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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 25, 2001)
Page A6 P o rtla n d (Obi Aprii 25, 2001 (The 'Jtfortlanb (íOheemer Health/Education ■■H ■ G ettin g a G rip on A lcoh ol P rob lem s School Exclusion Could A rea residents recently partic ipated in National Alcohol Screening Day, an educational program that allows people to seek help w ith alcohol problems “Tens o f thousands o f Oregonians suffer from alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence,” says Barbara Cimaglio, adm inistratoroftheO fficeofD rugand A lcohol A buse o f the Oregon Dept. o f H um an Services. “Thousands more drink at times or in ways that can place them selves or others at risk." To help people recognize the signs o f an alcohol problem and seek treat m ent, the department joined mental health workers in sponsoring the third annual National Alcohol Screening Day, April 5. Participants learned about the lull range ofalcohol problems, completed a b rief w ritten screening to assess their alcohol use or that o f someone else, and had the opportunity to talk pri vately with a substance abuse health professional. Individuals who scored positive on the screening were given the names and telephone numbers o f local treat ment facilities. Cimaglio said that signs o f alcohol problem s include the fol lowing: Drinking to calm n e n es, to forget worries or boost a sad mood; guilt about drinking; unsuccessful at tem pts to cut dow n/stop drinking; ly ing about or hiding drinking habits; causing harm to oneself or someone else as a result o f drinking; needing to drink increasing am ounts in order to Have Been Worse 4® Î Lidjg I * M r Barbara Stanbrow, a licensed mental health professional, recently donated her services at the Therapy Studio, 1016 N. W. 17'h Ave., fo r free, anonymous screenings for alcohol problems as part o f National Alcohol Screening Day. (P hoto by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver ) achieve desired effect; feeling irritable, resentful or unreasonable w hen not drinking; and medical, social, family or financial problems caused by drinking. To learn mote you can log on the Internet www.OiegonCounseling.Org or call 1- 800-THERAPIST. This is a free refer Students Get Better About Paying Loans T he percen tag e o f O reg o nian student bo rro w ers d e f a u l t in g on t h e i r lo a n s dropped to an all-tim e low o f 3.5 percent in 1999. T h a t’s acco rd in g to a re port from the O regon S tu fault rate hit 22 percent in 1992. Since then, O re g o n ’s rate has stead ily d eclin ed , re a c h in g its lo w e st ra te since the beginning o f the federal student loan p ro gram . dent A ssista n c e C o m m is sion. The loan default rate w as dow n from a record low o f six percent in 1998. O r e g o n ’s d e f a u lt ra te p e a k e d at 16 p e rc e n t in 1990, and the national d e ral service to get the nam es and cre dentials o f qualified therapists who have skill and experience w ith your specific concerns. More than 6,800 children were sent home from Oregon schools and childcare facilities in Febru ary because they were missing required shots. Although the number o f exclu sions was significantly higher than in previous years, it could have been much worse, according to Grant Higginson, M.D., acting ad ministrator at the Oregon Health Division. “This year 35,713 exclusion or ders were issued and 19 percent o f the children who received those letters ended up being sent home,” Higginson said. “This compares to an average o f 14 percent to 18 percent o f kids sent home over the past five years.” “This was the first year that new immunization requirements for seventh-graders went into ef fect. When you consider how many more students had to meet the requirement, we did an excel lent j ob in getting children caught up on their shots so they could stay in school, “ Higginson said. He credits the hard work o f schools, parents, m edical pro viders, the m edia and county health departm ents who cam e together to get children im m u nized. New im m unization rules re quire that students in seventh grade have a second dose o f m easles vaccine, a shot for chickenpox or a history o f hav ing chickenpox disease, and be up-to-date on their hepatitis B vaccine series. Children in kin dergarten and children’s facili ties are now required to meet the chickenpox requirem ents. “ It isn ’t too soon for parents to start immunizing younger chil dren with the additional required vaccines. W e’ll have another large group o f children starting seventh grade in ju st a few m onths, so it’s never too early,” Higginson said. Parents seeking im m uniza tions for their children should contact their private provider, county health clinic or call O r e g o n S a fe N e t at 1 -8 0 0 - SAFENET, or 1 -800-723-3638. In the P ortland m etro area, SafeNet can be reached at 503- 988-5858. NAACP Video Addresses HIV The Portland NAACP Branch has available the HI V/AIDS video series, co-produced by the Na tional NAACP Health Committee and DuPont Pharm aceuticals Company for training and educa tional purposes. The video tittles are: “House on Fire”, “Sister’s Keeper” and “Coming to Life”. The three part series and a train ing guide are available upon re quest. The NAACP H ealth Committee’s mission, goals and objectives is to address health concerns and work towards the improvement o f health for all African Americans. For infor mation and video requests, con tact Crystal Busch, Health Com mittee Chair, 503-253-8556. FLUCTUATING PORK PRICES. UNCERTAIN SUBSIDIES. 30-YEAR ADJUSTABLE. 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