id
C anada, “but I want to explore
w ith teachers and principals,
alternative ways to tailor in­
struction to individual student
needs and to share that infor­
m ation with parents.”
W hile students are form ally
tested in m ost grades, last fall,
the district m andated that Indi­
vidual Instruction Plans be pre­
pared for each child in grades 2,
7 and 9 who fell below bench­
m ark the previous year.
The purpose o f the plans was
to outline strategies the teacher
w ould use to bring the child to
benchm ark and to share that
inform ation with parents. But
the plans caused controversy
because few teachers and p rin ­
cipals w ere involved in design­
ing them and in m any cases
they duplicated work already
being done.
“ W e have learned,” stated
C anada. “ I have listened to
teachers and principals. W hile
there w ere positive and nega­
tive aspects linked to the Indi­
vidual Instruction Plans, I be­
lieve that together w e can craft
a process that better m eets the
needs o f students, parents and
teachers.
C anada said the d istric t’s
overall goal o f increasing the
academ ic perform ance o f all
students w ill continue to be the
focus o f the district discussions.
Legacy Health System
to Expand Bum Center
(A P) — T he O regon B urn
C enter at L egacy Em anuel H os­
pital is seeking do n atio n s for a
planned $5 m illion facelift to
add room s and u p grade eq u ip ­
ment.
Legacy H ealth S ystem s o ffi­
cials say the ce n te r has o u t­
grow n the 5 ,0 0 0 -sq u a re -fo o t
space it has o ccu p ied since its
founding in 1977. T he unit has
12 beds in seven room s. The
center has little space for v isi­
tors, and p atients d o n ’t have
m uch privacy.
The b u m center, th e o nly one
o f its kind betw een Seattle and
S acram en to , C alif., served an
av erag e o f 269 p eo p le annually
for th e past th ree years. A bout
a th ird o f th e p atien ts are ch il­
dren, and one o f five p atients is
injured by fire o r electrical bum s
in th e w o rk p lace.
A sm all but g ro w in g fraction
are p atien ts w ith w ounds not
cau sed by b u m s, but by tissu e­
d estro y in g skin infections.
L eg acy w ill in v est $2 m illion
in the ex p an sio n , and its ch ari­
tab le fou n d atio n has pledged $ 1
m illion. L egacy is asking O r­
egon resid en ts and businesses
to donate the rem ain in g $2 m il­
lion.
P le d g e s a lr e a d y e x c e e d
$800,000. L ab o r union leaders
and p o w er in d u stry executives
have taken a leading role in rais­
ing m oney for th e center.
T he ce n te r treats about 10
electric p o w er w orkers an n u ­
ally who are injured on the jo b in
O regon and W ashington.
“T his w o n d ro u s place in fact
saved th eir liv es,” said D oug
S h a ffe r, a P o rtla n d G en eral
E lectric tech n ician and m em ber
o f the International B rotherhood
o f E le c tric a l W o rk e rs L ocal
125.
Angels of Care: Oregon Declares War on English Ivy
10 Years of Helping
A d e a th in th e fa m ily is a
u n iq u e team o f so
tra u m a tic e x p e rie n c e , b u t p a ­
cial w orkers, nurses,
tie n t fa m ilie s say th e S u p p o rt­
c o u n s e lo r s
and
e te
C d a re T ea m is e n o rm o u s ly
c h a p la in s has ju s t c e le iv
b ra
h e lp fu l in co p in g .
10 y e a rs o f h e lp in g p a tie n ts
P e o p le w ho w o u ld lik e a d ­
a n d fa m ilie s c o p e w ith life
d
itio
n a l in fo rm a tio n a b o u t th e
th re a te n in g illn e ss.
P ro v id e n c e P o rtla n d M e d ic a l
T h e S u p p o rtiv e C are T eam
C e n te r S u p p o rtiv e C a re T ea m
at P ro v id e n c e P o rtla n d M e d i­
c a n c o n ta c t A1 W illia m s at
cal C en ter helps w ith pain m a n ­
(5 0 3 ) 2 1 5 -6 1 6 5 .
a g e m e n t, sp iritu a l a n d e m o ­
tio n a l c a re, g r ie f c o u n s e lin g
A
O regon’s W eed Board has offi­
cially declared English Ivy — a
“botanical barbarian” — a noxious
weed.
"English ivy has left the resi­
dences and is invading the forests
— it is out o f control,” said Dan
Hilbum, a m em ber o f the seven-
person W eed Board, which ad­
vises the Oregon Department o f
Agriculture.
"English Ivy is a botanical bar­
barian. It’s the single most serious
threat we have in O regon,” said
S andra D ied ric h , d ire c to r o f
Portland’s Forest Park Ivy Re­
moval Project. The decision, which
follows a seven-year campaign
against the plant, w on’t exactly put
it out o f existence. But the desig- ‘
nation is critical, because it can be
followed by placement on the state’s
quarantine list. Quarantined weeds
are illegal to sell or import or move
about. The state’s Department o f
Agriculture will considerivy’scom-
mercial fate — whether it’s quar­
antined — this fall. Ivy’s classifi­
cation as a noxious weed makes
available state funds with which to
research its eradication.
Among the possibilities: germ
warfare with a yet unidentified bac­
terial or fungal pathogen. English
ivy joins 99 plants on a state list of
botanical m iscreants that includes
H im alayan blackberry, Scotch
thistle and poison hemlock. Ivy’s
dark green leaves and its aristo­
cratic heritage may make it look
regal and pretty, but don’t be
fooled. The creeper loves Oregon,
where it has no natural enemies. It
needs little sunlight. It loves mild,
wet climates. English ivy jum ps
garden borders, spreading across
forest floors, smothering and kill­
ing fems, shrubs and other plants
that support elaborate ecosystems
and provide feeding opportunities
forwildlife.
It then climbs and wraps trees,
choking o ff light and air. And
Oregon’s animals find ivy’s leaves
unpalatable— in the case o f song­
birds, ivy’s leaves and berries are
toxic. There are a few birds that
can tolerate ivy’s berries, among
them starlings and house finches.
But this is not good news. The
birds distribute the plant’s seeds
for miles around, multiplying ivy’s
grip-
As a result, half o f Portland’s
urban forests and natural areas are
infested. In Portland’s 4,800-acre
Forest Park, for example, volun­
teers armed with shovels and shears
go out each week to rip out vines
and sever shoots that climb tree
trunks. Their goal: to create ivy-
free buffers around trees.
Diedrich, whose organization
formed in 1994 to lead the Portland
charge against the invader, had
lobbied hard for the noxious weed
designation and is thrilled by the
board’s action, which was taken
last week.
"There are people who told me
this would never happen,” she said.
“I’m ecstatic.” Others aren’t so
pleased. Although only 20 o f the
1,400 members o f the Oregon As­
sociation ofNurserymen grow En­
glish ivy, hundreds o f garden-sup-
ply businesses sell it.
"W e sell English ivy, and w e’ll
continue to sell English ivy,” said
Mallory Gwynn, a salesman at A1 ’s
G arden C enter in W oodburn.
“People ask for it.”
Seminar Looks at Dementia and Aging
Supportive Care Team Manager Al Williams comforts a patient in the
Respiratory Unit at Providence Portland Medical Center.
Fred C. Miller, head psychology
instructor at PCC Cascade, will speak
at a health seminar Saturday, March
lOat 10a.m. at the Ainsworth United
Church o f Christ.
Miller is currently in charge o f the
A frican American Dementia and
Aging Project and is attempting to
identify 100 African Americans over
the age o f 65 to assess their risk
factors for stroke and cognitive func­
tions. Information about this project
will be given at the seminar along with
ideas for decreasing stress in our
daily lives.Dr. Jeffrey Kaye, Director
o f Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease
C enter at OHSU will speak on
Alzheimer’s Disease at 10:30 a.m.
Joe Inglesby from Mt. Hood Col­
lege will speak on “Understanding
Our Daily Leisure and Recreation”.
The public is invited. Lunch will be
served. Attendees are asked to RSVP
by Friday by calling 503-284-8767.
a n d e th ic a l is s u e s ab o u t en d -
o f- life c a re.
“ W e h e lp p a tie n ts an d fa m i­
lie s c o m e to te rm s w ith a life
e n d in g an d h e lp th e m re a liz e
w h a t it m e a n s ,” s a id T eam
M a n a g e r A1 W illia m s , a li­
c e n s e d c lin ic a l so c ia l w o rk e r.
Lou
L ib b y ,
M .D .,
a
p u lm o n o lo g is t w h o o fte n re ­
fers p a tie n ts to th e team , say s
th e g ro u p is “ in d is p e n s a b le .”
W h en a m e d ic a l e m e rg e n c y
b rin g s a p a tie n t to th e In te n ­
siv e C a re U n it, th e S u p p o rtiv e
C a re T eam a re th e u n e x p e c te d
a n g e ls o f c a re to p a tie n ts and
fa m ilie s ,” s a id L ib b y .
V a lu e d as m u ch b y d o c to rs
a n d n u rs e s as p a tie n ts a n d
fa m ilie s , th e S u p p o rtiv e C are
T ea m te a c h e s p a in m a n a g e ­
m en t c la s s e s to new n u rse s
and h elp s fa c ilita te eth ica l d is ­
c u s s io n s b e tw e e n d o c to rs and
p a tie n ts ' fa m ilie s.
“ S o m e tim es i t ’s d iffic u lt for
fa m ilie s to m a k e d e c is io n s
ab o u t c a rin g fo r a fam ily m em ­
b e r w h o is d y in g ,” W illia m s
said . “ W e a re th e o b je c tiv e
p a rty in th e c o n v e rs a tio n .”
O th e r lo cal h o s p ita ls are b e ­
g in n in g to e m u la te th e te a m ’s
p a tie n t c a re m o d e l, p a r tic u ­
la rly in th e a re a o f e m o tio n a l
s u p p o rt fo r fa m ilie s .
I n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t th e
te a m ’s e ffe c tiv e n e s s has
sp re a d e v e n as fo r as Ja p a n ,
w ith h e a lth c a re w o rk e rs from
th a t c o u n try re c e n tly v is itin g
th e team at P ro v id e n c e P o rt­
lan d M e d ic a l C e n te r to learn
m o re e n d - o f-life c a re .
x
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