public health

Activists Push for More Comprehensive Investigation on Health Impacts of Coal Trains

In addition to Multnomah County’s upcoming assessment, environmental and health groups are calling for an investigation of the regional impacts of coal dust
October 3, 2012 -- Activists from Oregon environmental groups, health organizations, Indian tribes and neighborhood associations have been questioning increased coal exports ever since they got word that energy companies were applying for permits with ports in the region. They asked the Oregon Health Authority to perform a comprehensive regional health impact assessment, as well as an environmental impact statement to research the effects of coal dust and diesel exhaust as trains and barges travel through the region. Read More >>

Tobacco Prevention Bolstered by Partnership

Trillium Community Health Plan and Lane County work together to achieve the triple aim
October 2, 2012 -- When it comes to reducing the incidence of smoking, Trillium Community Health Plan, has come up with a novel approach. As one of 13 coordinated care organizations around the state, Trillium is integrating physical and mental healthcare for people on Medicaid to improve outcomes and keep costs sustainable. Read More >>

Abortion, physician-assisted suicide dominate forum

Some are concerned over potential changes to Ashland Community Hospital under Dignity Health
Oct. 1, 2012 -- Physician-assisted suicide and abortion dominated audience questions during forums held Thursday and Friday on a possible partnership between Ashland Community Hospital and Dignity Health. Read More >>

Multnomah County to Assess Potential Impact of Coal Dust

County and city officials have asked for an assessment to investigate the health ramifications of transporting coal through the area
September 27, 2012 -- Following calls by neighborhood activists as well as members of the medical community, Multnomah County Health Department staff have been asked to conduct a health impact assessment investigating the likely health effects of coal trains traveling through the area on their way to ports of Portland and Seattle, from which they would then be shipped to China. Read More >>

Coordinated Care Organizations Could Advance Public Health Priorities

After doing some strategic planning, the state’s public health director, Dr. Mel Kohn, sets out his six top priorities
September 26, 2012 -- The new coordinated care organizations provide enormous opportunities to further the state’s public health agenda, but the new organizations are more likely to be successful in counties with strong existing public health departments, the state’s top public health officer told The Lund Report. Read More >>

Two Cities, Three Approaches to Rental Housing Inspections

Gresham, Portland and East Portland take different tacks when it comes to renters' health
September 24, 2012 -- Mold, lead paint dust, rodent infestations and inadequately placed smoke detectors can all adversely affect one's health. And for tenants whose landlords don't quickly respond to and fix those problems, the stress of a difficult, unsafe living situation only makes matters worse. Read More >>

Farm-to-School Program Seeks Proposals for Pilot Project

The pilot program, which stalled due to funding and personnel issues, is looking for schools to participate in a program that will serve locally-sourced meals in the cafeteria
September 19, 2012 -- A pilot program to Farm to School and School Garden programs in two districts has stalled in implementation – but is picking up steam this fall. Read More >>

Funding Worries Loom as Hooper Center Celebrates 40th Anniversary

In particular, the county-funded CHIERS van, which takes intoxicated people to Hooper to sober up, has reduced its hours and may run out of money before the end of the year
September 12, 2012 -- In the early 1970s, anywhere between 400 and 500 chronically homeless people – most men, most addicted to alcohol or opiates – called the streets of inner Northwest Portland home. They cycled in and out of the jail system, arrested again and again on charges of public inebriation. Read More >>

Study: US tops France, Germany, UK in 'potentially preventable' deaths

Research published in Health Affairs looked at the rate of "potentially preventable" deaths — deaths before age 75 that could be avoided with timely and effective healthcare — and found that the United States lags behind its U.K. and European peers. Read More >>

Portland City Council Schedules September 12 Vote on Fluoridating the Water

Anti-fluoridation activists gather signatures and question fluoridation campaign
August 24, 2012 -- Comedian George Carlin once joked that everybody complains about their local tap water, and nobody brags about it. Not so in Portland. “Portlanders pride themselves on having some of the best drinking water in the world,” said Kim Kaminski, executive director of Oregonians for Safe Drinking Water, a Portland-based nonprofit that opposes adding fluoride to municipal water supplies throughout the state. Read More >>
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