Page A3
lanuaiy 16. 2008
Goal is Decent Healthcare for All
County faces hurdle with
grassroots solutions
in R AYMOND Rl •MILKMAN
Tin P ortland O bserver
Among all the major com m unity-
justice challenges, none presents
more com plications than providing
an entire population w ith decent
healthcare.
Despite serious budget lim ita
tions to address preexisting dis
parities in a wide range o f ailments,
the M ultnom ah C ounty H ealth
Department tackles the issues us
ing grassroots methods.
The c itiz e n -le d C o m m u n ity
Health Council represents patients'
concerns to department leadership
in a key way that the agency avoids
top-down management. A direct
lin k between officia ls and com m u
nity members, many o f whom are
department patients, is especially
im p o rta n t
c o n s id e rin g
the
struggles that the county faces in
providing healthcare to all.
V isit one o f the county's health
clinics, and the firs t thing y o u 'll
probably notice is its crow d o f d i
verse patients in the w aiting room.
O fficialscalculatethatm oreclinics,
especially in East County, w ould
generate sim ila r scenes o f people.
"W e could open another c lin ic a
number o f places and be fille d up,
so there's many more people out
there who need the services in the
com m unity than our capacity al
low s,” says L illia n Shirley, depart
ment director.
Such an overburdened system
m ight be easier to run through a
strict hierarchy, but Shirley w e l
comes the advice o f normal fo lk by
engaging w ith the council during
its meetings, a practice above and
beyond what the federal rules de
mand. "T echnically you don’ t need
to have the director there,” says
Kate Yen, council coordinator, "but
we make a sincere e ffo rt to make it
hig h -p ro file and let the com m unity
make a difference.”
The effort to bridge the gap be
tween populations and leadership
makes all the difference fo r a coun
c il member like Ruth Duran, who
has strong ties w ith the Hispanic
com m unity and advocates fo r cu l
tural s e n s itiv ity and translated
materials at every opportunity.
“ People have to know that, re
gardless p f y o u r c u ltu re , you
should be treated the same,” Duran
says. "T h is is the United States, so
it's tim e we started liv in g up to our
name.”
C o n sid e rin g that h a lf o f the
c o u n ty 's clients are c h ild re n ages
18 and under, another co u n cil
more uninsured patients are being
seen at the county clinics, includ
ing the facility on Northeast M artin
Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Accord
ing to last year's annual report,
more than 28,(XX) o f the 62,300
people w ho received healthcare
services from the county last year
d id n ’ t have insurance, m arking
about a four-percent increase in the
total number o f patients and the
proportion o f uninsured front the
year before.
"T here's no place to send the
b ill, so the county itse lf from its
general fund has had to pick that
up," Shirley says, acknowledging
the com m unity-w ide challenge o f
assuring access to quality care for
as many people as possible w ithin
increasingly lim ited budget.
A lthough the past decade sig
n ifica n tly altered demographics o f
the northeast c lin ic 's surrounding
neighborhood, its patient demo
graphics have remained steady. It
still serves Hispanics at the highest
photo in R aymond R t ndi km an /T iie P ortland O bserv er
rate fol lowed by blacks then whites,
Community Health Council members Ruth Duran (left) and Bonnie Malone meet outside the
the same breakdown it saw when
Multnomah County Health Centerin northeast Portland.
the area was m ajority-black.
Northeast C lin ic D irector Bob
m em ber named Bonnie M alone Duran. The three o f them discussed
T h ro u g h th e ir meeting w ith Saum sees as reflective o f ongoing
advocates fo r school-based c lin the importance o f talking about county and state representatives, civil-rig h ts struggles along the sym
ics w h e n eve r possible, saying problems before they become fo r and theircom m itm ent to healthcare bolic boulevard,
access as an issue o f justice, Yen.
th a t the c o u n c il is to u g h on mal, widespread concerns.
"H is vision o f people being
c o u n ty leadership.
"W ith any system there's going Duran and Malone proceeded to judged by the content o f their char
Malone had just finished meet to be something, but w e're striving relate their struggle with worldwide acter rather than the co lo r o f their
ing w ith a patient in an e ffo rt to to fix that th ro u g h e le c tro n ic c ivil-rig h ts struggles, a sentiment skin is significant, and I think that
mediate a healthcare-quality com records, more oversight and a more easily found at the local health level. addressing health disparities is in
plaint when she met w ith Yen and holistic approach,” Yen said.
Reflecting countyw ide trends. line w ith that visio n ," Saum says.
Sòii!
King Memorial Construction Nears
(A P ) - Construction is slated to
begin this spring on the long-
planned M a rtin L u th e r K in g Jr.
M e m o ria l on the N ational M a ll in
W ashington, D.C.
An artist's sketch shows
the Martin Luther King Jr.
National Memorial coming
to the Tidal Basin in
Washington, D.C.
"K eep A liv e the Dream” 'contin-
ues to be recognized as one o f the
finest com m unity-based M a rtin
Luther K ing Jr. celebrations in the
U.S., as it gives voice to comm on
citizens by showcasing the greater
Portland com m unity's response to
historic achievements "against all
odds" fo r c iv il rights and human
d ignity.
The stage program begins at I I
a.m. on Monday, Jan. 21 at H ig h
land Christian Center, 76(X) N.L.
Glisan St..
Regional, national and local talent
w ill converge in adi verse program o f
music, dance, theater, awards and
presentations against a backdrop o f
gospel choirs in humble tribute to
the American civil-rights movement
for human dignity.
. A donation o f $4 or four items o f
nonperishable food fo r the Oregon
Lood Bank w ill be accepted at the
event.
Sylvester Recovers from
Second Hip Surgery
most popular entertain
Portland blues m usi
ers, w ith a career that
cian Norman Sylvester
spans more than four
had successful hip re
decades. He has re
placement surgery Jan.
leased three full-length
8 at Portland A dventist
albums under his own
Medical center.
name, and performed at
S y lv e s te r has had
the A rle n e S chnitzer
such surgeries before;
Concert H all, the Port
both his hips had been
land W aterfront Blues
replaced in 2000, undone Norman Sylvester
F e s tiv a l,
S e a ttle 's
o f his artificial hips failed
after an automobile accident in 2006. Bumbershoot, the M ount Hood
Recovery tim e is expected to be at Jazz Festival, local live television
and radio, as w ell as thousands ol
least tw o months.
Sylvester. 62. is one o f the region’s nightclub performances.
Renee Mitchell
“ T angoing w ith Tornadoes,”
a story speaking to dom estic v io
lence and the pow er o f o u r words,
is com ing to the C enter fo r S e lf
Enhancement, Inc. (S E I), 3920 N.
K erby A ve., fo r a series o f p u b lic
performances.
Producer Renee M itc h e ll calls
the play a “ choreopoem " because
it includes music, poetry, singing
and in te r p r e tiv e d a n ce . She
T riM e t bus and light-rail sched
ules for M arin Luther King Jr. Day.
Monday. Jan. 2 1 w ill be m odified
Io match rider demand.
Because ridership on the h o li
1
day is expected to decrease by 25
percent over a normal weekday, the
transportation agency is providing
more service than a typical holiday/
Sunday schedule.
Max trains w ill run on Saturday
schedule a n d 5 9 o f the most heavily-
traveled bus lines w ill run on week
day schedules. Eighteen bus routes
w ill run on Saturday schedule, and
11 weekday express lines w ill be
canceled.
For more inform ation on routes
and schedules, visit trimet.org or
call5()3-238-RIDE.
N
M A R K E T
Pfarmaat s
AT A R B O R
îr< in s fe ra Cp rCUS,° 'n e ml
9et a J jo « T r,p,i° n <S
k ■
LO DG E/
yigf /
CSrd.
ara a ra d ia r pkartrwuti
( < W c fill p r o s c r ip tio n s - in c lu d in g antibiotics,
h ig h b lo o d p re s s u re m e d ic a tio n s ,
a n ti- d e p re s s a n ts , b irth c o n tro l, a n d m o r e
W e h a v e k n o w le d g e a b le , frie n d ly p h a r m a c is ts
w h o h a v e th e tim e to s h a re in fo r m a tio n
i H I U I * X I I
O ur pi
■ c o m p e titiv e We a c c e p t m o s t
in s u r a n c e q ia n s a n d a re a d d in g o th e r s a s
re q u e s te d .
Michael E Harper
503-221-3050
Fax 503-227-8757
and U n ite d W ay, no adm ission
w ill be charged fo r the eight SEI
perform ances scheduled at 7
p.m . this Friday, Saturday and
Sunday, Jan. 18-20; and next
F rid a y, Saturday and Sunday,
Jan. 25-27. Sunday matinees at 3
p.m. are also scheduled Jan. 20
and Jan. £7.
Toguarantee seats, RSVP with
Christy at 503-249-1721 ex. 259.
NEW S E A S O N S
State Farm®
We moved to our new location at:
9713 S.W. Capitol, Portland, OR
hopes the scrip t serves as a w it
ness to e v e ry o n e 's s to ry , no
m atter the gender, race, re lig io n ,
language o r socio-econom ic sta
tus.
Past audiences have been in
spired to laugh out loud, even
w h ile being in fo rm e d about the
heavy subject m atter.
Thanks to sponsorships by Pa
c ific Power, M u ltn o m a h C ounty
TriMet Responds to MLK Day Demand
Providing Insurance and Financial Services
Home Office, Bloomington. Illinois 61710
As long as w ork starts by A p ril
or M ay as planned, he said, the
project w ould still be on schedule
fo r a 2009 opening. The foundation
is now w aiting for final permits from
the National Park Service.
The m em orial w ill sit on fo u r
acres along the edge o f the T id a l
B a sin , betw een the Je ffe rso n
M e m orial and L in co ln M em orial,
where the c iv il-rig h ts pioneer de
live re d his "I Have a D ream ”
speech in 1963. It w ill feature
stone carvings, a raised w a lkw a y
and stone w alls engraved w ith
K ing's quotes.
S E I H osts ‘ T a n g o in g ’ D r a m a
23rd Annual Tribute to
‘Keep Alive the Dream’
On the M artin Luther K ing Jr.
federal holiday. W orld Arts Foun-
dation, Inc. w ill present its 23rd-
annual tribute to the great A m e ri
can c iv il-rig h ts leader.
O rg a n iz e rs have c o lle c te d
about $87 m illio n o f the $ 100 m il
lio n budget and are a n ticip atin g
some m ajor fin a n cial announce
ments next m onth, said H arry
Johnson, president and c h ie f ex
ecutive o f the foundation o ve r
seeing the project, w hich w ill fea
ture a massive granite carving
bearing K in g ’s likeness.
W e s p e c ia liz e in c u s to m c o m p o u n d in g .
M e e t y o u r P lia r r n a t
ndg
Y O U R L O C A L L Y O W N E D . N E IG H B O R H O O D P H A R M A C Y A T A R B O R L O D G E
N I N T E R S T A T E A V E N U E «. P O R T L A N D E3LVD • 5 0 3 4 6 7 4 8 4 8
w w w n e w s e a s o n s m a rk e t.c o m • M O N FRI 9 a m 7 p m • S A T 9 a m 6 p m • S U N 1 0 a m 4 p m