News
Women
UNCF Fair
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‘Politicians must put aside
partisan bickering, advocate
for women, and take action to
improve women’s health by
moving forward with a
proactive health equity
agenda’
— Alliance for a Just Society
Executive Director LeeAnn Hall
nificant, and that even the two states that received A’s in
every area could improve.
“In 28 states, the uninsured rate for black women was at
least 10 percent higher than for women overall; in 17 states,
it was at least 20 percent higher,” according to the report.
“The disparities were even wider for Latina women: in 49
states, the uninsured rate for Latina women was at least 20
percent higher than for women overall; in 44 states, it was
at least 50 percent higher; and in 18 states, it was at least
twice as high.”
Specifically, the report called out the hypertension rate for
Black women nationally; the diabetes rate for Latina
women; asthma rates for Native American women; and the
infant mortality rate for Black, Hispanic and Native Amer-
PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED
Those with the worst scores by and large are states that
refused President Barack Obama’s offer of expanded
Medicare coverage, including Texas (#50), Montana (#49),
Georgia (#48), and Florida (#47); Nevada (#46) did expand
federal coverage.
The study tracks racial disparities in community health as
they are impacted in three areas: health coverage for
women; women’s access to care; and women’s health out-
comes.
This year’s report indicated racial disparities remain sig-
Omari Fletcher 17, Ilea Roberts, 16, Janelle Brown 16 and George Harris III, 16, talk with a
representative from Clark Atlanta University during the United Negro College Fund Black College
Fair 2014, Saturday, Oct. 18, at the Northwest African American Museum.
ican women.
“This report card shows Oregon has an average record on
women’s health. Though this is better than a failing grade,
it’s not nearly good enough for women and the families that
depend on them, and especially for women of color,” said
Darlene Huntress, executive director of Oregon Action.
“These grades should serve as an urgent call to action for
Oregon leaders,” she said. “It’s time to get past political
gridlock and take concerted action to improve women’s
health.”
The report includes a detailed list of policy recommenda-
tions, including: Implement Medicare expansion in all
states that have failed to do it; invest in community-based
outreach and insurance enrollment strategies targeted
towards women of color and low-income communities; and
push for better competition and oversight on health plans
offered through the marketplace.
Read the rest of this story online at www.theskanner.com
OSU
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instrumental in highway construction and
road improvement projects.
Tebeau was responsible for mapping
many Oregon cities, counties and urban
areas. He also served as an engineering
instructor at Chemeketa Community Col-
lege most of his life.
Among his many professional and civic
honors, Tebeau was inducted into OSU’s
“Engineering Hall of Fame” and received
the College of Engineering’s “Oregon
Stater Award” in 2010. He was also recog-
nized by the Oregon Northwest Black
Pioneers for his contributions to Oregon.
A well-known family man, Tebeau and his
wife Genevieve had seven children. Their
family grew to 13 grandchildren and eight
great, great grandchildren. Tebeau died on
‘Bill dedicated his time to helping each of us
prepare for the exam and challenged us to be
better engineers and to continue learning’
July 5, 2013 in Salem. Genevieve Tebeau
and daughters Deni Williams and Janine
Roland attended the event.
At the ceremony where over 100 people
gathered, OSU President Ed Ray, remem-
bered Tebeau as a humble man of great
accomplishments.
“Bill Tebeau is clearly an outstanding
example of the exceptional impact our
alumni make every day,” said President
Ray. “He was a proud member of Beaver
Nation throughout his life.”
Ray reminded the audience of Bill
Tebeau’s motto: “Make it a great day,” with
an emphasis on Make. Tebeau’s motto is
posted in large letters in the entry way of the
new building.
Paul Mather, ODOT’s Highway Division
Administrator, also remembered Tebeau at
the ceremony.
“I remember meeting Bill early in my
career as many of my OSU classmates and I
were studying to pass the professional engi-
neering exam,” said Mather. “Bill dedicated
his time to helping each of us prepare for
the exam and challenged us to be better
engineers and to continue learning through-
out our careers.”
Tebeau Hall has housing for 280 students
in suites and apartment-like rooms with
many conveniences, including modern
kitchen and laundry facilities and a student
health clinic.
This is the second Residence Hall at OSU
to be named in recognition of an African-
American. In 2002, the university opened
Halsell Hall in honor of Carrie Beatrice
Halsell (Ward), the first Black female stu-
dent to graduate from OSU in 1926. Born in
Salem, Oregon, Halsell earned her degree in
Commerce and served as a faculty member
at South Carolina State College.
Absences
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“Missed days means missed learning,
leading to lower test scores and a reduced
likelihood of graduating from high school,”
the report says. “In a recent study, Oregon
kindergarteners or first graders with high
absenteeism rates were not likely to catch
up to their peers’ test scores by 5th grade.
“Oregon cannot meet its ambitious gradu-
ation goals, or eliminate the achievement
gap, without addressing chronic absen-
teeism.”
Tackling the problem means looking at
the reasons behind the absences. The report
says children miss school for many reasons.
Some children face barriers to attending
such as lack of transportation; chronic ill-
nesses such as asthma, anxiety, depression
and other mental health issues; fear of bul-
lying and lack of healthcare. Some students
don’t want to attend school because they are
‘Missed days means missed learning, leading to
lower test scores and a reduced likelihood of
graduating from high school’
uncomfortable in the environment, the
instruction doesn’t engage them or because
they are struggling academically. And some
parents simply don’t realize that absences
are a problem even if they’re for a good rea-
son.
Frequent moves, unstable housing and
poor housing conditions are connected to
increased absences, the report found, along
with a history of traumatic events in the
family and parents who suffer from depres-
sion.
“Recent research is examining how one or
more adverse childhood experience such as
residential instability, parental divorce or
separation, witnessing domestic violence,
involvement with child protective services,
jailed family members, substance abuse
among family members, community vio-
lence, having unmet basic needs, mental
and physical disorders among family mem-
bers, and caregiver death put children at a
risk of severe attendance problems, aca-
demic failure, severe school behavior
concerns, and frequent reported poor health.
Children in these circumstances experience
regular emotional pain, may become
aggressive, and are closed to new learning –
all behaviors that can result in misunder-
standings among educators and other
caregivers.”
Oregon’s high rate of child hunger is also
a major concern, the report says.
“In 6-12 year olds, a lack of food has been
associated with absenteeism, as well as
poorer math scores, grade repetition, and
tardiness,” it says. “In Oregon, 16 percent
(1 in 26) of households with children are
food insecure or hungry. This means that
potentially on average across all schools at
least one child in every Oregon classroom
does not know where they will get their next
meal.
Read the rest of this story online at
www.theskanner.com
October 22, 2014 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Page 3