Smoke Signals 7
Tribe's New Nurse Navigator Is Ready To "Help People"
MARCH 1,2007
By Toby McClary
Tribal member Mary Loy has
recently taken on a position with
the Tribe's Health and Wellness
Department as the Nurse Naviga
tor. Loy has served local commu
nities as a Registered Nurse and a
Community Health Nurse for the
last 17 years.
Loy began working for the Tribe
in mid-November and explained
that she was approached over a
year ago by Dr. Pratt who asked
her to come aboard. After Tribal
Council approved the Tribe's clinic
to move forward with the naviga
tor program, Loy was hired and is
looking forward to working with
the Tribe.
"I am honored to be part of this pro
gram to help our Native people and all
patients of the Grand Ronde Health
and Wellness Center," said Loy.
As part of the Northwest Tribal
Cancer Navigator Program (NTC
NP), which has been operating
since 2003 at the Puyallup Tribal
Health Authority and the Yakama
Indian Health Center, Loy helps
patients who have already been
diagnosed with cancer or have had
an abnormal screening.
As written in a description of the
program by Loy,-the NTCNP is
a community-based intervention
addressing barriers to timely, qual-
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Tribal member & Nurse Navigator Mary Loy
ity cancer diagnosis and care for
American Indians. The overall goal
of the NTCNP is to reduce delays of
cancer diagnosis.
To help with the NTCNP, native
communities hire navigators to
help patients through what can be
considered a very hard time. The
responsibilities of the navigator, in
this case, Loy, is to make sure that
individuals receive a proper diagno
sis and cancer treatment if needed.
Navigators have special training in
order to help people with their can
cer care. Some of Ixjy's duties as a
navigator include helping patients
understand cancer information,
manage medications, find financial
resources, find transportation or
communicate with doctors.
Loy explained that one does not
need a referral to meet with her.
If someone believes they might
have cancer, receives an abnormal
screening or just wants more in
formation about cancer, they may
contact her to schedule an appoint
ment. She also stated that the
program is available to all patients
of the Grand Ronde Health and
Wellness Center and to all Tribal
members who live in the estab
lished service areas of Washington,
Yamhill, Polk, Multnomah, Marion
and Tillamook counties and are in
need of navigator services.
Iioy graduated from Linfield Col
lege with a Bachelor of Science and
Nursing Degree. She has shared her
nursing expertise with many Native
communities along the way. She
worked for the Confederated Tribes
of Siletz at their Portland office as
well as on the reservation. She also
worked as a Community Health
Nurse for Multnomah County and
spent seven years as the Nurse Co
ordinator for the Breast and Cervi
cal Cancer Program at the Native
American Rehabilitation Associa
tion (NARA).
"It was a great experience," said
Loy. "I just love to help people."
After her stint with NARA, she
decided it was time for a change.
Loy resigned from her position
because she felt she needed to be
home with her family more.
After some time off and an offer to
work on her own reservat ion, it was
time for Ixy to return back to work.
"Being able to give back to my peo
ple in any way possible," she said, "is
just a really good feeling."
Tribal Member Serves As Captain Of Hockey Team
By Toby McClary
Tribal member Cory Bradley has
big ambitions as a hockey player.
Bradley, 18, has just finished his
second year of playing with the
Sherwood High School team.
Bradley explained that he moved
to Sherwood with some friends
about four years ago and began
playing "pick-up" games of hockey
in his spare time.
"The people I moved up there
with were playing so I decided to
play also," said Bradley. "We were
playing at the Sherwood Ice Arena
about four or five times a week."
Although Bradley originally
wanted to play in an adult league,
one thing was holding him back;
his age. But his age would not be
a factor in one of the other leagues
of the fast-growing sport of hockey
which is constantly looking for
bright, young talent.
One of Bradley's friends was
playing in a high school league,
the Oregon High School Hockey
League (OHSHL), and told Brad
ley that he should tryout. He
then met with the OHSHL Board
of Directors and met all of their
requirements. He went to the
league's first practice and was se
lected by Sherwood High School.
The OHSHL season begins in
September and wraps up in Febru-
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Here, Bradley participates in the 2006-2007 High School All-Star game held at the Memorial
Coliseum in Portland on January 27, 2007 before the Portland Winter Hawk game.
ary with a playoff season that runs
through the month of March.
Bradley explained that as a sec
ond year player, he was selected as
the Team Captain.
"There's not a big difference but I
get a kick out of being the captain,"
he said.
One of Bradley's biggest accom
plishments, since becoming a hockey
player, is when he was selected to
play for the High School All-Star
Team. He explained that three of the
best players from each team in the
league are selected and split up into
two separate teams of which play
each other in an All-Star game.
On January 27, 2007, Bradley
and his All-Star team
played at the Memo
rial Coliseum in Port
land directly before a
Portland Winter Hawks
game. Unfortunately,
Bradley's team lost that
night, 7-5, but he ex
plained that the experi
ence was "awesome,"
Also, Bradley's interest
in hockey carries into his
occupation. He current
ly works at Northwest
Skate Authority (NSA)
in Sherwood. NSA is a
retail store located in
the Sherwood Ice Arena
and specializes in ice
skatinghockey gear in
cluding hockey sticks
and skates. Bradley ex
plained that he knows a
lot of the Winter Hawk
players on a personal
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Tribal member Cory Bradley
level because they come to NSA to
buy their sticks.
On February 19, Bradley and the
Sherwood High School hockey team
fell to Skyview in the first round of
this year's playoffs.
Unfortunately, this was Bradley's
final season playing in the OHSHL
due to the league's age require
ments. But that does not mean that
Bradley is done playing hockey. He
still has high hopes to one day play
for a college and maybe even play
minor league hockey.
"I want to play in college," he said,
"because that's when you get noticed.
I clon't know about the NHL (Na
tional Hockey League) but I want to
at least play junior hockey." D '