By Alberto Moreno, Executive Director of the Oregon Latino Health Coalition We are greater than this. As a people. As a city. Portland. And yet every year thousands of children sit in classrooms, unable to concentrate. Unable to learn. Their mouths filled with aching, rotting teeth. Children. Our children. They are the quiet ones. [...]
By Richard Jones, El Hispanic News Portland, OR — What if, on your next vacation to Bucharest, you become sick and the local doctor could not speak English and you spoke no Romanian? What if you had lethal allergic reactions to several drugs? What, then, would be your chance of surviving your trip? Every [...]
By Lillian Shirley, RN, MPH, MPA, Multnomah County Health Department Director Portland, OR — When Rand Wallace looked through the refrigerator stuffed with flavorful ingredients for tamales, he knew there was a problem. He checked his thermometer and made a note. Wallace was in the catering kitchen of the Baltazar Ortiz Community Center in Northeast [...]
By Richard Jones, El Hispanic News Portland, OR — The good news: if you detect cancer in its earliest phase — Stage 1 — the chances are good that you can beat it and live a long, healthy life. The bad news: if you wait until cancer is too far gone — Stage [...]
By Lillian Shirley, RN, MPH, MPA Multnomah County Health Department Director Ismael García remembers the day in sixth grade that his mother sat him down at their kitchen table in Northeast Portland to talk about sex. He was going to start a sexuality education program at middle school that day, and his mother, Isabel, [...]
Portland, OR — March 27 is the 24th Annual American Diabetes Association Alert Day, a one-day “wake-up call” asking the American public to take the Diabetes Risk Test at diabetes.org/alert to find out if they are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. In 2011, the American Diabetes Association encouraged Americans to “Join the Million [...]
Lillian Shirley, RN, MPH, MPA Multnomah County Health Department Director February 15 is School Exclusion Day. Exclusion day is when local public schools, pre-schools, Head Start programs, kindergartens, private schools, and other children’s facilities will begin denying admission to students who do not have their required vaccines up to date. Families will receive letters stating [...]
Lillian Shirley, RN, MPH, MPA Multnomah County Health Department Director Coughing and wheezing that won’t stop. The wild eyes of a child who can’t get enough air. A sad child sitting on the couch watching her friends run and play. A child’s asthma can be a parent’s nightmare. Maria Rodas knows the situation all [...]
Portland, OR — Almost 70 percent of Oregon tobacco users want to quit, and those who use the free Oregon Tobacco Quit Line have a better chance of breaking their addiction for good. New online coaching services, in addition to phone coaching, make the Quit Line more convenient and accessible than ever. “We know that [...]
Lillian Shirley, RN, MPH, MPA Multnomah County Health Department Director Ask any young school-aged child what their favorite part of the school day is, and more often than not, you will hear these answers: recess, lunch, and gym class. They like math, reading, and science too, but they talk about the times that they [...]
