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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 14, 2002)
Page A5 (The Jlortlan h (Observer August 14,2002 Untreated Pain Called Health Crisis call to 1 if it's news or informa D o c to rs a d d re s s d is p a ritie s in p a in tre a tm e n t b a s e d o n ra c e a d v e rtis e : 5 O 3 .2 8 8 .(X )3 3 You probably saw r u n - or email: ads @ port landobserver.com African Americans are dying at higher rates than whites from heart disease. Dr. Beny Primm (from left), Dr. Lucille Perez and Dr. Gary Dennis, attend a news conference on pain management as it relates to African Americans and other minorities. T he N ational M edical A ssocia tion has concluded that inadequate pain m anagem ent is a serious na tional public health problem that affects m illions o f A frican A m eri cans and other underserved m i nority populations. “W e are finding that African Americans, in excruciating pain due to life-threatening illness or major surgery, are denied effective pain m edicine, due to factors w hich ulti- «m ately center on race,” said Dr. ^mately L uicille ucille C. Norville Perez, president o f the NM A and associate director for the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention at the M ental Health Services Administration o f the Dept. o f Health and Human Services. Fifty m illion A m ericans suffer from chronic pain. C osts associ ated w ith prolonged pain total ap proxim ately $ 100 billion a year. The N M A , w hich represents the collective voice o f 25,000 African A m erican physicians, is evaluat- ing the significance o f chronic pain to the health and w ell being o f all A m ericans, and in particular, d is- parities in pain treatm ent based on race. T he A ssociation w ill issue its final report on pain m anagem ent in M arch. T he gro u p ’s prelim inary find ings show that pain causes m ore disability than cancer and heart disease com bined. T he studies also indicate that racial and ethnic m i- nority populations are at higher risk for receiving ineffective treat- m ent for chronic and severe pain and that som e doctors appear to be fearful o f prescribing certain m edi cations because o f concerns relat ing to drug abuse in minority popu lations. ■ T he association w arns that ra cial profiling is m ore prevalent in pharm acies located in urban areas. T hese pharm acies either refuse to carry certain opio id m edications, citing low dem and, the potential for fraud, fear o f being robbed, or a b elief that certain prescriptions are being diverted for illegal use. The association wants more pain m anagem ent training in medical schools and related health educa tion program s, a public health edu cation program that fosters greater understanding of pain management, along with prevention o f abuse and illegal drug trafficking; and on data collection as a means to better iden tify the reasons for racial disparities in pain management. “T he N M A will assess the m a jo r factors that result in lack o f access to effective, pain-relieving m edication, especially with regard to m in o rities, an d w ill devise courses o f action that w ill enable m ore people to have access to quality health care and proper pain control,” said Dr. Gary Dennis, past president o f the NM A and ch ief of neurosurgery at H ow ard U niver sity H ospital in W ashington, D.C. Heart disease, » ■' ¿a the number one killer of African Americans. on’t have to... New Homeowners Offered $1,000 The D epartm ent o f H ousing and U rban D evelopm ent announced July 30 that it w ill issue a $1,000 check to hom ebuyers w ho sign a sales contract on a single-fam ily H U D H om e by Sept. 30. T he $ 1,000 C ash B ack M ove- In A llo w an c e, w h ich is effec tiv e im m ediately, will be issued at clos- in g a n d c a n be u se d by the h o m e b u y e r fo r a n y e x p e n se s such as m o v in g co sts and hom e ^ •re p a irs . T o q u a lify , th e b uyer ^ k n u s t agree to live in the p ro p erty as h is o r h e r p rim a ry resid e n ce * fo r a m in im u m o f 12 m onths. "T he Bush A dm inistration is com m itted to increasing the num ber o f A m ericans, particularly m i n o ritie s , w h o o w n th e ir ow n hom es,” said H U D Secretary M el M artinez. “W e believe this incen tive program will help more people becom e first-tim e hom ebuyers by purchasing one o f H U D ’s single fam ily hom es.” U nder the conditions o f the in centive, the buyer m ust close the sale transaction within 3 0 days after the contract is accepted. There are approxim ately 30,(XX) single-fam ily hom es in H U D 's in ventory o f properties, and they can usually be found in every state as w ell as Puerto Rico, G uam and the V irgin Islands. Interested par tie s s h o u ld lo g o n to w w w .H U D .g o v /o ffic es/h sg /sfh / reo/honies.cfm to get inform ation about the availability o f H U D H om es in their area. All H U D H om es are offered for sale at m arket value as established by an appraisal. Since the proper ties are sold “as is,” there is often an opportunity for a hom ebuyer to earn “sw eat equity” by m aking repairs after the sale. T he bidding for available prop erties is conducted exclusively on the Internet. which blocks the blood vessels to cause heart attacks, strokes, or high blood pressure, ranks as *7 ' ' » Prevention works. Get screened. Ask your doctor about cardiovascular disease today. It’s our right. African American Health Coalition, Inc. 2 8 0 0 N. V a n c o u v e r A v e n u e -S u ite 100 P o rtla n d , O re g o n 9 7 2 2 7 Phone; 503-413-1850 www.aahc-portland.org Made possible by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Attention SENIORS N E W FO R S E N IO R S ONLY... ss Safeway Senior Shuttle Service! 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