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Page A 8
May 4.2005
County Combats Infant Deaths Health Gap
continued
Revealed
from Front
the last year.
The goal is to encourage the kind of
environm ent and behaviors that sup­
port better health and wellness. This is
done by raising awareness about the
risk factors that cause illness and pos­
sibly death among babies and planning
im proved health services.
ConsortiummemberDr. Vernon Baker
o f Umoja Inc., states, “For decades it
has been said that the children are our
future, but if they continue to die at
such an alarming rate then what can we
say for our future generation? It is our
duty to educate the entire community
in whatever way we can to elicit their
help in finding ways of preventing and
decreasing the untimely deaths of
tom orrow ’s leaders.”
Issues shown to have a negative
effect on birth outcomes include a lack
o f access to early prenatal and preven­
tive health care; cigarette smoking; drug
and alcohol use; and the time between
pregnancies or unintended pregnan­
cies.
“W omen struggle with habits that
make it difficult for them to turn their
bodies over to their child,” consortium
m ember Roberta Frison said. “Turning
your body over means eliminating ev­
erything you do that will cause harm to
your unborn child so that they can
have a chance at life.”
That is not the case for Nyree
Cunningham. She realized that it was
essential for her to be proactive in seek­
ing resources to be of assistance with
her pregnancy.
Her daughter, Nyree-Shia is almost
Study shows employed
workers lack care
Community Nurse Rose Pickett provides healthcare services to Nyree Cunningham and her daughter
Nyree-Shia Cunningham.
two but is not at the equal development
stage as other children her age. Nyree-
Shia cannot talk crawl, or walk and
because of that she is considered over­
weight. However, Pickett and Myrick
are there to make sure Nyree-Shia de­
velops.
“I am very protective o f my daugh­
ter. I like spending time with her but I
also believe that the consortium has
been so much help,” Cunningham said.
The program has provided her with
not only healthcare but with diapers,
transportation and 30 hours respite care
each week. Cunningham uses the re­
spite time to go to the grocery store or
visit with family. This time away, Pickett
feels help’s young mothers relieve
stress that could other wise be taken
out on their children.
A ccording to M ultnom ah C ounty
H ealth D epartm ent D irector Lillian
Shirley, there are no easy solutions
given the com plicated health and so­
cial problem s often associated with
women who deliver low birth w eight
infants.
“E ffective preventive program s
blend health care, health education,
environmental m odification, and pub­
lic policy in an effort to create a c u l­
ture supporting health, acceptance,
and eq u ality ,” she said.
A new study analyzing data from the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention shows that a signifi­
cant number o f working Americans in every state do
not have healthcare coverage, including nearly 293.000
in Oregon.
Nationally, at least 20 million working adults do not
have coverage. In eight states, at least one in five
working adults is uninsured. In 39 other states, in­
cluding Oregon, at least one working adult in every 10
does not have health care coverage. Oregon ranks
ninth among states with the highest rates of unin­
sured residents among working adults.
The report further reveals that in all 50 states and
the District o f Columbia, between one-fourth and
one-half of all uninsured adults were unable to see a
doctor when needed in the past year because of cost,
including nearly 214,000 uninsured adults in Oregon.
“Characteristics of the Uninsured: A View from the
States” was released by the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation during a kickoff event for Cover the
Uninsured Week, the largest nonpartisan campaign
in history to focus attention on the need to secure
reliable, affordable health coverage for all Americans.
“The myth that the uninsured can get the care they
need is dispelled by this study,” said Ellen Pinney,
director o f the Oregon Health Action Campaign. “The
uninsured are clearly not getting necessary medical
care and they are suffering adverse health outcomes
as a result.”
The campaign is a group o f organizations and
individuals working to develop health systems that
give all people access to the care they need, when
they need it, from providers o f their choice at an
affordable cost
“ Lottery profits help Astoria’s fishermen
get their product to market faster.”
PROJECT N2 2,668
Hia, Clatsop County
Bill Cook, Deputy Director, Port ut A s to n ,i
Back in the mic
irrhen were in a tig h t spot. Lack of ii
th e ir product to m arket gi
th e ir catch and get it to m arket was bad fo r business and bad fo r
is once again a th riv in g gi
e economy o f Oregon's north coast. The investm ent o f L o tte ry
jobs were created in the pro
B
o fits helped b u ild a p u b lic p ie r, funded s ta te -o f- th e -a r t
p ro fits has gone to econ
ocessing fa c ilitie s , im proved e le c tric a l service and helped
education and watershed er
itd o e s g o o d th in g s .o rg
construct roadways th a t connect the P o rt o f A sto ria to Oregon's
20 Years of Doing Good Things
HR
20
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