Committed to Cultural Diversity
www.portlandobserver.com
April 21. 2004
Charity Basketball
M etro
B.J. Wade (left) and Jazz
Butcher at the game
Î,îl |Jo rtian ö ©bseruer
Sports, page B6
SECTION
C
o ni in u n i t
¿t I e n d n
Life Changing Talk
Dr. Mark Strong, pastor of the
Life Change Christian Center,
will speak at the Interchurch
Service of Evangelical Ministries
International at North Alberta
and Mallory, at 3 p.m. Sunday,
April 27.
Women's Issue
OHSU C enter for W om en’s
Health holds its annual confer­
en ce, fo cu sin g on “ Strong
W omen” from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30
p.m. Saturday, May 1 at the Or­
egon Convention Center. To
register, call 503-494-0712or visit
www.ohsuwomenshealth.com.
Women at Play
Women at Work presents a con­
ference on balancing work and
life at the Oregon Convention
Center, 111 N.E. Martin Luther
King Blvd. on April 23 and 24.
The expo is accompanied by a
Posh Party and Mad Hatter Tea
Party. Cos, is $39 for one day
and $59 for both. For more infor­
mation, call 800-562-8964 or visit
www. womenatworkandplay .com.
Wild Animals
T he O reg o n Z o o o p en s
Himalamazon, a simulator thrill
ride that soars riders through a
Himalayanclimate above the soil
of the Amazon, on May 1. Ticket
are $4 in addition to zoo admis­
sion. A Dine and Discovery, with
a culinary tour of exotic lands, is
at 6:30 p.m. on April 21 for $75 per
dinner or $250 for four dinners.
Reserve your seat by calling5O3-
220-2492.
,
Healthy Chat
OH SU ’s healthy chats continue
with The Healing Powerof Exer­
cise from I:30to2:30p.m. May 4
at Elsie StuhrCenter, 5550 S. W.
H all B lvd. in B eav erto n .
C aregiving for Fam ily and
Friends with Serious Memory
Problems is from noon to 1 p.m.
May 6 at the Metro YMCA, 2831
S.W. Barbur Blvd. The Dark Side
of High Fashion Shoes is dis­
cussed from 7 to 8 p.m. Wednes­
day, May 12 at the PHSU Family
Health Center, Richmond, 3930
S.E. Division St.
Salvation for Kids
The Salvation Army’s 10,h anni­
versary luncheon is all about
kids, from noon to 1 p.m. May 14
at the Lloyd Center Doubletree
Hotel, 1000N.E. Multnomah. For
more information, call 503-963-
1187.
Maya Angelou Visit
Maya Angelou joins the Unique
Lives and Experiences lecture
tourat 7:30p.m. on May 19atthe
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.
For
tic k e ts,
v isit
www.eventsunlimited.org.
Bowling for Rhinos
To register for Bowling for Rhi­
nos, a fundraiser for rhino con­
servation abroad, call 503-226-
1531 ext. 5255. The even, is from
noon to 3 p. m . Apri 124. An Earth
Day Expo is from 9 a.m. to4 p.m.
on April 25 with a Race to Stop
Global Warming beginning at 8
a.m. For more information, visit
www.greenhousenet.org.
Wildlife Lecture
A wildlife lecture series, begin­
ning with The Eye of the Alba­
tross a, 7 p.m. April 27, is hosted
by the Oregon Zoo and the
Audubon Society. Each lecture
costs $10 with series tickets
available atadiscount. For more
information, call 503-226-1561.
OAME Luncheon
The Oregon Association of Mi­
nority Entrepreneurs is holding
its 16“ annual Entretreneurship
Luncheon and Trade Show with
keynote speaker Mayor Vera Katz
from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday,
May 6 a, the Oregon Convention
Center. The trade show is free and
the luncheon costs $45.
Nursing Shortage Critical for Minorities
Campaign to draw
more diversity to the
profession
BY JAYM EE
We believe it's important
fo r nurses to be
knowledgeable about the
cultures they are serving.
R. ClJTI
T he P ortland O bserver
Career options for young women are vir­
tually limitless and the varied job choices of
the last few decades are in part responsible
for a critical nursing shortage in Oregon,
according to nursing insiders.
-Susan King, Oregon Nurses Association
V
The Oregon Nurses Association is mark­
ing its 100“ anniversary this month, yet
celebrating is on hold as the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics released data revealing that
by the year 2010, more than one million
nurses will be needed.
“There’s an inadequate number of nurses
to fill vacant positions and the impact to
patients is going to be profound,” said Su­
san King, an emergency room nurse and
administrator of professional services for
the Oregon Nurses Association.
"An individual who needs nursing care,
whether in a hospital or at a provider’s office,
now and in the future, will find that that chair
might not be available,” she said.
Besides the risks and advanced school­
ing associated with nursing that dissuades
young people from the field, part o f the
shortage lies in an aging community of prac­
ticing nurses. The average age of nurses in
the state is 48.
✓
“You can expect in the next lOto 15years,
w e’re going to be reducing our hours and
retiring. The population of nurses educated
and licensed per year is under 1,000, but
w e’re going to be losing many more than
that,” said King.
The number of minority nurses in the
state is even more critical.
O f the 37,000 nurses registered in the
state, less than 3 percent are o f color and
only 386 are African American.
“We believe it’s important for nurses to
be knowledgeable about the cultures they
are serving, and that includes language,”
Emergency room nurse Jose Ventura with Gicela Roque Resendez, a patient at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center.
said King. “I am learning Spanish, but it’s
not the same as someone that comes from mentorship program aimed at attracting Latino one percent of registered nurses are His­
focuses on educationally and economically
that culture and understands what the spe­ youth to health careers.
panic, so w e’ve got a lot of catching up to disadvantaged youth.
cific needs are.”
Hispanic Family Saturday is another way do,” said Peggy Wros, a professor and
In cooperation with the Oregon Health
Linfield Good Samaritan School of Nurs­ to attract people of color to the profession by curriculum coordinator at Linfield. “Lots of
Careers Center, Linfield’s faculty is hosting
ing in Portland takes strides to recruit and offering a day of information and sharing
Hispanic clients are in the system who would asix-week intense summer academy for40to
retain minority students starting in middle about careers in the health profession. The certainly benefit from nurses who are cultur­
50 college-bound juniors and seniors for
school.
next event is slated for the fall.
ally competent and speak the language. The college preparatory work in math, biology,
Since 1997, Linfield student nurses have
“The Hispanic population is the fasting rest of us could benefit from that, too.”
reached out to middle schoolers with a increasing population in Oregon, but only
continued y f on page B6
According to Wros, Linfield’s outreach
if
Hope in
Training
Focus on Strong Women
Terry Jordan, a Portland resi­
dent, has begun training for the
Nike Marathon, which she’ll be
running in memory of her daugh­
ter and father.
The Nike Marathon in San Fran­
cisco, which occurs in October,
celebrates the 20“ anniversary of
the first women’s Olympic mara­
thon.
Emily, Jordan’sdaughter, died
of leukemia when she was five-
and-a-half. Her father also died
from lymphoma.
Jordan, who is a stay-at-home
ALUMNI
Mom with her 7-year-old son,
Timothy, considers herself an
unlikely athlete.
“Marathons scared me,” she
lym phom a ioetoty
said.
Jordan has run five marathons
in the past, but says this will be
different because it’s a women-
Terry Jordan o f Portland trains for marathon after losing family
only race.
members
to disease.
She is training for the 26.2 mile
run with The Leukemia & Lym­ ticipants raising funds for leukemia try to participate.
phoma Society's Team in Train­ and lymphoma research.
“The Nike 26.2 exemplifies the
ing program. Several recruitment
More than 200,000 people have trend of more and more people
meetings are scheduled through­ participated in Team in Training, participating in marathons for a
out Portland, beginning with a raising more than $470 million. It gixxl cause," said Greg Elfers, vice
meeting at Niketown, 930 S.W. has 63 chapters nationwide.
president of The leukem ia & Lym­
Sixth Ave. from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on
Though men are not prevented phoma Society. “Forthe hundreds
Tuesday, April 27.
from running, the race will be mar­ of thousands of patients and fami­
Participants can train for the keted to women and all the pre-race lies battling leukemia, lymphoma
San Francisco marathon through activities - such as sessions on and myeloma, the fact that women
The Leukemia & Lymphoma women’s health and fitness - will be from across the country are com­
Society *s Team in Training, which geared to female participants. O r­
ing to San Francisco to help in the
provides training for endurance ganizers are expecting more than
battle to cure these cancers sends
competitions in exchange for par- 500 women from around the coun- a clear message of hope."
jf
<> r e ¿J o n
TEAM
Center for
Women’s Health
holds annual
conference
University.
The conference features cutting-
edge information about women’s
health, including the latest on heart
health, strong bones, nutrition, dia­
betes risk factors for different eth­
nic groups, food and m oods,
w om en's cancers, healthy skin
“Strong Women!”
stress reduction, fit­
is the focus of this
n ess, h erbs and
year's annual OHSU
supplem ents, get­
Center for W omen’s
ting a good night’s
Health Conference, a
sleep, and how to
m eeting featuring
successfully co n ­
presenters that are
quer the down times
very diverse and of
in our lives.
different ethnic back­
“This is our ninth
grounds.
year for the women ' s
The public event
conference. We fo­
is held Saturday, May Dr. Stephanie Anderson cus on what’s cur­
1, from 8:30 a.m. to
rent, what’s in the fu­
4:30 p.m. at the Or­
ture, what women
egon C o n v en tio n
want to hearconcem-
Center. The keynote
ing th e ir health.
sp eak er, M iriam
Women wan, to take
Nelson, is the author
charge of their own
of the international
health and wellness,
best-sellers: “Strong
and this conference
W om en
Stay
helps us to do that,"
Y o u n g ” ; “ S trong
said Wendy Mitchell,
Women Stay Slim”;
program manager for
"S tro n g W om en, Miriam Nelson
the OHSU Women’s
S trong
B ones";
Health
“Strong Women Eat Well”; and
Besides speakers, there will be
“Strong Women and Men Beat Ar­ short N1A sessions. In Swahili, nia
thritis.”
means “with purpose." It also
She will talk about strengthen­ stands for neuromuscular integra­
ing every aspect o f health and tive action. It is a fitness and heal­
wellness. Nelson lectures about ing session Using practical and di­
women’s health around the world verse movements. A vegetarian
and is the director o f the John lunch also is included in the $35 fee.
Hancock Center for Physical Ac­
Reservations can be made by
tivity and N utrition, Friedm an phone at 503 494-0712 or online at
School of Science and Policy, Tufts www.OHSUwomenshealth.com