Health Options Digest: September 12, 2004

Week In Review
    This past week, EWEB looked at moving to land on Roosevelt.
    The Texas Transportation Institute released its annual report on traffic congestion in metropolitan areas around the country and concluded that the nation's traffic problems are getting worse faster than they can be fixed.
    Mayor Jim Torrey announced that he will not run as a write-in candidate against Kitty Piercy.
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Looking Ahead
    The City of Eugene has several openings on citizen boards, commissions and committees. We hear that two members of the planning commission are looking to be replaced. The application deadline is September 24.
    We also have an official schedule of when Springfield will be considering proposed plan amendments for PeaceHealth. According to the current schedule, meetings will start on October 6 and continue through December 6. The key date for the public is a joint public hearing before the Springfield Planning Commission and Springfield City Council on November 1.
    Meanwhile in Eugene, an update on hospital issues is scheduled for September 22. Something about transportation planning in the PeaceHealth/West University area is scheduled for October 11.
    Lastly, CHOICES is a Coalition of individuals and organizations concerned about hospital siting and related issues. One of our member organization, Friends of Eugene, is having their annual meeting this Wednesday. The theme of the annual meeting is "Bringing Sustainability Home to Eugene". In the keynote presentation, Jason McLennan will illustrate green options for some of our most controversial local issues using state- of-the-art sustainable design and planning examples from around the country.
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Rob Zako, Editor
343-5201
rzako@efn.org

Calendar

Tuesday, September 14 -- Lane County Health Advisory Committee
    5:30-7:00 p.m., WIC Building, 1900 W. 7th Ave., Eugene
    Staff Person: Rob Rockstroh (682-4035)
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Wednesday, September 15 -- Friends of Eugene -- Writer to talk on sustainable design

The Register-Guard

September 8, 2004

    Jason McLennan, author of "The Philosophy of Sustainable Design," will be the keynote speaker on Sept. 15 at the annual meeting of the Friends of Eugene.
    McLennan, a University of Oregon graduate, works on green building design for BNIM Architects of Kansas City, Mo. Also, Friends of Eugene President Kevin Matthews will speak about the group's past year and future direction.
    The meeting, free and open to the public, will be at 7:30 p.m. in the EWEB Building Community Rooms, 500 E. Fourth Ave.
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Wednesday, September 22 -- Eugene City Council
    Noon, Work Session, McNutt Room, 777 Pearl St., Eugene
    A. Hospital Update
    B. West Eugene Parkway MOU
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Monday, September 27 -- Eugene City Council
    5:30 p.m., Work Session, McNutt Room, 777 Pearl St., Eugene
    A. Items from Mayor, City Council, and City Manager
    B. Transportation Funding
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Wednesday, September 29 -- Eugene City Council
    Noon, Work Session, McNutt Room, 777 Pearl St., Eugene
    A. Measure 37 Discussion
    B. Economic Development Committee Recommendations: Enterprise Zones
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Monday, October 4 -- Springfield City Council
    Springfield City Hall, 225 Fifth St., Springfield
    Contact: Amy Sowa, City Manager's Office, 726-3700
    Work Session
    A. PeaceHealth Plan Amendments
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Tuesday, October 5 -- Springfield Planning Commission
    Springfield City Hall, 225 Fifth St., Springfield, 726-3753
    Work Session
    A. PeaceHealth Plan Amendments
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Monday, October 11 -- Eugene City Council
    5:30 p.m., Work Session, McNutt Room, 777 Pearl St., Eugene
    A. Items from Mayor, City Council, and City Manager
    B. PeaceHealth/West University Area Transportation Planning
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Monday, November 1 -- Springfield City Council & Springfield Planning Commission
    Springfield City Hall, 225 Fifth St., Springfield
    Contact: Amy Sowa, City Manager's Office, 726-3700
    Public Hearing
    A. PeaceHealth Plan Amendments
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Tuesday, November 23 -- Springfield Planning Commission
    Springfield City Hall, 225 Fifth St., Springfield, 726-3753
    Regular Meeting
    A. PeaceHealth Plan Amendments
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Monday, December 6 -- Springfield City Council
    Springfield City Hall, 225 Fifth St., Springfield
    Contact: Amy Sowa, City Manager's Office, 726-3700
    Regular Meeting
    A. PeaceHealth Plan Amendments
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Opportunities

City seeks citizens to serve on boards

By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard

August 22, 2004

    Interested in urban development, public budgets, historic buildings, human rights, police work and other topics? The city may have a seat for you.
    The annual recruitment drive to get citizens to serve on volunteer boards and commissions is off to a slow start. So far, only four people have applied for 18 vacancies on the following boards: Budget Committee, Planning Commission, Toxics Board, Historic Review Board, Police Commission and the Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority. The application deadline is Sept. 24.
    Applications are available at the city manager's office in City Hall, 777 Pearl St., or through the city's Web site: http://www.ci.eugene.or.us
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PeaceHealth

PeaceHealth seals Sony deal

By Ben Raymond Lode
The Springfield News

September 3, 2004

    Sony is $16.6 million richer and one building poorer following PeaceHealth's announcement that it's buying the former CD-producing facility from the corporate high-tech giant.
    The final announcement was made at a press conference held on Wednesday in the naturally lighted lobby of the Sony plant.
    According to PeaceHealth, Sony asked $20.75 million dollars for the 327,000-square-foot plant, which sits on 53 acres of land and from now on will be known as the RiverBend Annex. (more...)
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McKenzie-Willamette/Triad

EWEB weighs buying Roosevelt tract

By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard

September 8, 2004

    Eugene Water & Electric Board commissioners wrestled with a fact already well known to Triad Hospitals Inc. and local developers: Vacant, usable land is hard to find and afford in Eugene.
    Having whittled a list of nine potential relocation sites down to three, the five-member board Tuesday night picked through its scant choices for a new headquarters location and came up with a consensus, though not preferred, choice: two parcels totaling 67.9 acres immediately south of Roosevelt Boulevard, sandwiched between Belt Line and Bertelsen roads. (more...)
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EWEB Meets to Discuss Moving

By Andrea Ash, andreaash@kezi.com
KEZI

September 7, 2004, 4:15 p.m.

The Eugene Water & Electric Board may be a fixture along the Willamette River in Eugene today, but the future is anyone's guess. EWEB spokesman Lance Robertson says, "We're out looking for an alternative site, whether or not the Triad proposal goes through, we're still going to be looking for land that EWEB could eventually move to." (more...)
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Health Care

Rural clinics close, services still available

By Randi Bjornstad
The Register-Guard

September 10, 2004

    Because of budget cuts, the county's public health clinics in Florence and Cottage Grove have been closed, and the Oakridge site will continue to see clients only through the end of this month.
    In the meantime, public health officials have found other ways for Florence area residents to continue getting family planning, immunization and other services. (more...)
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Surgeries back on after VA letter hits Web

By Susan Palmer
The Register-Guard

September 11, 2004

    The Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center has reversed a decision to postpone surgeries for about 100 patients, a cost-saving measure that would have denied care to people needing procedures such as hernia operations or joint replacements. The move might have gone unnoticed if a Vancouver, Wash., veteran hadn't posted a copy of the letter about the decision on his Web site.
    Larry Scott, a partially disabled veteran who maintains a Web site designed to help veterans navigate the federal agency's labyrinthine bureaucracy, received an anonymous copy of the letter in mid-August. (more...)
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Health Care Premiums Jump 11.2 Percent

The Springfield News

September 9, 2004

    NEW YORK -- Health care costs continued to surge this year as family premiums in employer-sponsored plans jumped 11.2 percent, the fourth year of double-digit growth, according to a new study.
    The cumulative effect of rising health care costs is taking a toll on workers: There are at least 5 million fewer jobs providing health insurance in 2004 than there were in 2001, according to the survey of 3,017 companies by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust.
    This year, 63 percent of firms offered health benefits to workers, down from 68 percent in 2001. The change is primarily driven by a decrease in the number of small firms, those with 3 to 199 workers, that offer coverage.
    The average premium for a family of four grew to $9,950 annually. The family premium for a preferred provider organization, the most common type of insurance, hit $10,217 _ the first time it broke the $10,000 barrier. PPOs are plans that provide members with a network of discounted providers that charge a copayment but also allows for the opportunity of using other doctors and hospitals.
    Firms with between three and 24 workers reported the biggest hike in the average family premium, 13.6 percent. (more...)
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Health plan costs swell for workers

By Debora Vrana
Los Angeles Times

September 10, 2004

    The cost of providing health insurance for American workers has climbed an average of 11.2 percent in 2004, the fourth straight year of double-digit increases and almost five times faster than the growth of workers' wages, according to a survey released Thursday.
    It now costs an average of $9,950 to insure an employee and three family members -- an amount approaching the yearly pay of a full-time minimum wage worker, according to the survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust. Of that, $2,261 is paid by the employee, the rest by the company. (more...)
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Canada's medical system troubled

By Clifford Krauss
The New York Times

September 12, 2004

    WHITBY, Ontario -- The publicly financed health insurance system remains a prideful jewel for most Canadians, but polls indicate that public confidence in the system is eroding, although politicians remain reticent to urge increasing privatization of services.
    During the recent closely fought election campaign, Prime Minister Paul Martin promised to fix Canada's health care system "for a generation,'' focusing on trimming waiting times for diagnostic tests, cancer treatment and elective surgery such as hip replacements. He is eager to use what is being billed as a health care summit meeting, a three-day televised gathering with provincial premiers that begins Monday, to reverse the current view among many Canadians that his government is vacillating and may well fall next year.
    But medical professionals and local officials say a major reason it may not be easy to address the problem of slow access to treatment is because doctors who do preliminary diagnostic work, refer patients to specialists and monitor the care of chronically ill people are less and less available -- especially in small towns and rural areas. (more...)
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Added exercise helps girls fight obesity, study finds

By Rick Callahan
The Associated Press

September 7, 2004

    Just an extra hour of exercise a week could significantly cut obesity among young overweight girls, according to a study that researchers say could lead to major changes in the way schools fight obesity.
    The study -- the largest look yet at obesity among young children -- did not show the same results for boys, possibly because they generally get more exercise than girls.
    Still, Dr. Rebecca Unger, a pediatrician at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, said the findings show the important role schools can play to prevent obesity and its health ramifications.
    She said the study highlights the importance of funding daily physical education in the nation's schools, where about 15 percent of children and adolescents are overweight, according to government figures. (more...)
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Chickenpox shots save $100 million in costs

By Lindsey Tanner
The Associated Press

September 7, 2004

CHICAGO -- Vaccinating children against chickenpox saves the U.S. health care system nearly $100 million a year in reduced hospitalizations for severe cases of the itchy disease, a study found. (more...)
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Beat Heart Disease By Heeding Risks

By Marilynn Marchione
The Associated Press

September 8, 2004

    Bill Clinton was an active, jogging, jovial time bomb. Like thousands of others, he had no idea how close he was to a heart attack and possibly death -- even though he had years of presidential health care and continued checkups.
    His case is a stark illustration of how silently heart disease creeps up and why it continues to be the leading killer of men and women worldwide. Clinton's symptoms may have been silent, but other things about him were saying plenty about the danger he faced -- if only he and others close to him had listened.
    In fact, in retrospect, his quad- ruple bypass on Monday doesn't seem so surprising: Clinton had seven of the nine risk factors for heart disease, plus warning signs for several months of an impending heart attack. (more...)
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Transportation

Letter -- Parkway could be elevated

By Fred Scalise, Elmira
The Register-Guard

September 6, 2004

    The West Eugene Parkway could be built with limited long-term impact on the sensitive environment areas it must cross. A roadway elevated on pilings or piers (similar to those used to traverse swamps and wetlands in Georgia and Florida) would result in a minimal footprint, and allow critters to move freely through the area without risk of being smashed by vehicles.
    Stormwater runoff could be collected and piped to treatment systems at both ends of the roadway, eliminating the potential for significant water pollution. And an elevated roadway would probably not cost that much more than the right-of-way proposed to be built on hundreds of thousands of tons of fill material.
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Urban traffic: More stop than go

By Leslie Miller
The Associated Press

September 8, 2004

    WASHINGTON -- The nation's traffic problems are getting worse faster than they can be fixed even in small cities such as Brownsville, Texas, and Pensacola, Fla.
    And in the 85 biggest U.S. cities, snarled traffic is costing travelers 3.5 billion hours a year, up from 700 million two decades ago, according to the Texas Transportation Institute's annual Urban Mobility Report released Tuesday.
    Also, a solution to ever-growing traffic jams isn't likely to come soon, transit and highway advocates say.
    The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials estimates that it would take federal spending as great as $400 billion over the next six years to solve traffic problems, according to a 2002 study. (more...)
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Elections

Will Jim run? We'll find out today

By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard

September 8, 2004

    Numerous Eugene political observers doubt that Mayor Jim Torrey will launch a controversial write-in campaign, but the city will find out for sure today which direction Torrey is heading.
    Torrey on Tuesday said he'll reveal at an 11 a.m. news conference at City Hall whether he'll compete as a write-in against mayoral nominee Kitty Piercy in the Nov. 2 election.
    While many political veterans doubt that he'll run, Torrey in an interview on Tuesday was talking as if he might.
    Torrey -- who previously decided not to seek re-election to a third term, only to see his political ally Nancy Nathanson lose to Piercy in the May primary -- said a recent survey of potential voters shows that he could win a write-in campaign. (more...)
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Torrey Makes Decision Regarding Mayoral Race

KEZI

September 7, 2004, 6:20 p.m.

    Breaking news out of the Eugene Mayoral race. There was an afternoon meeting Tuesday between Eugene Mayor Jim Torrey and Mayor-elect Kitty Piercy. 9 News Reporter Andrea Ash spoke on the phone with both Torrey and Piercy.
    Here's what we know at this point. Lane County Commissioner Bobby Green called the meeting. Both Mayor Jim Torrey and Kitty Piercy won't disclose what was said, but will say the meeting was very direct and positive, and that an announcement is coming from Torrey. Mayor Torrey confirmed he's made his decision about whether he will run as a write in candidate in November. He says, he's just working to schedule time to make the announcement later in the week.
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Eugene Mayor Says 'No' to Write-in Campaign

KEZI

September 8, 2004, 11:25 a.m.

    Eugene Mayor Jim Torrey has decided he will not seek re-election with a write-in campaign. A group of Torrey supporters have been campaigning for the current Eugene Mayor to run for a third term as a write-in candidate.
    The group known as Run Jim Run was hoping to prevent Kitty Piercy from becoming Eugene's next Mayor. Piercy won the primary election against Nancy Nathanson for the spot of Mayor in May. KEZI 9 News will have a full report at 5, 6 and 11pm.
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Torrey Won't Run

By Andrea Ash, andreaash@kezi.com
KEZI

September 8, 2004, 6:10 p.m.

"I'm here today to announce, I will not be a candidate for Mayor of Eugene this November," said Mayor Jim Torrey. After much speculation, the people of Eugene finally have an answer. Jim Torrey will not run as a write in candidate against Kitty Piercy, citing the growing divide within the city. "Right vs. left, conserative vs. liberal, Democrat vs. Republican, issue vs. issue, somewhere in the middle of all that noise and political sport is our community." (more...)
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Torrey Says No Write-in Campaign

By Cathryn Stephens, stephens@kval.com
KVAL

September 8, 2004

    EUGENE -- Some believed he was the only one who could possibly win a write-in campaign for Eugene mayor, but Jim Torrey says he will not run for a third term.
    He kept everyone guessing for the past four weeks as the "Run Jim Run" campaign revved up for a write-in campaign, but Mayor Torrey says there are things he wants to do with the last few months he has in office and going on the campaign trail is not one of them. (more...)
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Torrey stays out of race

By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard

September 9, 2004

    CORRECTION (ran 9/10/04): Advertising executive David Funk and mayoral primary winner Kitty Piercy met with Eugene Mayor Jim Torrey on Tuesday. A report in Thursday's newspaper misidentified the person who accompanied Piercy.
    After the TV crews switched off their lights Wednesday at Kitty Piercy's news conference, the mayoral nominee stepped away from the podium and uttered three words in reaction to the news that she will not have to battle Mayor Jim Torrey in November. (more...)
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Editorial -- Good call, Jim: Torrey wisely resists write-in campaign

The Register-Guard

September 9, 2004

    Jim Torrey has been a good mayor of Eugene for nearly eight years, and could easily have won a third term. But he passed up that chance, creating opportunities for new leaders to come forward. Among those new leaders, Kitty Piercy prevailed in the primary election, mounting an energetic campaign that won enough votes to avoid a runoff in the fall. Torrey wisely decided Wednesday that it's too late to unring Piercy's bell.
    Torrey had been urged to oppose Piercy in November as a write-in candidate. The draft-Torrey effort was led by former Eugene Mayor Jeff Miller, and drew support from voters who worry about the city's direction under Piercy's leadership. These concerns gained weight when voters also elected a City Council that will be evenly divided between blue and red, giving Piercy the tie-breaking vote in pursuit of a slow-growth agenda.
    But Torrey is a good enough politician to recognize that a write-in campaign would have been difficult, expensive and divisive. (more...)
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Kitty Piercy -- Mayor-elect wants broad coalition

By Kitty Piercy
The Register-Guard

September 10, 2004

    In May I had the honor of securing the majority of votes for mayor of Eugene. I earned the right to be the only candidate on the November ballot, but election law requires us to vote one more time in the general election.
    Winning the primary created a great opportunity for me to reach out to a broad cross-section of our community and to begin the challenging work of fulfilling my pledge to be the mayor for all Eugene.
    I chose the slogan "A Mayor for All Eugene" with clear intent. I hoped to convey that opportunity is out there for us all. The primary win reflected the views of thousands of voters and supporters who believe Eugene is special place to live and raise our families, and who believe that we have untapped possibilities for success as one of the Northwest's most livable cities.
    Since the election, I have continued to reach out to hundreds of individuals and organizations. In June, I began meeting with city councilors and others -- more than 120 meetings to date. (My calendar is publicly available at http://www.kittypiercy.com.)
    I want to hear all perspectives on how Eugene can be the greatest town on the West Coast. I've held discussions with chamber of commerce officials, school board members, school superintendents, the president of the University of Oregon, Lane Transit District, the Altrusa Club, hospital CEOs, developers, St. Vincent de Paul, Kiwanis, The Register-Guard editorial board, government officials and staff, environmentalists, Mayor Jim Torrey, city councilors, owners of businesses of all sizes, and neighborhood leaders. (more...)
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Torrey looks back at mayoral career before facing forward

By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard

September 12, 2004

    Mayor Jim Torrey last week finally delivered the news that many predicted: He would not challenge mayoral primary winner Kitty Piercy in the November general election.
    But at his news conference to make the announcement, Torrey sure took his time getting to the punch line. It wasn't until the end of a nearly 20-minute speech that Torrey finally revealed that he wasn't going to accept the invitation of the "Run, Jim, Run" effort to become a write-in candidate. Some of Torrey's more conservative backers had launched that effort.
    Before the moment of truth in his remarks, Torrey spoke of his goals and accomplishments during two terms as mayor. That gave his speech in the City Council Chamber, filled with many of his supporters, the tone of a farewell address.
    But he tried to make it more than that. (more...)
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