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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (June 15, 2009)
Smoke Signals 3 JUNE 15,2009 Skookum Health Plan benefit update effective July 1, 2009 There will be an emergency room benefit change to the Skookum Health Plan occurring on July 1, 2009. Currently, the health plan covers a non-emergency visit to the emergency room with a 50 per cent co-insurance; after July 1, 2009, non-urgentnon-emergent use of the emergency room will no longer be a covered benefit. Tribal members who go to an emergency room to receive nonurgentnon-emergent services will be responsible for the entire charge. The reason for this change is over utilization of the emergency room. Many of the claims received from emergency room visits are for services that should be received through a physician's office or an urgent care setting. For non-emergency service, the average cost of an emergency room visit is close to $500, while the same service in a provider's office or urgent care setting is only around $100. Use of the emergency room for non-urgentnon-emergent services results in higher costs to the Tribe. If you or someone you know is in need of medical attention and you do not know if you should go to the emergency room or not, take the time to contact the 24-hour Nurse Line at 800-970-7138 or your personal physician. If you are instructed to seek services at the emergency room by the Nurse Line or by your physician's office, it will be covered by the Skookum Health Plan. If you have questions about this important benefit change, contact Barbara Steere at 503-879-2487 or Jim Holmes at 503-879-2221. D Presentation to discuss HPV, cervical cancer An informational presentation called "All You Need to Know About HPV & Cervical Cancer" will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Monday, June 29, in Adult Education Room 126 A & B. Kathleen Marquart (TlingitHaida) will discuss the HPV vaccine and its effect on possible contraction of cervical cancer for Tribal and community youth between 9 and 18 years of age. There will be dinner and prizes provided. To attend, contact Toni Mercier at 503-879-2101. For more information, contact Tribal Cancer Navigator Jasen Henderson at 503-879-1395 or 503-883-3497. D OomiaDoirDs mieedled The Grand Ronde Community Resource Center has a few fundraisers and other projects planned this year and is seeking donations, etc., for the fol lowing: Spaghetti Feed and Auction in September: Seeking donated items for a live and silent auction andor food donations for the meal. The center will provide documentation of your donation for tax purposes. Community Cookbook: Looking for your favorite recipe. If you have a recipe you'd like to share, please e-mail it to grcrchotmail.com or mail to GRCRC, P.O. Box 55, Grand Ronde, OR 97347. Please include the name of dish, recipe, your name for publication in the cookbook and a phone number to contact you if there are any questions. The center will advertise sale of the Community Cookbook as soon as they become available. Food Preservation: The center is still seeking food dehydrators for its food preservation program. If you have one you'd like to donate, please e mail or call and leave a message at 503-879-5731. Coupon Program: The center is looking for food and non-food item cou pons for its coupon program. PKm fir V.-. 7 They wainiti to be shti nirag ffir mray job' Stimulus funding helps Tribal Natural Resources' projects In May, Oregon Tribes and counties received $2.5 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in sup port of three projects aimed at fighting invasive species the Oregon Youth Employment Initiative, wildland fire manage ment and prioritizing fuel reduction efforts In forests. Of that, the Grand Ronde Tribe received $32,000 to support summer Youth Crew programs. For Grand Ronde, that meant seven new positions for this summer's crews. NATURAL continued from front page added features to the program that would benefit student workers in many ways. These days, high school students earn $8.40 an hour to participate in a program that builds trails through reservation lands, but also works at "challenge courses, where they climb ropes and balance on high wires" for physical experi ence, visit colleges, feed educational ambitions and acquire job skills, Dirksen said. "It's important for them to see that they want to be shooting for my job, not just building trails for the rest of their lives," Dirksen said. "They're going to need to get a college degree, so we do tours of college campuses." One of the great things with the physical challenge course, Dirksen said, is that they often even the playing field for youth whose skills are outside of the usual sports team skills. "We want them to know what a job is like," Dirksen said, "how it's different than school, and we give them a taste of the natural resources field. "Now, our turnover is really low." "I felt like I could make a career out of it," said Tribal member Win ston Mercier, who spent the last two summers in the program. "I found out I really enjoyed it. It was almost like a natural for me. What they told me to do, I enjoyed doing, and I had no problems doing it. I felt like it was a smart choice for me to work there." The program has grown from barely filling out a single work crew to this year having three crews of eight each. "We may still have to turn some kids away," Dirksen said. "I liked working outdoors," said Tribal member Jack Ham, who with his brother and fellow Tribal member Joe, were in the program last year. "I like being with nature. I like the teamwork. With people my own age." "I really enjoyed it," said Joe Ham, who has applied for the program again this year. "I never had much experience where you feel like you're part of something. I really remember that was the best experience. We got a lot of things done, but at the same time I felt like I gained more than what I thought I would in the beginning." Also this year, youth crew ap plicants are getting job interview training in preparation for their interview for the position. "Even if they don't get the job," Dirksen said, "they will be better prepared." "The program was recognized for its accomplishments in both natural resource conservation and its educational component as well as for the support of the program by each of the work sponsors," re ported Oregon Youth Conservation Corps Director John E. Asher. Tribal Council has increased funding for this 12-year-old pro gram seven-fold over the years, Dirksen said. "1 really would want to stress that way back when we started build ing our program, and got so much interest from the community, all it took was to say that there was this need in the community and Tribal Council stepped up. I'm eternally grateful for the Tribe giving us that opportunity." D
