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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