public health

Two Opposing Views on Fluoridating Portland's Drinking Water

The Lund Report
The first commentary, by Rick North, encourages voters to defeat the ballot measure because of health concerns, lack of effectiveness and higher costs, while the second commentary, by Claudia Colen and Dr. Teran Colen insists the science is clear that fluoride doesn't have any negative health or environmental impacts and is a safe and effective option.

OPINION – APRIL 19, 2013 -- On May 3, ballots will be sent to all Portland voters asking them to vote on fluoridation. The last day to vote will be May 21.

Public Health Essential to Reducing Healthcare Costs

The Lund Report
Smoking cessation, maternity care and mental health services are focus of coordinated care organizations working alongside public health

January 16, 2013 -- Asking for a show of hands during a breakout session on public health and coordinated care at last week's conference on Transforming Care, Chris Palmedo, director of public affairs at Northwest Health Foundation, said, “How many people believe the current system integrates care in a way that maximizes public health?”

Not a single hand went up among the 150 or so people present.

By: 
Christen McCurdy

Tricia Tillman Says Diverse Groups Need a Seat at the Table

The Lund Report
As administrator of the Office of Equity and Inclusion, she believes coordinated care organizations should form partnerships with culturally diverse stakeholders

January 2, 2013 -- Growing up in southwest Portland – and later studying political science at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. – Tricia Tillman didn't realize public health was an occupation, much less the one where she’d end up.

“I kind of stumbled into public health,” Tillman said. “I didn't know it was a field at all.”

By: 
Christen McCurdy

Healthcare Workers, Public Health Officials Push for Paid Sick Days

The Lund Report
Workers not granted leave time to care for themselves or their children – and a lack of sick days causes high turnover in workplaces

December 13, 2012 -- Last week, Jennifer Bevacqua, a pediatric nurse practitioner at Randall Children's Hospital at Legacy Emmanuel Medical Center, treated a boy who was a year and a half old and had what Bevacqua described as eye motion issues, which can indicate a brain tumor. After being informed that he’d need an emergency MRI, his grandmother – who was the boy's primary caregiver and had taken him to the hospital – called her boss to ask if she could stay with her grandson while he received the care he needed.

By: 
Christen McCurdy

Future of Tobacco Settlement Funds Faces Legislature

The Lund Report
Coalition urges lawmakers to devote those funds to prevention and has the support of former Attorney General Hardy Myers

December 4, 2012 -- An advocacy coalition of healthcare and public health organizations is seeking legislative support next session on a proposal to spend Oregon’s share of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) funds on prevention and community based-health initiatives.

The Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, signed by Oregon and 45 other states in 1998, was designed to help states recover some of the tobacco-related healthcare costs and to prevent tobacco from taking even more lives.

By: 
Joanne Scharer

Dr. Martin Donohoe’s New Book Cites Major Advances in Public Health

The Lund Report
His website, Phsj.org, has gotten 575,000 hits since its inception in 2007, and focuses on public health and social justice issues

November 23, 2012 -- When you Google “public health and social justice,” the first thing that comes up is Portland Dr. Martin Donohoe’s expansive website.

Now Donohoe, 49, is turning his go-to resource into a book that also compiles the major advances in the public health field, but in a handy best-of format of a mere 656 pages for $85.

By: 
Raymond Rendleman

Culturally Appropriate Care Vital to CCO’s Success

The Lund Report
Lillian Shirley, the director of Multnomah County’s Public Health Department, believes it’s critical to understand where a patient is coming from

November 20, 2012 -- Oregon’s new coordinated care organizations should make important public health goals such as reducing diabetes and obesity top priorities, but they must realize that culturally appropriate care is essential if their messages are to be heard, a top public health official told The Lund Report.

By: 
Miriam Widman

CMS taps Acumentra Health for Demonstration Project

As a special project for Medicare, Acumentra Health will assist Oregon physician practices in electronically reporting adult immunization data to Oregon’s statewide immunization registry, the ALERT Immunization Information System (IIS).

November 8, 2011 — As a special project for Medicare, Acumentra Health will assist Oregon physician practices in electronically reporting adult immunization data to Oregon’s statewide immunization registry, the ALERT Immunization Information System (IIS).

By: 
Gard Communications

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