Town Hall Focuses on Uninsured; Officials, Residents strive for solution to the lack of health care - Portland Skanner

Portland Skanner
03-12-2003
Nearly 500,000 Oregonians have no health insurance, and as the numbers
increase, so will the cost of health care and social services, warned those
attending a local town hall meeting this week.

As part of 'Cover the Uninsured Week,' elected officials, local residents
and health care workers gathered at Self-Enhancement Inc. to discuss
solutions to resolve the plight of the uninsured.

The 'week' - from Monday, March 10 through Sunday, March 16 - was sponsored
by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a philanthropic organization
dedicated to improving health care, in partnership with other national
organizations. The nationwide effort focused attention on the 41 million
Americans who have no health insurance.

Besides the town hall meeting on Monday, other Uninsured Week activities
included a panel discussion at OHSU led by former Gov. John Kitzhaber,
M.D., health care screenings at Pioneer Courthouse Square and a health care
open house at a clinic in Rockwood.

Two more events are planned on Friday. An interfaith breakfast from 7:30 to
9 a.m. will be held in the Holiday Inn at the Portland Conference Center.
From noon to 1 p.m. a discussion by small- and large-business owners and
labor leaders about the future of employer-provided health insurance will
be conducted during a City Club meeting in the Multnomah Athletic Club,
1849 S.W. Salmon St.

During the town hall meeting on Monday, speakers stressed the role that
health insurance plays in preventing even costlier problems to individuals
and society.

Two-thirds of those who are uninsured have a full-time worker in the
household, noted Mary Beth Healey, of Oregonians for Health Security.

'The statistics are sobering,' she added. 'The inability to pay for medical
care is the leading cause of bankruptcy.'

In the past two years, nearly 890,000 Oregon residents under 65 years of
age were uninsured for a month or longer, according to a Robert Wood
Johnson report cited by Healey. At least 75 percent of those were uninsured
for six months or longer.

The cost of providing health care is the largest portion of the state
budget, said Jean Thorne, director of the state Department of Human
Resources and the state's former Medicaid director. Thorne helped to
develop the Oregon Health Plan in 1994. The plan provides some coverage to
Oregonians who otherwise would have no access to health care.

Citing the hundreds of thousands of Oregon residents who, because of the
state budget shortfall, no longer have mental health coverage, prescription
drugs or outpatient care, Thorne said that the Oregon Health Plan itself is
threatened.

'Everyone points their finger at the consumer or the doctors or the
hospitals as being responsible for increasing health care costs, but we are
all going to have to make sacrifices for the public good,' Thorne said.

'We need to come together and figure out how to deal with these difficult
times.'

Fielding the most questions from the audience during the two-hour meeting,
was State Rep. Alan Bates, D-Ashland. Bates, a family physician who spent
most of his weekend working in a hospital emergency room prior to the town
hall meeting, said he treated a 'huge' number of people who were uninsured.

'Health care is a basic human right,' Bates said, to the applause of the
audience that filled the SEI auditorium. 'People are not falling through
the cracks, they're falling through the Grand Canyon.'

Denying people health insurance is denying them health care. Bates added.

Making sure that the Oregon Health Plan is more efficient has taken up much
of his time in the Legislature during the past several weeks, he said, and
how legislators solve the $250 million budget shortfall will be crucial to
the plan's survival, Bates said.

'Budget cuts and efficiencies won't solve the problem,' he added. 'If we
don't raise more revenue, the number of uninsured people will grow.'

For every $1 that the state puts up, the federal government matches it with
$2, he noted, but if the state doesn't have the money, the match isn't
there.

Part of the solution, said John Duke, of the Safetynet Coalition, a group
that works with community health care clinics, is to bring health care
agencies, local businesses, nonprofit organizations and the insurance
industry together to develop a plan.

'We're all in different groups working on the effort. We have a cacophony
of different visions,' Duke said. 'But we have no strong central leader, no
common vision.

'There are good ideas and 'other' ideas,' he added, 'and they're equal in
power. But there isn't anybody ready yet to step forward and take the
lead.'

Article copyright The Skanner.
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REJECTION OF LOW-INCOME CLINIC IN FRAMINGHAM DRAWS CRITICISM - The Boston Globe (Boston, MA)

Framingham officials rejected last night a controversial newhealth center for low-income patients, prompting advocates to allegethat the town has turned against its poor and immigrant residents.

'I would call it xenophobia,' said Zoila Feldman, president andchief executive of the Great Brook Valley Health Center, whichproposed the clinic.

While one Town Meeting member said he opposed it only because hewas tired of Framingham residents subsidizing social services,Feldman said the clinic was a casualty of the 'antiforeigner, anti-poor climate' that has arisen recently in Framingham, which is thehome of a large Brazilian immigrant population. Feldman said shewould appeal.

The Planning Board's rejection of the proposed $10 million, 24,000-square-foot clinic in downtown Framingham is unusual, said SelectmanJohn Stasik, a former Planning Board member.

Usually when a local planning board has concerns about a project,it will still be approved, but with conditions that reflect theboard's concerns.

'I've been doing this 25 years; this is unprecedented,' said PaulGalvani, attorney for the clinic, which is funded through federalgrants and private donors and charges patients on a sliding-scale feesystem based on their ability to pay. He said the decision will beappealed to either the state Land Court or Middlesex Superior Court.

Much of the planning board's discussion of the project focused onconcerns about traffic and parking. But clinic advocates largelyrejected such concerns as a red herring.

'They want a town that's lily white,' said the Rev. Joseph Pranzo,pastor of St. Tarcisius Catholic Church, who added that most clientswalk to the clinic.

He was one of about 75 people affiliated with a local church whoattended the meeting. Organized by Metropolitan InterfaithCongregations Acting for Hope, they held signs reading 'Yes forHealth Care Center,' in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

They far outnumbered the opponents of the clinic. Town Meetingmember Robert Bolles said he opposed it because it representedanother untaxed entity in town.

'I'm fed up,' he said. 'We don't need one more tax-free buildingin this town.'

His is a common refrain in Framingham, where a committee has beenformed to study the impact of social services. Some residents arearguing that Framingham provides much more than its fair share, whilesurrounding towns do little to serve the needy.

But the clinic and other social service providers argue that theservices are in Framingham because that's where the people who needthem live.

The clinic was proposed to replace the existing 2,300-square-footFramingham Community Health Center, which is also in downtown andcan't keep up with the demand, according to officials there.

The clinic has served about 3,800 people since it opened two yearsago, according to Pamela Helmold, executive director of the clinic.She estimates that 70 percent of the patients live in Framingham.

Marcos Contreras, a Framingham resident who uses the clinicbecause his carpentry job does not provide insurance, said the new,larger clinic is urgently needed by people who contribute to thecommunity.

'We are the people who work in Framingham,' he said. 'We are thehousekeepers, the landscapers. We have to have it.'

After the vote, he said: 'We'll be back. We are organized.'

Florida doctor, clinic face hearing in botched-abortion case - Deseret News (Salt Lake City)

TAMPA, Fla. -- Eighteen and pregnant, Sycloria Williams went toan abortion clinic outside Miami and paid $1,200 for Dr. Pierre Jean-Jacque Renelique to terminate her 23-week pregnancy.

Three days later, she sat in a reclining chair, medicated todilate her cervix and get her ready for the procedure.

Only Renelique didn't arrive in time. According to Williams andthe Florida Department of Health, she went into labor and delivereda live baby girl.

What Williams and the Health Department say happened next hasshocked people on both sides of the abortion debate: One of theclinic's owners, who has no medical license, cut the infant'sumbilical cord. Williams says the woman placed the baby in a plasticbiohazard bag and threw it out.

Police recovered the decomposing remains in a cardboard box aweek later after getting anonymous tips.

'I don't care what your politics are, what your morals are, thisshould not be happening in our community,' said Tom Pennekamp, aMiami attorney representing Williams in her lawsuit againstRenelique (ren-uh-LEEK') and the clinic owners.

The state Board of Medicine is to hear Renelique's case in Tampaon Friday and determine whether to strip his license. The stateattorney's homicide division is investigating, though no chargeshave been filed. Terry Chavez, a spokeswoman with the Miami-DadeCounty State Attorney's Office, said this week that prosecutors werenearing a decision.

Renelique's attorney, Joseph Harrison, called the allegations atbest 'misguided and incomplete' in an e-mail to The AssociatedPress. He didn't provide details.

The case has riled the anti-abortion community, which contendsthe clinic's actions constitute murder.

'The baby was just treated as a piece of garbage,' said TomBrejcha, president of The Thomas More Society, a law firm that isalso representing Williams. 'People all over the country are justaghast.'

Even those who support abortion rights are concerned about theallegations.

'It really disturbed me,' said Joanne Sterner, president of theBroward County chapter of the National Organization for Women, afterreviewing the administrative complaint against Renelique. 'I knowthat there are clinics out there like this. And I hope that we cankeep (women) from going to these types of clinics.'

According to state records, Renelique received his medicaltraining at the State University of Haiti. In 1991, he completed afour-year residency in obstetrics and gynecology at InterfaithMedical Center in New York.

New York records show that Renelique has made at least fivemedical malpractice payments in the past decade, the circumstancesof which were not detailed in the filings.

Several attempts to reach Renelique were unsuccessful. Some ofhis office numbers were disconnected, no home number could be foundand he did not return messages left with his attorney.

Williams struggled with the decision to have an abortion,Pennekamp said. She declined an interview request made through him.

She concluded she didn't have the resources or maturity to raisea child, he said, and went to the Miramar Women's Center on July 17,2006. Sonograms indicated she was 23 weeks pregnant, according tothe Department of Health. She met Renelique at a second clinic twodays later.

Renelique gave Williams laminaria, a drug that dilates thecervix, and prescribed three other medications, according to theadministrative complaint filed by the Health Department. She wastold to go to yet another clinic, A Gyn Diagnostic Center inHialeah, where the procedure would be performed the next day, onJuly 20, 2006.

Williams arrived in the morning and was given more medication.

The Department of Health account continues as follows: Justbefore noon she began to feel ill. The clinic contacted Renelique.Two hours later, he still hadn't shown up. Williams went into laborand delivered the baby.

'She came face to face with a human being,' Pennekamp said. 'Andthat changed everything.'

The complaint says one of the clinic owners, Belkis Gonzalez camein and cut the umbilical cord with scissors, then placed the baby ina plastic bag, and the bag in a trash can.

Williams' lawsuit offers a cruder account: She says Gonzalezknocked the baby off the recliner chair where she had given birth,onto the floor. The baby's umbilical cord was not clamped, allowingher to bleed out. Gonzalez scooped the baby, placenta and afterbirthinto a red plastic biohazard bag and threw it out.

No working telephone number could be found for Gonzalez, and anattorney who has represented the clinic in the past did not return amessage.

At 23 weeks, an otherwise healthy fetus would have a slim butlegitimate chance of survival. Quadruplets born at 23 weeks lastyear at The Nebraska Medical Center survived.

An autopsy determined Williams' baby -- she named her Shanice --had filled her lungs with air, meaning she had been born alive,according to the Department of Health. The cause of death was listedas extreme prematurity.

The Department of Health believes Renelique committed malpracticeby failing to ensure that licensed personnel would be present whenWilliams was there, among other missteps.

The department wants the Board of Medicine, a separate agency, topermanently revoke Renelique's license, among other penalties. Hislicense is currently restricted, permitting him to only performabortions when another licensed physician is present and can reviewhis medical records.

Should prosecutors file murder charges, they'd have to prove thebaby was born alive, said Robert Batey, a professor of criminal lawat Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport. The defense mightcontend that the child would have died anyway, but most courts wouldnot allow that argument, he said.

CLEVELAND CLINIC RECOGNIZES COMMUNITY, EMPLOYEE LEADERS AT ANNUAL MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY OF CELEBRATION. - States News Service

CLEVELAND, OH -- The following information was released by the Cleveland Clinic:

Cleveland Clinic employees and community members will join in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Friday, January 13, 2012, at the InterContinental Hotel and Conference Center, 9801 Carnegie Ave., in Cleveland.

The program begins at 7:15 a.m. with an interfaith service led by the Rev. Christine Thompson, a Cleveland-based pastor for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and continues with a breakfast program at 8 a.m.

The morning includes a keynote address from the Rev. Dr. Otis Moss Jr., Pastor Emeritus of Olivet Institutional Baptist Church, and the presentation of the Cleveland Clinic Lifetime of Service Award to the Rev. Dr. Marvin A. McMickle, who is retiring as Senior Pastor of Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland to become the 12th President of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in Rochester, N.Y. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is among the school's alumni.

Dr. McMickle is the second recipient of the award, which was established by Cleveland Clinic to honor and thank a serving leader who has exhibited extraordinary strength of spirit and remarkable efforts in their public service. Dr. Moss was the first recipient in 2011.

Dr. McMickle is widely known as a prophetic minister, scholarly lecturer and thought-provoking writer. He was inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers at Morehouse College. He is author of 14 books, as well as 80 sermons and articles on topics such African-American heritage, marriage and cancer. At Antioch Baptist Church, Dr. McMickle led the congregation in organizing a special ministry for people affected by HIV/AIDS and he chronicled his bout with prostate cancer in the book, Battling Prostate Cancer: Getting from 'Why Me' to 'What Next.'

'During his time in Northeast Ohio, Dr. McMickle has built a legacy of advocacy and caring in our community, marked by efforts that support individuals seeking better health and fulfillment,' said Cleveland Clinic CEO Delos M. 'Toby' Cosgrove, MD.

Cleveland Clinic's 2011 Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Celebration will also include recognition of hospital employees who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and service to the community.

More information about the Office of Diversity is available at www.ClevelandClinic.org/Diversity.

Cleveland Clinic News Service is available to provide broadcast-quality interviews and B-roll upon request.

About Cleveland Clinic

Vatican paper praises Schneider Hospital as 'bridge to peace' - Jerusalem Post

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Headline: Vatican paper praises Schneider Hospital as 'bridge to peace'Byline: JUDY SIEGELEdition; DailySection: NewsPage: 04

Wednesday, July 30, 2003 -- CNEWA World, the official Vatican publication of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, which read by 92,000 of the leaders of the Catholic Church around the world, has for the first time published a major article praising an Israeli medical institution.

The July-August 2003 issue features a four-page article titled "Children's Hospital Heals More Than Illness" on the Schneider Children's Medical Center for Israel (SCMCI) in Petah Tikva.

The unusual article praises SCMCI for serving as a "bridge to peace" and describes its help to Arabs, such as transplanting the kidney of 19-year-old Yoni Jesner, murdered in a Tel Aviv suicide bomb attack, into the body of Yasmin Abu Ramila, a seven-year-old Palestinian girl. The little girl's father is quoted as saying that "they saved my daughter. Part of their son is living in her." The story, by CNEWA editor Eileen Reinhard, notes that the hospital has raised the quality of pediatric care in all of Israel.

The author praises Irving and the late Helen Schneider, who donated much of the money to build the hospital that opened 11 years ago, and who made the institution their lives' work. SCMCI development and foreign affairs adviser Uri Bar-Ner explained that the Schneider family has had especially deep ties with the Catholic Church in the US, especially with Archimandrate Robert Stern, who is responsible for Vatican affairs in the Middle East and Africa, and with nuns in New York and Chicago. One nun, Christiane Molidor, became good friends with the Schneiders, and when Helen died in 2001, she asked the church to do something to honor her memory. The article, which also reported that an interfaith women's health clinic will open at SCMCI in Helen's memory, was the result.

Keywords:

Much-needed clinic in Oakley stalls due to budget cuts - Oakland Tribune

OAKLEY -- As the need for a health clinic in Oakley grows, sohave state budget constraints, making it even more difficult inrecent months for stakeholders to push any plans forward.

Cuts to state health programs have left organizations such as theContra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organization (CCISCO),La Clinica and others looking for a way to not only bring a healthcare site to the city, but to maintain it.

CCISCO organizer Nancy Marquez said there's huge a need for acity health clinic, with county clinics being consistently crowdedand often too far to travel to for residents with little money.

'The clinic would relieve the county clinics and free up coveragefor everyone,' Marquez said.

Marquez works specifically in Oakley, lobbying to bring a basiclevel of health care to uninsured residents. The city's only doctorhas left, leaving no one within the city to provide local healthcare for more than 35,000 residents.

Last year, a study cited more than 15 percent of people in Oakleylacked health care, prompting the Oakley City Council to supportbringing a health clinic to the city. Marquez said it's likely thenumber of uninsured in the city has increased with the downturn inthe economy.

'I'm sure (the percentage of uninsured people) has gone up,'Marquez said. 'I think without a doubt, it's continuing to grow.'

Marquez said the stakeholders of a clinic are consideringlocating a La Clinica satellite in Oakley that would be openweekdays for a total of about 20 hours a week. A larger site wouldrequire a federal health center designation or a large number ofMedi-Cal patients, which Oakley doesn't have, she said.

La Clinica serves Solano, Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Itcurrently has sites in Pittsburg and Pleasant Hill, and offersservices on a sliding-scale basis. Most services are reimbursed bystate-funded programs.

Marquez said an Oakley clinic wouldn't be more than what SutterDelta's Urgent Care Clinic paid in its first year -- about $500,000.The Antioch clinic, which opened in 2004, initially needed about$300,000 annually to operate.

City Manager Bryan Montgomery said the city has been in talkswith other doctors who might locate in Oakley when the economyimproves. The city, however, wouldn't have a large role in theprocess, he said.

'Health care is a huge priority for any community and we want tobe a part of the discussions,' Montgomery said. 'However, healthcare is not a typical function/activity of municipal government.'

Marquez said a good place for an Oakley facility would be in theLucky shopping center off Main Street, where the previous doctor'soffice was. Oakley resident Elaine Wrigley said that location wouldbe good because of a nearby bus stop.

Wrigley has lived in Oakley for 12 years and has relatives whohave had to travel out of the city for low-cost health care. If theydon't have family or friends to take them to the county health carefacility in Martinez, patients would have to use several modes ofpublic transportation to get there, making it even more difficult toobtain health services, she said.

'How many friends are going to wait seven, eight hours for youwhile you go to see a doctor?' she said. 'I'm lucky. I have peoplewho will take me from church, or my daughter (will take me).'

Nonprofit notebook.(Opportunity Council presents Community Partners awards to business people)(Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Washington receives donations)(Scott Richardson receives 'Agency Hands in the Community' award) - Bellingham Business Journal

Items for Nonprofit Notebook need to be received by the end of the month prior to publication.

Opportunity Council honors Community Partners

The Opportunity Council announced 2006 Community Partner awards at the Annual Board of Directors Meeting Thursday, April 27. Community Partner awards honor people who have demonstrated outstanding collaboration and dedication to the mission of the Opportunity Council. 2006 awards went to: Darrell Hillaire, Lummi Nation; presented by Kay Sardo, Opportunity Council Executive Director. John Korsmo, Northwest Training Institute; presented by Community Services, Ann Bright, Community Resource Center Supervisor. Senior Information and Assistance, Northwest Regional Council; presented by Energy and Home Repair, Debbie Paton, Energy Assistance Manager, and Lorena Weisenburger, Energy Services Specialist. Lucille Nollette, Assistant Special Education Director, Bellingham School District; presented by Child Care and Family Resources, Maureen Godwin, Lead Family Resource Coordinator. Norman McCrea; presented by Island County Opportunity Council, Lisa Clark, Director. Pat Anderson, Mobil Dental Clinic, Interfaith Community Health Center; presented by Early Childhood Opportunities Northwest, Dee West, Director, and Susy Hymas, Health and Nutrition Coordinator.

The Opportunity Council is a private nonprofit community action agency governed by a volunteer board of directors equally representing the private, public and low-income sectors of Island, San Juan and Whatcom counties.

BB/BS of Northwest Washington receives donations

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Washington announces that the Bellingham Bay Rotary Club has made donations of $2,200 to support the local School Buddies mentoring program. The donation will provide funds for BB/BS to properly screen and train volunteers and monitor the ongoing relationships with mentors, teachers and children. 'Big Buddies' are matched with elementary school children, spending one hour each week for the entire academic year providing one-to-one help with homework, class projects or recreational activities. The program currently helps 58 children in the community.

The Lummi Indian Business Council made a donation of $8,000 to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Washington. This contribution will help support the local community based mentoring program that serves close to 100 children in Whatcom County. The funds will have an effect on supporting current matches, as well as additional matches for some of the 150 youths on the waiting list. The costs involved provide professionally trained staff to recruit, screen and train volunteer mentors and closely monitor follow-up support to ensure the highest quality and safety in the relationships between 'Bigs' and 'Littles.'

To learn more about Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Washington, call (360) 671-6400.

Local SHRM awards scholarships

The Mt. Baker SHRM Western Washington scholarship program announces David Ross and Theresa Studley as the 2006-2007 scholarship co-recipients. Ross and Studley were presented their awards on Wednesday, May 10, 2006, at the SHRM monthly lunch meeting at Northwood Hall.

Ross is president-elect for WWU's Northwest Human Resource Management Association (NHRMA) student chapter and serves as student liaison to the professional chapter; Ross will graduate from WWU with a degree in business administration with a human resources concentration in March of 2007.

Studley, a member of NHRMA, and Executive VP-elect for the student chapter, will graduate in June of 2007 with a degree in business administration from WWU with a concentration in human resources.

Bellingham Allstate agent honored for volunteerism