May 2, 2001
Page A3
(Cij£ JJartlauh (Dbaeruer
B Health/Education
Volunteer Works to Improve Women’s Health
Disparities, dissatisfaction in women’s
health care spurs Mary Wilcox into action
B y K athleen M c F all
T oday, P o rtla n d ’s C en ter
for W om en’s H ealth is a re a l
ity. But alm ost a decade ago,
it was ju st an idea in M ary
W ilcox’s m ind.
“ I w as reading an article on
gender d ifferen ces in m edical
r e s e a rc h fro m a S ta n fo rd
alum ni m agazine and I was
struck by the disp a ritie s,” said
W ilc o x . “ R e s e a rc h re s u lts
w ere being applied u n ila te r
ally to wom en yet wom en were
not rep resen ted in clinical tri
a ls .” The story o f her ensuing
determ in atio n in encouraging
others to jo in in her vision o f
change is a testam ent to the
value o f hard w ork, the im por-
tance o f com m unity in v o lv e
m ent, and the advantages o f
being an outsider.
“ Initially, I sim ply wondered
w hether there was any w ay I
c o u ld w o rk to p r o m o te
w o m en ’s health research. But
as I got m ore involved, I re a l
ized that w om en w ere very
d issa tisfie d w ith th eir health
care as w ell.”
W ilcox describes h e rse lf as
relen tless once she sets her
m ind to som ething. And fortu
nately for w om en throughout
the P ortland area, she has set
her sights on nothing short o f
ra d ic a lly
t r a n s f o r m in g
w o m en ’s health care.
B orn in Ashland^ W ilcox
Mary Wilcox
Lawmakers Call for Relief
on Prescription Drugs
Concerned by the soar
that not only provides se
ing cost o f prevention
niors with the medications
drugs, m em bers of
they need, but also puts dol
O reg o n ’s Senate and
lars back in their hands while
House Democratic cau
saving the state general fund
cuses have called on their
money.”
legislative colleagues to
The legislators support
pass pending prescription
passage of Senate Bill 876
drug legislation.
and House Bill 3027,as well
“Our state and our citi
as other proposals to help
zens spend too much for
se n io rs afford M edicaid
prescription drugs,"said
costs.
Rep. Alan Bates (D-Eagle
SB 876 would provide se
Point), a physician. “We
nior on Medicaid the same
need to help low-income
low prescription rates as
seniors afford the medica
low-income families on Medi
tion they need to survive,
care. HB 3027 pools the
as well as reduce the
state’s buying power to get
amount our state spends
the b est p o ssib le drug
each year buying pre
prices, the same way the fed
scription drugs.”
eral government and other
“ We
have
a Rep. Laurie Monnes Anderson (D-Gresham), a nurse large purchasers save up to
responsilbility to our se- (left), and Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Canhy), urge the
50 percent on prescription
niors to make sure they
t o p a r s t o / w f o c e / A e c a s r o/
drugs.
never have to sacrifice ba- P ^cription d”W
Democrats also support
sic life necessities to pur
Welches). “Democrats are bring
proposals, including HB
chase the prescriptions they need,”
ing forth real solutions to this on
3774, to help low-income seniors
said Sen. Rick M etsger (D-
going prescription drug crisis
with the cost of their medications.
Forest
Park
Doused
With
Insecticide
The state began its battle
against the destructive Asian
Gypsy moth that was spotted
in Forest Park.
State helicopters Thursday
sprayed an insecticide over a
900-acre area in Forest Park,
P ortland's industrial area and
along Highway 30, south o f
the Saint Johns Bridge.
The state agriculture de
partm ent chose to use a com
m on biological insecticide
th at’s a natural bacteria which
kills the m oth in its caterpillar
stage.
Experts decided to use the
spray after finding just one o f
the voracious moths in Forest
Park last fall. The moth has
the ability to wipe out millions
o f acres o f trees in a short
amount o f tim e and has done
just that in the Northeast. So
far, Oregon has escaped w ide
spread dam age by attacking
m inor outbreaks quickly.
I
I
earned a law degree in 1980
from U niversity o f O regon and
New York U niversity and then
returned to P ortland to p rac
tice.
“P e rso n a lly , I ’ve alw ay s
been interested in h ealth, nu
trition, and exercise, but I also
gained a great deal o f know l
edge about the m edical sy s
tem by practicing m ed ic al-re
la te d
l a w .”
In 1990, she left her legal
practice in ord er to raise her
two daughters. At that tim e,
she also increased her com
munity efforts, including her
com m itm ent to O H SU as a
m em ber o f the Board for the
OHSU Foundation.
W ilcox garnered initial sup
port for the vision o f the C WH
from O H S U ’s President Dr.
Peter K ohler, MD, as well as
others in the m edical com m u-
nity. She reached out to the
larger m etropolitan com m u
n ity . M in a a n d A rle n e
S ch n itzer, G ain o r A rtz and
num erous w om en jo in e d to
gether to form the C am paign
for W o m en ’s H ealth C om m u
nity C ouncil. In addition to en
c o u rag in g num erous ed u ca
tional and fund-raising events,
these com m unity wom en have
been deeply involved in o rg a
nizing the A nnual W om en’s
H ealth C onference, now in its
s ix th
y e a r.
W ilcox also co-chairs the on
going cam paign to raise some
S30 m illion dollars to fund a
p e rm a n e n t s ta te - o f - th e - a r t
hom e for the CW H that will
include educational, research
and clinical com ponents. Re
c ru itm e n t o f s c ie n tis ts for
w om en’s health research is
part o f this effort.
To W ilcox, the existing sys
tem o f a patient going from
specialist to specialist seem s
illogical.
She believes it’s an indirect
outgrow th o f how m edicine is
taught rather than a function
o f the needs o f patients. “ It
sim ply m akes m ore sense to
have a team o f physicians and
c a r e - g iv e r s c o m e to th e
w om en,” she explained.
W ilcox’s efforts are volun
tary. C onsequently, she says,
“ No one can fire me! They
can kick me out o f their office
but I c a n 't be fired. I have
nothing to lose and everything
to gain by pursuing my dream
o f finding better w ays to d e
liv e r h e a lth , p r o m o tin g
w om en’s health research and
educating wom en so they can
becom e active p articipants in
th eir own health c are.”
PCC Board Selects Carreon Next President
The P ortland C om m unity
C ollege Board o f D irectors
offered the presidency o f
th e c o lle g e to D r. J e ss
Carreon, superintendent and
president o f the Rio Hondo
C om m unity C ollege district
in W hittier, Calif. The board
announced that C arreon has
agreed to accept the jo b ,
'pending co n tract n e g o tia
tions. T he board w ill m ake
the form al appointm ent at
their m eeting on M ay 17.
C arreon w ill becom e the
fourth p resid en t o f Portland
C o m m u n ity C o lle g e , the
largest p o st-seco n d ary in
stitu tio n in O regon, w ith an
annual en rollm ent o f nearly
100,000 students.
“ I am deeply honored and
a p p reciate the confidence
o f all o f those w ho were
part o f the selection pro
cess, in p a rticu la r the board
o f d ire c to rs,” said C arreon.
P ortland is a great place
and the co llege is an o u t
standing, n atio n ally reco g
nized in stitu tio n . I ’m look
ing fo rw ard to the c h a l
len g e s.”
Karen M cK inney, c h a iro f
Dr. Jess Carreon
the board, said, “ We are very
pleased to be able to attract
a person o f Dr. C a rre o n ’s
background, skills and ex
perience to PCC. I am ex
tr e m e ly im p r e s s e d w ith
Jess. He brings the kind o f
le a d e rs h ip th a t P o rtla n d
C o m m u n ity C o lle g e w ill
need in the com ing years.
Dr. C a rre o n ’s experience in
f o rm in g a ll ia n c e s w ith
other educational in stitu
tions, business and govern
ment agencies will be a great
asset to the college.
“ It came down to two out
standing finalists,” McKinney
added. “It was a very tough
decision. Ultim ately, a m a
jority o f the board agreed to
offer the job to Jess Carreon.”
Currently, Carreon is su
perintendent and president
o f the Rio H ondo C om m u
nity C ollege d istrict, a tw o-
year in stitu tio n en ro llin g
15,000 stu d en ts each se
m ester. C arreon earned a
d o cto rate in higher educa
tion from the U niversity o f
S o u th e rn C a l if o r n ia , a
m a ste r’s degree in m anage
m ent from the U niversity
o f C alifornia, Irvine and a
b a c h elo r’s degree in h is
tory from San D iego State
U niversity.
Dan M oriarty, the p resi
dent o f PCC since 1986,
will retire June 30.
w.
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