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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 13, 2019)
February 13, 2019 Page 15 Foster Care Provider Guilty C ontinueD from p age 3 eral government for foster care services in the black community, including hiring and screening foster parents for community placements, compensating foster parents for services and placing foster children in residential or group homes. From 2009 through 2015, Ayala exercised sole and com- plete control over the Give Us This Day finances, officials said. No other employee or board member had access to the or- ganization’s bank accounts or statements during this time. With no internal controls in place, Ayala wrote checks, used the foster home’s debit card and withdrew cash at will, using the organization’s bank accounts as her own, authorities said. Additionally, she used the mon- ey to fund other business ventures including a media company and Big Mary’s, a fish and ribs restau- rant in Portland, and to purchase and flip a commercial property, officials said. In total, Ayala was found guilty of stealing nearly $1 million. As a result, her employees, foster par- ents and foster children in her care suffered tremendously, officials said. Children from the residential center and house managers com- plained about a lack of basic ne- cessities, including but not limited to food, toiletries and cleaning supplies. Ayala will be sentenced on May 29 by U.S. District Court Judge Marco A. Hernandez. A Long History of Health Disparities C ontinueD from p age 5 icans in medicine, the National Medical Association. Forty years after Williams made history by performing one of the first open-heart surgeries in the US, African American physician Dr. Myra Adele Logan became the first woman to perform the proce- dure in 1943. It was thought to be the ninth time the procedure had been performed worldwide. Dr. Charles Drew pioneered methods of storing blood plasma for transfusion and organized the first large-scale blood bank in the US during World War II. Drew, who was African American, helped develop a blood storage program at the American Red Cross but resigned shortly after officials segregated the blood of African Americans. He later became chief surgeon at Freedman’s Hospital and the first black examiner for the American Board of Surgery. In 1993, Dr. Joycelyn Elders became the first black female phy- sician appointed as US Surgeon General by President Bill Clinton, who previously, as governor of Arkansas, appointed her as direc- tor of the that state’s Department of Health in 1987. Advertise with diversity in The Portland Observer Call 503-288-0033 or email ads@portlandobserver.com State Farm R Michael E Harper Agent Providing Insurance and Financial Services Home Office, Bloomingon, Illinois 61710 We are located at: 9713 S.W. Capitol, Portland, OR 503-221-3050 • Fax 503-227-8757 michael.harper.cuik@statefarm.com Harris Photography 503-730-1156 Your Home Photo Sessions $158.00 2-8x10 & 10-4x6 antonioharris.com
