October io, 2001
Page A5
_______________________________ ^ t n r t l a n h © b a c r u e r
HIV Reporting Called Important Health Step Town Hall on
Security, Freedom
and Terrorism
conform s to national HIV treat
m ent guidelines.
• O nce a case report is c o m
pleted and m edical and su p
p o rt assurances are received,
the p a tie n t’s nam e w ill be c o n
v erted to a code. At this point,
the in d iv id u a l’s nam e is per
m anently erased. In no instance
w ill a nam e be held for m ore
th an 90 days.
• T o prevent H IV /A D S re
porting inform ation from being
“ h acked” o r stolen, the HIV
p rogram uses a physically se
cu re c o m p u ter that is n o t co n
nected to the Internet o r any
o th e r n etw ork.
• W e are com m itted to e n
suring confidentiality and are
tak in g steps to strengthen p ri
vacy safeguards at state and
D r . G ram H igginson
O regon P ublic H ealth
O fficer
by
O reg o n h as tak en an im p o r
tant step to w ard b e tte r c o n
trollin g th e im p act o f H IV in
fectio n in the state an d e x te n d
ing the lives o f th o se w h o have
the disease.
O n O ct. 1, the O reg o n D e
p artm en t o f H u m an S erv ices
put a n ew H IV rep o rtin g sy s
tem in to effect. It req u ires the
nam es o f p e rso n s w h o test
positiv e fo r H IV to be reported
c o n fid e n tia lly to the p u b lic
health sy stem . T h is w ill im
prove o u r ab ility to track the
p ro g ressio n o f H IV am o n g O r
e g o n ian s and b e tte r targ et p re
v en tio n effo rts an d services.
T h is H IV rep o rtin g system
m ean s th at pub lic h ealth can
assu re th at H IV -p o sitiv e in d i
viduals are connected w ith life
sa v in g tre a tm e n t an d o th e r
su p p o rt serv ices. T h ere w as a
tim e w h en b eco m in g in fected
w ith H IV m ean t term in al ill
ness. T h a t is n o lo n g er true.
T o d ay , w ith p ro p er m ed ica
tio n an d c a re , H IV can be
m an ag ed as a ch ro n ic d isease.
B ut in o rd e r fo r th at to hap p en ,
peop le m u st k n o w if they are
in fe c te d a n d th e y m u st be
tre a te d .
S o m e O r e g o n ia n s h a v e
vo iced c o n cern s ab o u t rep o rt
ing n am es o f H IV p o sitiv e in
d iv id u als. B ecau se th ere is a
stig m a asso ciated w ith H IV
in fectio n , they fear th at p eople
w ill not g o in for the test. T here
Dr. Grant Higginson
a re a ls o a n x i e t i e s a b o u t
b re a c h e s in c o n fid e n tia lity .
T h e re is a p p re h e n sio n th at
n am es o f p ersons w h o are H IV
p o sitiv e co u ld be leak ed to
m em b ers o f the co m m unity,
em p lo y ers, lan d lo rd s, o r even
o th e r g o v ern m en t agencies.
P u b lic h e a lth ta k e s these
concerns seriously and has built
a flexible sy stem th at responds
to these issues:
• A n o n y m o u s H IV testing is
still an o p tio n , a v a ila b le at
county h ealth d ep artm ents and
o th er pub licly fu n d ed sites.
• If clien ts ch o o se to use a
Market Vouchers
Go Unclaimed
Low-income senior citizens
in Oregon may be holding un
used vouchers that will be good
only through Oct. 28 at farmers
markets and roadside stands
across the state.
“We made these vouchers
available to seniors who quali
fied based on income, and we
are encouraging them to check
for any they haven’t used be
fore they expire,” said Lydia
Lissman, Oregon Dept. of Hu
man Services assistant director
for seniors and people with dis
abilities.
She estimates that nearly $1
million worth of the vouchers
have gone unused.
The one-time federal pro
gram to help seniors buy farm
ers’ fresh produce provided $ 100
vouchers to 12,000 Oregon se
nior citizens, who had to be at
least age 65, earn no more
$11,592 annually, and receive
Medicaid or Older Americans
Act services to qualify. A list of
eligible farmers markets and
roadside stands was mailed to
eligible seniors with the vouch
ers.
pseudonym w hen being tested,
the p a tie n t’s actual nam e w ill
be rep o rted to the system only
if they test positive.
• C onfidential testing is avail
able from both private heath-
care providers and county H IV
testin g sites.
• L abs w ill rep o rt positive
tests via a secure, co n fid en tial
m echanism .
• In the case o f p o sitive test
results, the health care pro
v ider w ill be asked to assure
that the patient is inform ed o f
m edical care and support ser
vices and th a t h is o r h e r care
county levels.
W e jo in 47 states, e a c h o f
w hich has adopted som e type
o f co n fid en tial H IV reporting
system . W e have w orked long
and hard w ith m any partners
to craft a reporting system that
w ill w o rk in O regon.
O v e r th e n e x t m o n th s, w e
w ill be c o n d u c tin g a c tiv itie s
to o u tre a c h , e d u c a te a n d in
fo rm c o m m u n itie s a b o u t H IV
e x p a n d e d re p o rtin g . O u r goal
is to sa v e liv e s an d to b e tte r
tra c k th e d is e a s e so w e can
fo cu s p re v e n tio n e ffo rts in
a re a s w h e re th e y a re m o st
needed.
G ra n t H ig g in so n , M .D . is
sta te p u b lic h e a lth o f fic e r at
the O re g o n D e p a rtm e n t o f
H u m a n S e rv ic e s.
Passenger Car
Title Fee Changes
T he co st fo r an o rig in al,
tran sfer o r rep lacem en t title
fo r m o st p a sse n g e r cars in
O regon increased this m onth
from $ 10 to $30.
T he added co st is due to the
O regon T ransportation Invest
m ent A ct, passed by the O r
egon L egislature to raise funds
fo r m uch -n eed ed road, bridge
a n d s a f e ty im p r o v e m e n t
p ro jects in the state.
“ W hen you buy a vehicle,
m ake certain you g e t a title
from the person selling the
v eh icle,” said L o m a Y oungs,
O regon D epartm ent o f T ra n s
portation deputy d ire c to r for
D M V . “ If you d o n 't have a
title w hen you tra n sfe r o w n e r
ship, you could w ind up paying
m ore— once for a du p licate
title and then for the title tra n s
fe r.”
T itle transfers m ust be done
w ithin 30 days in order to avoid
late penalties.
“W e w ant people to know
th a t th is n ew law d o e s n 't
change registration fees. R eg
istration for p assenger cars is
A panel o f O regon public
affairs observers w ill c o n
sider questions related to liv
ing in an A m erica now keenly
aw are o f its vulnerability.
T he issu es w ill be a d
dressed w hen Pacific U n i
versity launches the third
year o f the Pacific Q u es
tio n s T ow n H all series w ith
“ Security, Freedom and T er
rorism: National Security and
P e r s o n a l L i b e r t y ,” o n
W ednesday, O ct. 17 at 7
p .m .in T a y lo r A uditorium in
M arsh H all on Pacific ’ s cam
pus in Forest G rove. T he
ev en t is open to the public at
no charge, but seating is lim
ited.
“ A ll seem to a g re e th a t
life w ill n e v e r be the sam e
fo r a n y o f us a f te r th e
e v e n ts o f S ep t. 11,” said
M a rc M a re n c o , d ire c to r o f
th e P a c ific In s titu te fo r
E th ic s and S o c ia l P o lic y .
“ W e w a n t to be safe, b u t
w e a lso w a n t to b e free.
W h at p ric e a re w e w illin g
to pay fo r in c re a se d s e c u
rity ? H ow sh o u ld w e b a l
an ce th e n e e d fo r n a tio n a l
se c u rity w ith A m e r ic a ’s
d e e p c o m m itm e n t to p e r
sonal fre e d o m ? ”
T ow n H all panelists w ill
include O regon State S en a
tor Peter C ourtney; civil lib
e r tie s a tto r n e y C h a r le s
H inkle; ahd Seth Singleton,
professor o f international re
lations at Pacific U niversity.
Bill G allagher, K PA M N ew s
T alk 860 talk show host, w ill
m o d e ra te th e 9 0 - m in u te
tow n hall.
"W e are bringing together
an ou tstan d in g and diverse
group o f O regonians to help
us look at the events o f the
recent p ast and to pose q u e s
tions about creating a vision
for the future given this new
reality," said Pacific P resi
dent F aith G abelnick. “H ow
do w e create a m ore civil
so ciety ?”
Westside MAX Beats
Ridership Projections
W estside M AX ridership
topped 25 million rides during
the first three years it has run
betw een downtown Portland.
Beaverton and Hillsboro.
A c c o rd in g to T ri-M e t,
W estside M AX has already
surpassed 2005 ridership pro
jections of 25,200 daily rides.
The ridership now averages
27,600 daily.
O fficials say half o f the
riders in the corridor are new
to transit and overall transit
ridership w est o f Portland
grew 157 percent.
“W estside MAX reached
record ridership because it is
a good alternative to driving,"
said Tri-M et General M an
ager Fred Hansen. “Our rid
ers find it works not only for
commuting to work, but also
for shopping, ball games and
other special events.”
T ri-M e t say s W e stsid e
MAX continues to be a cata
lyst for transit-oriented de
velopment.
Since the 18-mile exten
sion was announced, nearly
$825 million in residential and
com m ercial developm ent is
underway within walking dis
tance o f the 20 M AX sta
tions, officials said.
W ith the September open
ing of the Airport M A X line,
there is now 38 miles o f light
rail track in the Portland area.
Another 5.8 miles are under
construction - the Interstate
MAX line opens in Septem
ber 2004. It will connect
North Portland to downtown
via Interstate Avenue.
For information about how
to get around on MAX and
Tri-M et’s 98 bus lines, see
www.tri-met.org or call 503-
238-RIDE weekdays between
7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.
still $ 30,’’ Y oungs said.
W h a t do you expect, a quick
response when you call? Okay.
That’s what you’ll get. W e ’ve set some
pretty high standards for our performance.
W h e n w e say w e 'r e g o in g to g iv e y o u a c e rta in lev el o f serv ice, w e
m e a n it. A n d w e 'r e so s e rio u s a b o u t h o ld in g o u rs e lv e s a c c o u n ta b le ,
th a t if, fo r so m e re a so n , w e c a n 't liv e u p to o u r c o m m itm e n t, w e 'll
p a y y o u . W h y ? F irst, to c o m p e n s a te y o u fo r a n y in c o n v e n ie n c e , b u t
m o re im p o rta n tly , a s a r e m in d e r to u s n o t to le t it h a p p e n a g a in .
Say y o u h a v e a q u e s tio n a b o u t o u r b ill th a t w e c a n 't a n s w e r w h e n
y o u call us. (W e a n s w e r 80 p e rc e n t o f o u r calls w ith in 20 s e c o n d s o r
less!) W e ll in v e s tig a te a n d g e t b a c k to y o u b y le tte r o r p h o n e a s so o n
a s p o ssib le . B ut if it ta k e s lo n g e r th a n te n w o rk in g d a y s , w e ll c re d it
$50 to y o u r a c c o u n t.
F o r e v e ry th in g fro m re s p o n d in g to a p o w e r o u ta g e to h e lp in g
y o u d e te rm in e p a y m e n t o p tio n s, w e 're h e re a n d re a d y to h e lp w h e n
y o u call.
To learn more about our Customer Service Guarantees,
call us. You can reach us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Just call 1-888-221-7070.
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