Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, June 22, 2005, Page 9, Image 9

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    lune 22 .2005__________________________________________
il’1 ^Jortlanb © b seru e r_____________________________
Pas e 63
H ealth
Dentai Care Needs for HIV Patients on the Rise
Russell Street Clinic sees more clients
People with HIV now are living longer
and the number of patients treated at the
North Russell Street Dental Clinic contin­
ues to grow. The clinic, part of the Oregon
Health and Science University School of
Dentistry, is seeing 200 patients with HIV
a month - doubling what it handled three
years ago.
The 30-year-old clinic provides an es­
sential service to Oregonians, said Dr.
David Rosenstein, professor emeritus of
community dentistry. School of Dentistry,
and director and founder of the Russell
Street Clinic.
“In the early 1980s when the AIDS
epidemic reached Portland - about five
years after the Russell Street Clinic opened
its doors - we were the first and only
providers of dental care to HIV-positive
patients,” said Rosenstein. “We continue
to be the main source of dental care to
HIV-positive folks in the Portland area.”
The clinic, located at 214 N. Russell St.
is O regon’s only Title I provider under the
Ryan W hite Care Act passed in 1990. It
provides about $60,000 worth of HI V ser­
vices each month.
Longtime patient Jack Cox, 65, can re­
member the days when most dentists
didn’t want to treat HIV patients and
access to care was extrem ely difficult.
“ In the early days o f HIV and AIDS,
people drove up to the Russell Street
Clinic from way south - Medford, Coos
Bay, Eugene - just to have their teeth
cleaned,” said Cox, who has been coming
to Russell Street for 16 years. “David
Rosenstein is a real hero to the HIV com ­
munity.”
Individuals with HIV have more dental
needs than the average person, said
Rosenstein, because their immune sys­
tem s are c o m p ro m is e d , and the
antiretroviral drugs they take decrease
salivation, increasing the incidence of
tooth decay and necessitating more fre­
quent cleanings.
Cox visits the Russell Street Clinic at
least three tim es a year for cleanings and
more if additional oral health care like
fillings or root canals is needed.
"The dentists at Russell Street happen
Oregon’s medical marijuana
program has resumed issuing
registration cards to qualified
patients as a result of Attorney
General Hardy M yers’ opinion
thataJune 13U.S.SupremeCourt
ruling against medical marijuana
does not invalidate the state pro­
gram.
However, officials said O r­
egon law “neither protects mari­
juana plants from seizure nor
individuals from prosecution if
the federal government chooses
Dr. David R o se n ste in is th e founder o f
to be the best around,” Cox said. “They
don’t take shortcuts. They take the view
that poor people deserve the same health
care as rich people.
"I think the reason people keep going
to Russell Street is because of the quality
As part o f National HIV Testing
Day, Planned Parenthood will be of­
fering free HIV tests on Monday,
June 27 to anyone who visits one of
its health centers, including clinics in
northeast Portland, southeast Port­
land, Beaverton and Gresham.
Patients can get directions by vis­
iting www.ppcw.org orby calling 8000
230-PLAN.
National HIV Testing Day was
launched by the National Associa­
tion of People with AIDS as a way to
reach millions o f those at risk with a
simple message: “Take the Test, Take
Control.”
HIV counseling and testing en­
ables people with HIV to take steps to
protect their own health and that of
their partners, and helps people who
test negative get the information they
need to stay uninfected.
th e North R u sse ll S tre e t D ental Clinic.
o f care,” added Cox. “Dr. Rosenstein and
the other dentists there make it clear that
if you take care of the ‘easier’ health stuff
like your teeth, that your immune system
has a much better chance o f fighting more
serious infections.”
Low Income Health Clinic Opens in Southwest
Medical Marijuana
Cards Issued Again
State permit
won’t trump
federal law
Free HIV Tests
Offered Monday
Newest member of county coalition
A new health clinic has opened staff the clinic and provide office
to help low income and uninsured support.
The new health center offers
patients in southwest Portland.
The S outhw est C om m unity quality, basic health services fo­
Health Center is located in the cusing on acute health problems.
M u ltn o m a h
A rt
C e n te r, Patients needing specialized care
Multnomah Village, 7688 S.W. will be referred to other health care
professionals.
Capitol Hwy.
The health center is open Tues­
Oregon Health & Science Uni­
days
and Thursdays from 4 to 8
versity family medicine physicians,
p.m.
In
order to provide services, a
residents and students, as well as
sliding-scale
fee based on income
other professional community vol­
is
required
of
patients.
Besides pro­
unteers, provide the medical care.
viding
health
care,
volunteers
will
Com m unity volunteers help to
to take action against patients or
caregivers under the federal
Controlled Substances Act.”
The state law protects local
residents using medical mari­
juana from state prosecution,
but it does not protect them
from federal prosecution, offi­
cials said.
More than 10,000 qualified
patients now have registration
cards through the state program,
one of 11 in the nation. Patients
qualify for the program if a state-
licensed physician stipulates
that they suffer from one of nine
conditions such as cancer, glau­
coma, HIV/AIDS, severe pain,
or persistent muscle spasms,
and that the patient may benefit
from the use of medical m ari­
juana.
We believe
health care is a
right - not a
privilege.
- Sam ira Godil,
health c e n te r director
help patients with Oregon Health
Plan eligibility screening and in fill­
ing out the OHP applications.
“We believe health care is a right
- not a privilege. There is so little
access to health care for the unin­
sured west side of Portland, and
there is so much demand," said
Samira Godil. health center execu­
tive director, who was instrumental
in creating this community clinic.
Southwest Community Health
Center is a new member of the
Multnomah County Coalition of
Community Health Centers and the
only safety net clinic for low-in­
come and uninsured people in outer
southwest Portland. The govern­
ing board of directors includes cli­
nicians, public health, social ser­
vice and child advocacy profes­
sionals.
Heart Drug Recommended for African Americans
(AP) - With’ heart disease being a common
occurrence among the African American com ­
munity, a drug targeted specifically for black
Americans with heart problems may become the
first drug in the U.S. marketed to a specific racial
group.
The Food and Drug Administration’s cardio­
vascular drug advisory panel voted 9-0on Thurs­
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do not work as well in blacks as in whites.
BiDil is a combination of two drugs: hy­
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In heart failure, the heart is too weak to beat
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The usual treatment is with drugs called ACE
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