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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2016)
APRIL 1, 2016 S moke S ignals 17 Opiods Q & A What is this medicine for? Opioids (also called narcotics) are medicines for pain that can treat short-term (acute) or long-term (chronic) pain. What should opioids do for me? Opioids lessen how much pain you feel by changing the way your brain interprets your pain. They will not take pain away completely. They might take extreme pain and make it pain you can deal with. The goal of using opioids is to lessen your pain enough for you to do your usual daily tasks. What can I take instead of opioids? Acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) and naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn) are examples of non-opioid pain medicines. Medita- tion, yoga, Qi Gong, exercise, physical therapy and other body-aware- ness methods also can help. Some anti-depressant or anti-anxiety medications may help, too. Talk to your doctor about your options. What are the risks? If you take opioids for a long time, your body may become tolerant, or used to, the medication, and it may take more medicine to have the same effect. It is also possible that you may become dependent, which means you might feel worse than usual if you stop taking the opioids suddenly. This is different from addiction, which is when you feel the need or urge to take more medication than you and your doctor agreed. What conditions or other drugs can make opioids work differently or be more dangerous to me? If you have asthma, kidney, liver or lung disease, sleep apnea, stomach disorders, head injury or if you have ever abused or been ad- dicted to other drugs, opioids may be more dangerous for you to take. If you are taking certain drugs, they might interact with your opioids. These could be medications for sleep, anxiety, depression, allergies or muscle relaxants. These could also include herbal or di- etary supplements, over-the-counter drugs, homeopathic medicines or street drugs. Talk to your doctor to figure out if you are at risk. Where should I keep my medicine? Always store your medications in a secure location where children or others can’t get to it. If you don’t need your medications anymore, please drop them off at a local take-back site or your local police station. Community Health Program Medical Transport Services Medical transportation services are available to Tribal members within the six-county service area when an alternate means of transportation is not available. Advance notice required. Please call 503-879-2078 to schedule a reservation. Submitted photo From left, Cheyenne LaBonte, Sheila Blacketer, Ashley Langley and Jerry King participate in a recent cooking class put on by the Tribe’s Dental Department and funded through an Indian Health Service grant that is attempting to create a network of local families who will help each other consume good food. Dental Cooking The Dental Department received an Indian Health Service grant referred to as an HP/DP (Health Promotion/Disease Prevention) grant. This is a grant we routinely apply for on an annual basis. We decided to apply this year for one centered around nutrition. Dr. Erin Lange wrote the grant and entitled it ɬush məkʰmək Project, which is Chinuk wawa for “good food.” The grant provided a cooking set containing pots, pans, utensils, cutting board, measuring cups and spoons, kitchen towels, food storage bags and containers, mixing bowls and oven mitts. We partner with young families that we currently see along with our Early Head Start Home Visitors Shawn Bobb and Shelley Clift. We look for recipes with ingredients that are healthy and easily obtainable in this area. The idea is to create a network of families who are supporting one another through sharing recipes, preparing food and enjoying the meal together. The response so far has been positive and we want to extend a thanks for the support from the two families who participated. Sheila Blacketer, RDH Prevention Coordinator State-Sponsored Health Care Coverage Recertification If you receive information from your state-sponsored health care cover- age notifying you of recertification, it is very important that your recertify. If you do not recertify, you risk a lapse in your coverage. The Skookum Health Assistance Program is a payer of last resort. If you have or are eligible for any other coverage, including local, state, federal or private health insurance, at a small cost to you, we strongly encourage you to apply and use it as primary coverage. If you are eligible for cover- age at no cost to you, you will be required to apply and use it as primary coverage before Skookum will be able to pay. If you apply for your state’s coverage or coverage through the federally facilitated marketplace and are not eligible, you will need to send docu- mentation of ineligibility to the Save Our Skookum team. If you apply and are eligible, we will need a copy of any insurance cards to coordinate payment with your Skookum Health Assistance Program. If you have questions, please contact: • Barbara Steere at 503-879-2487 or barbara.steere@grandronde.org • Tresa Mercier at 503-879-2008 or tresa.mercier@grandronde.org • Loretta Meneley at 503-879-1359 or Loretta.meneley@grandronde.org • Melody Baker at 503-879-2011 or melody.baker@grandronde.org • Tauni McCammon at 503-879-1406 or tauni.mccammon@grandronde.or • Erica Mercier at 503-879-2080 or erica.mercier@grandronde.org
