Minority & Small Business Week
September 26, 2012
Page 17
Sickle Cell Awareness Month
Foundation
active in the
community
The Portland metro area’s Sickle
Cell Anemia Foundation serves the
State of Oregon and parts of south
west Washington with information
and education.
Volunteers who work with the
Oregon Chapter of Sickle Cell Dis
ease Association of America say as
far as they know there are no other
Sickle Cell foundations in the re
gion. The group has been active
since 1986 providing the following
services: Counseling, parent and
client education, care provider, and
community education, limited finan
cial support to those meeting the
foundation criteria, moral support,
advocacy between agencies and
support group meetings.
In the past, the foundation pro
vided free diagnostic testing, but
because of the economic downturn
needs donations to continue to of
fer this service. The foundation also
seeks funding for administrative
of the drug.
overhead to provide full-time office
There are some promising treat
support.
ments and new medical procedures
Sickle Cell Disease is a debilitat
that give hope. Patients are encour
ing disease and is still very much
aged to talk with their physicians
present affecting people in the com
about their own personal condition
munity and resulting in early death.
and treatment plans.
Although there is no known cure,
The local Sickle Cell Anemia
there is treatment. Many lives have
Foundation is on the frontline fight
been improved through hydrox
ing the fight and will keep the com
yurea and a few have reported suc
munity informed on what’s going
cess with bone marrow transplants.
on in this area.
Hydroxyurea is a chemotherapy
In the meantime, the group is
agent with potent effects on the
recruiting new board members and
bone marrow. The agent was used
community workers to share their
for many years to treat people with
professional skills, ideas, and com
certain malignancies before being
mitment to the foundation (no sickle
used for sickle cell disease. The
cell related knowledge is necessary)
primary side-effect of hydroxyurea
to help keep a commitment to people
is suppression of blood counts,
suffering this dreadful, painful and
particularly the white blood cells
life-threatening inherited blood dis
(neutropenia) and platelets (throm
order.
bocytopenia). Neutropenia and
Potential board members should
throm bocytopenia, respectively,
send
th eir
resum es
to
place patients at risk for infection
loelegance@aol.com or fax them to
and bleeding. Patients with sickle
503-252-9730to the attention of Pas
cell disease who require hydrox
tor Marcia Taylor. The group’s web
yurea therapy are best served by Riley Dews, 4, (le ft) a n d Tracy Dews, 8, are brothers who were bo th is sicklecellanemiaportland.com for
having their treatment coordinated born w ith sickle ce ll anem ia. A story in the New York Times te lls ab out those who wish to learn more about
by specialists familiar with the use m anaging th e ir d ise a se as a ro u tin e p a rt o f th e ir fa m ily life. Sickle Cell Anemia.
Knight Donates $125 million
OHSU receives
largest gift ever
Oregon Health & Science Uni
versity Monday announced a trans
formational gift of $ 125 million from
Nike co-founder and Chairman Phil
Knight and his wife Penny to ad
vance OHSU's world-class programs
in cardiovascular medicine and re
search.
The gift is the largest in the Port
land medical school’s history and
may likely be the largest private
contribution ever made by living
donors to benefit a single Oregon
organization. It is the Knights' sec
ond landmark gift to OHSU, follow
ing a 2008 pledge of $ 100 million that
advanced the OHSU Knight Cancer
Institute.
OHSU leaders said the gift will
establish the OHSU Cardiovascular
Institute, an integrated center for
translational research, clinical care,
professional training and outreach
in all aspects of heart and vascular
disease.
The institute's mission: to accel
erate new prevention, diagnostic
and treatment strategies being de
veloped in the laboratory and tran
sition them into patient care clinics
as Rapidly as possible.
U nder the u m brella o f a
multidisciplinary institute, OHSU will
pair researchers and clinicians to
gether on projects while also build
ing strategic partnerships with phar
maceutical and medical device devel
opers whocan extend OHSU's unique
expertise to more patients through
the global commercial marketplace.
Flu Shot Season Begins
Flu vaccine is now widely avail
able and health officials are recom
mending that everyone 6 months
and older get vaccinated early.
“We want people to get the vac
cine as soon as it’s available, which
means now,” said Dr. Alan Melnick,
Clark County health officer. “This
should provide protection if the flu
season comes early.”
Flu can occur at any time, but it
occurs prim arily from O ctober
through May. It takes about two
weeks after vaccination for antibod
ies to develop and provide protec
tion against the disease.
Flu shots remain the best de
fense for preventing flu-related ill
ness and missed days at school or
work.
DO YOU HAVE HEART
DISEASE?
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If you said yes to any o f these questions, EECP® may be the help you need.
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tion) to
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r a Schultz,
MD is
board-certified
• Clinically proven, non
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and/or congestive heart failure
• FDA-approved and covered
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www.hceecp.
*EECP® is performed on referral
and in conjunction w ith your
providers
• Being offered by leading medical centers
physician.
including the MAYO CLINIC, JOHNS-HOPKINS,
and in Portland at Heart Centers Of America
cardiologist and Fellow
of the American College
of Cardiology with over 30
lence and is the
years of expene
founder of
Heart Centers
of America
An Authorized t ECP Proedet