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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 23, 2003)
Page A6 __________________ © je ^ortlauh (ßbseruer April 23. 2003 H ealth Bold Medical Reality A local high school program at Providence St. Vincent Medi cal Center is raising awareness with kids about what it takes to save a life, to encourage healthy lifestyles and to show the team work involved in open heart sur gery. During a recent program, world-renowned cardiac sur geon, Dr. Albert Starr, wore a head camera as he performed the surgery in the operating room, which enabled nearly 125 high school students to watch the procedure from the hospital's Souther Auditorium. “Heart Watch” was launched at Providence St. Vincent in 1995. Moore Street Tackles Asthma The Moore Street Salvation Army is raising awareness about the health consequences o f asthma in the local community. Asthma is a frequent reason for pediatric physician office visits and is one o f the leading causes o f school absenteeism. In north and northeast Portland, the asthma rate is 14.6 per cent o f the local population, the high est in the state. In response to these alarming sta- tistics, the Environmental Justice Ac tion Group and Environmental Protec tion Agency are hosting a neighbor hood forum and asthma swim at the Moore Street Community Center, 5325 N. Williams, on Tuesday, May 6 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. The event is meant to raise aware ness about indoor and outdoor pollut ants that trigger asthma. For more information or to join the forum orswim, call 503-283-6397. if Aloha High School stu dent Abdirahman Hussein (right) and Beaverton Careers Program teacher Matt Bayha get a dose of medical reality while observing open heart surgery as part of "Heart Watch. ” Health Plan Coverage Threatened As m any as 19,510 Oregon adults poverty level. nancy or receipt o f public assistance, covered by the Oregon Health P lan's Since Feb. 1, clients enrolled under Standard benefit package will lose cov the S tandard benefit package have erage at m onth’s end if the premium been expected to pay prem ium s by the The Standard plan, patterned more billing officedoesn’t receive theirMarch 25 ,h o fth e month following the cover after com m ercial insurance plans, dif payment by Friday, April 25. age m onth or lose coverage for six fers from the Plus plan by requiring m onths. U naffected are m ore than higher co-paym ents for medical ser ers nearly 100,000 working poor adults 300,000 O regonians w ho qualify for vices, requiring premium payments and who earn too much to quali fy for tradi the H ealth P lan 's Plus benefit p ack offering reduced benefits. tional Medicaid, but less than the federal age because o f age, disability, preg- The Standard benefit package cov and who are not required to pay p re miums. jo in o u r d e p r e s s io n re s e a rc h s tu d y Have you or someone you care about been experiencing some or all of the following symptoms for at least a few months? A ll office visits and medical evalua tions related to this study w ill be provided to qualified participants at no charge. • • • • To get more information about taking part in this study call: Hopelessness Sadness Loss of interest in daily activities Difficulty concentrating If so, participants between the ages of 18 to 64 may qualify for a research study of an investigational drug for the treatment ot DEPRESSION if This is extremely heartening and will quickly result in fewer deaths to our citizens. Racial & Ethnic Approaches to Community Health A program of the African American Health Coalition. Inc Sponsored by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Wellness Within REACH: Mind, Body, and Soul Activity Calendar -Jefferey Runge, admlnistratorfor the National Highway Trans portation Safety Administration Seat Belt Safety Numbers on the Rise Buckling up means fewer blacks will die in car accidents ( A P )— Blacks, w ho fo ry ears have lagged behind in seat belt use, now practice buckling up at the sam e rate as the rest o f the population, according to a report being released by the National H ighw ay T ransportation Safety A dm inistration. Blacks were using seat belts about 77 percent o f the time in N H TSA 's latest roadside survey, an increase from about seven in I O' who used seat belts in a 2000 sur vey. Overall, the U.S. population buck- les up 75 percent o f the time. NHTSA Administrator Jeffrey Runge released the data at a high way safety conference in Chicago on Monday. Runge said the in crease results from years o f work in the black community. “T h is is e x tre m ely h e a rte n ing and w ill q u ick ly resu lt in few er d ea th s to o u r c itiz e n s,” R unge said. I n 2000, researchers said at least 125 lives would be saved and 2,500 injuries prevented each year if blacks were buckling up at the same rate as whites. In its latest report, NHTSA also found that the gender gap is clos ing, but that females still buckle up more often than males. About eight in 10 females used seat belts in the 2002 survey, while about seven in 10 males were wearing them. NHTSA found that seat belt use was rising in rural areas, to 73 per cent. That was a gain o f 5 percent age points from 2000. NHTSA surveyed drivers dur ing a 20-day period beginning June 3. 2002. Observers collected data on 37,900 vehicles at 1, 100 intersec tions throughout the nation. They observed37,900driversand 11,600 p assen g ers, in c lu d in g 3 8,100 whites, 6,000 blacks and 5,400 other individuals. The error margin for the survey was plus or minus 4 percentage points for blacks and plus or minus 3 percentage points for whites. NMNMNMHHMMMMIMMIMMIMMMIMMIMB* Oregon Tobacco Use Declines New data from the Oregon Dept. o f Human Services shows O rego nians outpacing the national av erage in reducing tobacco use. Since 1996, overall cigarette consum ption is down by alm ost 30 percent, a far steeper reduc tion than the rest o f the nation. The statistics show that young m ales are chew ing tobacco con s id e ra b ly le ss and p re g n a n t 1 w om en are also sm oking less. State officials are attributing the declines to a com prehensive tobacco prevention and educa tion program. “ This translates into trem en dous savings for O regon." said OHS adm inistrator Jean Thorne. “The p rogram 's current success results in savings o f almost $40 m illion a year in direct medical costs. And about $10 m illion o f th ese sa v in g s are in O reg o n Health Plan costs." Mel A. Kohn, M .D., state ep i dem iologist, added that the cu r rent reduction in sm oking am ong pregnant w om en alone results in 57 few er low birth w eight babies annually and saves m ore than $ I m illion every year in neonatal m edical costs. 4 r z Mail Dishman 77 NE b o t i M on Tues W ed Strength Training Strength Training 89«n and 2-3pa 8-9am and 2-3,m Brawn Brawn Sat Fri T h u rs S -Ü ^andlÎL African Dance Brown Addo 10:00-11:00am Chicago Ste, 6.0 0 -73 0 ^ Kendrick Sal va bon Army 5325 N WiBams. Water Aerobics Tai Chi Water Aerobics 2.-00-300,m 6 30 -7 3 0,™ ZOO 3:00pm Hamplon Lyles Hampton Begins 4/16/03 Nature’« 3535 NI :i5 tk Voga 7:30-830 imi ORoorke Voga Body Conditioning 7:45-8:45 pm 9 3 0 -1 4 3 0 » O'Boorie Nickerson Perorada Park Walking trou, Walking t i r a i, Walking Gran, 700NPortW 6:00-7:00,™ 6:00-7:00 pm Nickerson Nickerson 1230 Nickerson (Neel iaside Ibe (Meet nside the Malory Atene Q rn ta i Cbrdi (Cf») 126 NE Aietta O m tU O m l 4635 ff 9tb A rt 1 lord Ceiter in IJoyd (enter io Irani of Sears ) front of Sears ) R Aerobics Aerobics Aerobics 630-7:30,m 630-7:30po 630-730,™ Nicker son Nickerson Nickerson Aerobics Aerobics Aerobics Aerobics 6dX)-700am 6:00-700,™ 6:00-7:00ara 6:00 700,™ Pierce Keller Pierce Keller "M u st be 21 or older to participate Please check with AAHC before showing up to the first class 503-413-1850 Please receive approval from your doctor before beginning exercise class A ll classes are free o f charge! A fric a n A m e ric a n H e a lth C o a litio n , In c. 2800 N. Vancouver Ave. Suite 100 • Portland OR 97227 • Phone 503-413-1850 E-mail kdempsey@aahc-portland org • Web www aahc-portland org 1