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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 1987)
Page 8 documents (all 3rd party Le. medicare, private insurance authorizations that are 30 days or older are hereby cancelled. 7) All school activity physicals must be provided in an IHS, tribal or urban clinic. This is not CHS Priority 1. (The Grand Ronde Tribe Health Clinic is open every Wednesday in addition to one Saturday per month. You must call for appointment) 8) Those living within 45 minutes transportation time, are required to receive routine health services through the Grand Ronde Health Clinic, Chemawa or the Portland Indian Health Clinic This is a mandatory requirement and will be strictly adhered to. 9) To agressively pursue payments from alternate resources on all CHS patients to offset costs to the CHS program. HEALTH NOTES i -- 1: The Polk County Health Department will conduct the next well child clinic on October 27, 1987 from 1 to 3:00 pan. The clinic is held at the Nazarene Church in Grand Ronde. For more information, call 623-8175. Are you interested in walking? Several Grand Ronde ladies have started walking weekdays at 930 ajn. If you are interested in Joining them, drop by the tribal cemetery. Seven and one quarter laps equal one mile and there is no traffic problem. The mall walker club is In full swing with over 500 members. Sponsored by Salem Hospital and the Lancaster Mall, the dub encourages exercise for everyone. The official hours are daily 8-10 ajn. Par ticipation packets are available at the Salem Hospital Community Relations Department of the Lancaster Mall Office, 8:00 ajn. to 5:00 pan. weekdays. The next Tribal Health Clinic Is on September 12, 1987. Please call for an appointment September 17, 1987 at 2:00 pjn., Myron George, counselor from Chemawa, will be here to speak on family violence. For more information, please call 879 5211. How many teaspoons of fatsugar are In a Big Gulp soda or 2 ounces of dry roasted peanuts? Find out at the Calorie Auction on Friday, October 9, 1987 at 10-30 ajn. Jean Charles-Azure, Chemawa Nutritionist will be at the Depot for the Class. PRIORITY HEALTH CARE Tribal members, please remember that the following priority changes have been mandated by Indian Health Service to cut costs at least for. the remainder of this fiscal year (to September 30, 1987). PLEASE CHECK THESE CHANGES BEFORE CALLING FOR PRE-AUTHORIZATION WHEN REQUESTING HEALTH SERVICES TO INSURE Tini SERVICE IS WITHIN CURRENT PRIORITY 1 FOR CHS. . 1) Delay CHS medical and dental services and refer rals that could be provided in the next fiscal year, which begins October 1, 1987. 2) Deny emergency room services for NON-EMERGENCY Care ( A determination as to whether the emergency visit was life threatening will be made at the time within 72 hours CHS Is notified of the visit) 3) Deny all non-emergency CHS services provided WITHOUT prior CHS authorization. 4) Eliminate eyeglass services for everyone for the remainder of FY87. 5) Eliminate non-prescription (over the counter) items from CHS. l " 7 I V I . 4 Young traditional dancers at 3rd Annual Pow wow IMPORTANT TIPS FOR GOOD SEPTIC TANK CARE Individual septic tank-soil absorption systems are most frequently used in rural areas and In some unsewered suburban residential areas. A septic tank system will serve a home satisfactorily only if it Is properly de signed, installed and adequately maintained. Even a good system which does not have proper care and attention may become a nuisance and a burdensome expense. Remember, a septic tank-soil absorption system which does not function properly frequently becomes a neighborhood health hazard. To obtain satisfactory service, the homeowner must know something about the design, operation and maintenance of his own septic tank system. Where It Is Impossible to connect a community sewer, the home buyer should satisfy himself that his septic tank soil absorption system is properly designed and installed to serve the anticipated number of occupants of the house. He should also be sure that the system is located where it is not likely to endanger water supply systems, and that the absorption system is capable of disposing of liquid wastes under year-round weather conditions. This information is usually available at your local health department When septic tank systems are improperly designed or maintained, liquid wastes may overflow to the ground surface or the plumbing In the home may often be stopped up. These overflows not only create offensive odors but are also a health hazard. Sewage may contain dysentery, infectious hepatitis, typhoid and para-typhoid or other infectious disease organisms. Ponded sewage creates breeding places for some kinds of mosquitoes and other insects. The purpose of a septic tank is primarily to condition household wastes, Including water from the laundry and the bath, discarded food scraps, and body wastes so that it may be more readily percolated Into the subsoil of the ground. The normal use of bleaches, detergents, soaps and drain cleaners does not harm or interfere with the operation of the system. A septic tank is a water tight structure in which organic solids are decomposed by natural bacterial processes. The flow of sewage is slowed in its passage through the tank so the large solids settle to the bottom and accumulate as sludge. Grease and lighter particles rise to the surface and form scum. 6) Seek to aggressively review and cancel open CHS Partto,,y treted 8wae' w eRluent nowln8 from the tank still contains large numbers of harmful bacteria and organic matter in a finely divided state or in solution. Foul odors, unsightly conditions and health hazards will develop if this effluent is ponded on the surface of the ground or carried away In open ditches. Final disposal of the effluent in a subsurface soil absorption system is necessary to avoid these problems. The bacteria present in a tank are able to thrive in the absence of oxygen. Such decomposition in the absence of air is called "septic", which led to the naming or the tank. Solids and scum are digested and reduced to a smaller volume by the bacteria in the tank. However, a residue of Inert solid material remains which must be stored during the interval between tank cleanings. There are no known chemicals, yeasts, bacteria, enzymes or other substances capable of eliminating or reducing the solids and scum in a septic tank so that periodic cleaning is unnecessary. The addition of such products is not necessary for the proper functioning of a septic tank soil absorption system. To facilitate cleaning and maintenance, the homeowner should have a diagram of his septic tank system, showing the location of the house, the septic tank manholes, the piping and the soil absorption system. This information should be kept on the premises, regardless of a change in occupancy. Septic tanks and soil absorption systems frequently are damaged when heavy trucks or other equipment drive over them. An accurate diagram of the system enables the homeowner to keep heavy vehicles away from the critical area. A line of cast iron pipe instead of tile should be installed under any necessary crossings for heavy vehicles. Neglect of the septic tank, however, Is the most frequent cause of damage to soil absorption systems. When the tank Is not cleaned, solids build up until they are carried into the underground soil absorption system, where they block the flow of the liquid into the soil. When this happens, the soil absorption system must be rebuilt a costly undertaking. The precautions of periodic inspection and cleaning oT the tank prevent this needless expense and work. Indian Health Service recommends cleaning the septic tank every two years for a home with four or more occupants and every three years for smaller households.
