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C om m unity Health News
Report details reservation health trends
By Dave McMechan
Spilyay Tymoo
Indian Health Service and
tribal H ealth and H um an
Service officials discussed
the annual H ealth System
R eport for the reservation
last week with Tribal Coun
cil. ,
D ata in the report shows
trends in health care on the
reservation. T he following
are some examples o f these
trends:
, Total patients served at
the clinic has risen steadily
over recent years. “Trends
have remained stable... with
approximately two-thirds o f
patients being Warm Springs
tribal members and approxi
mately two-thirds o f patients
residing on the Warm Springs
R ese rv a tio n ,” th e r e p o r t
states.
From 2008 to 2011 (the
m ost recent year for which
data is available): “There has
been a small increase in pa
tients w ho are Warm Springs
tribal members and a slight
decrease in patients w ho are
members o f other tribes or
w ho have no tribal affilia
tion.”
The Warm Springs clinic
serves all m em bers o f the
C o n fe d e ra te d T rib es o f
Warm Springs. The clinic will
serve other federally-recog
nized tribal m em bers w ho
reside in counties th at are
immediately adjacent to the
reservation: This w ould in
clude, for instance, Jefferson
C ounty b u t n o t D eschutes
County,
“Between 2008 and 2011,
we saw an increase o f ap
proxim ately 3.7 p ercent o f
patients w ho reside on the
Warm Springs Reservation,”
the report states. “As o f 2011,
over 85 percent o f patients
resided either on the reserva
tio n o r in th e M a d ra s /
R edm ond/B end area.”
O ther inform ation in the
report:
T h e la rg e st ag e-g ro u p
among tribal members is the
20-24 year-olds, followed by
the 25-29 year-olds. Together,
these two' groups make up
about 22 percent o f the mem
bership.
The next largest groups (in
order) are the 5-9 year-olds
(a b o u t 10.1 p e rc e n t); 0-4
year-olds (9.9 percent); 10-14
year-olds (9.8 percent); and
15-19 year-olds (8.2 percent).
“The Confederated Tribes
has a higher percentage o f its
p o p u latio n in younger age
groups, and fewer persons in
older age groups, than the
U.S.. general and (other) N a
tive American populations,”
the report states.
O n the o th er hand, the
n u m b er o f clinic visits by
patients over 40 has increased
m ore than the num ber for
younger patients. As an inter
pretation o f this, the report
says:-“The num ber o f indi
viduals in th e over-40 age
group has grown in propor
tio n to th e y o u n g e r age
groups over the past several
years.”
T he average life expect
ancy among residents o f the
reservation rem ains signifi
cantly sh o rter than th at o f
the general U.S. population.
The average life expectancy
in the U.S. is 78.7 years. The
average life expectancy on
the reservation in recent years
has been in the low 50s.
The report lists the lead
ing causes o f death among the
reservation population. The
m o st recent data indicates
that chronic liver disease and
cirrhosis in 2011 became the
leading cause o f death among
the membership.
This was the first year that
liver disease-cirrhosis was the
leading cause o f death. In
earlier years accidents were
the leading cause o f death.
Accidents remain the second-
leading cause o f death.
Diabetes has rem ained a
leading cause o f death. Can
cer and stroke are also among
the top-five leading causes o f
death. The report offers the
following interpretation:
“A ccid en tal d eath s had
b een th e leading cause o f
death since the 1950s. Rates
o f ^accidental d e a th s are
g radually declinifig. Since
2001, the rate o f m otor ve
hicle accidents has decreased
significantly, likely due to the
passage o f the Tribal Seat-
Belt law.
“Rates o f death related to
cirrhosis, diabetes, cancer and
stroke are climbing. M ost sig
nificant is that cirrhosis is now
the leading cause o f death.
D eath from cirrhosis is 15
times more comm on among
the Warm Springs people than
for other Americans. Cirrho
sis is also a major contribu
tor to early death. The aver
age age o f those dying with
cirrhosis in 2011 was only 40
years old. Alcohol abuse and,
hepatitis C infection are the
major contributors to this dis
ease.
“D iab etes is a grow ing
concern. The majority o f pa
tients with diabetes died from
related heart disease or kid
ney failure. This remains an
area that needs emphasis for
our local population. We can
combat this through healthier
diets and increased physical
activity, reducing thé number
o f o v erw eig h t an d o b ese
people in our community.”
Community Counseling remodel almost done
By Dave McMechan
Spilyay Tymoo
' B e interior o f the old girls
dorm has been totally rem od
eled. The remodeling work
includes new paint and car
peting, and a new air condi
tioning system. F rom the
basem ent to the top floor the
building has been totally re
furbished.
“T h e w ork is a b o u t 95
percent done,” said Caroline
C ru z, d ire c to r o f trib a l
Health and H um an Services.
‘W e need to get the phone
system installed, and there
are som e cosm etic details
before the final inspection.”
T he old girls dorm houses
the Comm unity Counseling
Center. During the remodel
ing, the C ounseling C enter
sta ff have been at various
tem porary locations around
the campus. Some are at the
Family R esource C enter, a
modular unit by the Family
R esource C en ter, and the
house by the old boys dorm,
n e x t to th e trib a l p u b lic
defender’s office.
The plan is for the Com
Dave McMechan/Spilyay
The interior of the Community Counseling Center has
been completely remodeled. When the center reopens in
January, there will be a central reception area in the
room at the top of the stairs.
munity Counseling employees
to m ove back to the girls’
dorm building at the start o f
the new year, Cruz said. This
will be a big; move, as there
are 26 people on staff.
T he rem odeling pro ject
was paid for through grant
money and funding from In
dian H ealth Services. T h e
remodel grant also included
funding for the new w are
house by the clinic.
Total cost o f both projects
is about $1.3 million. A bout
$600,000 went to the Com
m unity C ounseling C enter
IA f in a l touch fo r
the building may
be wall murals by
local artists.
remodel,, Cruz said. The new
air conditioning system was a
big expense, she said.
The new air conditioning
will be a great improvement.
The top floor would get very
h ot in the summer while the
ground floor was cool. With
the new system, each floor
will have its own temperature
control.
There is better security for
the building, and better handi
cap access. T here will be a
central reception area, so the
side doors can remain locked.
The need for the remodel
was recognized several years
ago. In 2005 form er director
Jim Quaid submitted a grant
application for the project.
The application was updated
and re-su b m itted in 2009,
when Cruz came on board as
director.
T h e re w as so m e delay
when if was determined that
lead paint and asbestos had
to b e re m o v e d fro m th e
building. There was another
delay in dealing with the fed
eral regulations regarding his
toric buildings.
“We had funding in 2009
but couldn’t start construction
until earlier this year,” said
Cruz.
A final touch for the build
ing will be wall murals by lo
cal artists. There is no budget
fo r th is, b u t C o m m u n ity
Counseling couldprovide the
supplies. A rtists w ould be
asked to “adopt a wall,” Cruz
said.
Page 7 Spilyay Tymoo
December 12, 2012
Mobile clinic
arriving in spring
A m obile clinic will
begin serving tribal m em
bers during the first part
o f the new year.
The mobile clinic will
allow health workers to
visit outlying com m uni
ties such as Sim nasho,
Seekseequa and Sidwalter.
The clinic could also be
used for special visits to
locations like the Early
C h ild h o o d E d u c a tio n
Center.
Depending on the na
ture o f the visit, the m o
bile clinic will be staffed
by a physician or nurse
practitioners. There may
also be a dental com po
n e n t to the clinic, said
Caroline Cruz, director o f
tribal Health and Human
Services.
T h è m obile clinic is
currently being custom
ized to the specifications
identified by the tribes.
Cost o f the unit is about
$300,000,
fu n d ed
th ro u g h
co m m u n ity
healthcare programs. The
mobile clinic is a coopera
tive project o f the Com
munity Health Program,
the Joint Health Commis
sion, tribal H ealth and
H um an Services and the
Indian Health Service.
“I
ap p la u d
this
p ro je c t,” said T rib al
C o u n cilm an
A u stin
Greene. There are com
m u n ity m e m b e rs w h o
have a difficult time mak
ing the trip to the clinic,
he said, and the m obile
unit will be a great benefit
to them.
The idea for a mobile
clinic serving the reserva
tion began about three
years ago, Cruz said. At
the time; the community
w as re sp o n d in g to the
H1N1 flu outbreak. There
was an im minent need to
serve elders and others in
the outlying communities,
C ruz said. C om m unity
health workers began the
grant process, and secured
the necessary funding.
T h e m o b ile clinic
sh o u ld arriv e by th e
spring, C ruz re p o rte d .
O ther news from the re7
cent community health re
port to Tribal Council:
Dr. Rudd comm ented
that the clinic has started
a successful literacy pro
gram , w here physicians
give books to children
who visit the clinic. There
is a direct correlation be
tween literacy and health,
Rudd said. Also:
T h e clin ic re c e n tly
dedicated the1 exercise trail
by the clinic, and opened
the Child Abuse Interven
tion Center.
Veterans drop-in center
planned for campus
A drop-in center for vet
erans, and a new building for
Victims o f Crime Services,
are two added benefits that
will happen when the Com
m unity C ounseling C enter
re-opens early,next year.
Some o f the Counseling
C e n te r s ta ff h av e b e e n
working from the house lo
cated b y jh e old boys’ dorm.
This is a three-bedroom
one-bath modular hom e that
is in very good condition.
T he building will be dedi-
■ cated to local veterans, said
Caroline Cruz, director o f
trib al H ealth and H um an
Services.,
The hom e will be available
for veterans w ho need a tem
porary place to stay. There
may also be a staff perspn
on site to assist with veterans
matters.
Some o f the Community
Counseling employees have
been working out o f a m odu
lar u n it by the Fam ily R e
source Center. This unit will
be pro v id ed to V ictim s o f
Crim e Services, said C ruz.
VOCS is currently w orking
from a house on campus that
eventually will be removed.
WARM SPRINGSTELECOM
Flu arrives on the reservation
T he flu has reached Warm
Springs. There have been re
cent confirmed cases o f in
fluenza on the reservation,
Community Health reports.
Influenza is caused by a
virus that is spread mainly by
droplets made w hen people
with flu cough, sneeze or talk.
These droplets can land in
th e m o u th s o r n o ses o f
p eople w ho are nearby, or
possibly be inhaled into the
lungs. Less often, a person
might also get flu by touch
ing a surface or object that
has flu virus on it and then
touching their own m outh or
nose.
To avoid th is, p e o p le
should wash their hands of-
L.
ten with soap and water. I f
soap and water are not avail
able, use an alcohol-based
hand rub.
People w ho have thè flu
often feel some or all o f these
symptoms:
• Fever o r feeling fever
is h / chills.
• Cough, sore throat, runny
or stuffy nose.
• Muscle or body aches,
headaches, fatigue (tiredness).
• Some people may have
v o m itin g an d d ia rrh e a ,
though this is m ore comm on
in children than adults.
M ost people with the flu
have mild illness and do not
need medical care or antivi
ral drugs.
I f you get sick w ith flu
symptoms, in m ost cases, you
should stay hom e until your
fever is gone for 24 hours.
A void c o n ta c t w ith o th e r
people except to get medical
cate.
If, h o w ev er, y o u have
symptoms o f flu and are very
sick or w orried about your
illness, contact your health
care provider.
C o m m u n ity
H e a lth
nurses will be offering flu
vaccines at the Early Child
h o o d E ducation C enter and
at W arm Springs E lem en
tary this week. Stop by the
fro n t desk o f E C E o r the
school to pick up a consent
packet.
V
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High 222
Lookee
Lod
Assisted Living Facility
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2321 Ollallie Lane CPO Box 6)
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Cal I 541-553-1182