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