PlIIclflc lutheran UnIversity scene Ma1"Cll 1991
In terim
Ancesto rs . . . Continued from page 3
defi c i e n c i es a n d i n equit i es, s h e a l so gave reason for hope. "People are t a k i n g more respon s i b i l ity for thei r own health a nd a re g a i n i n g more expert knowledge," s h e said. One of t h e nation's most promi nent n u rs es, s h e poi nted to t h e i n c reased p ro m i nence of n u rses and m i dwives, who, she sa i d , can deliver mo re care at a l ower cost. The new prom i nence of health care eth i cists, such as C a l l a h a n , is al so an encou rag ing sign, she noted . Styles is a member of the board of d i rec tors of t h e International Cou n c i l of N u rses and past p resident of the American N u rses Association. For Yu suf, a national leader in l a rge-scale c l i n i ca l d ru g trials, t h e i ssue is re l ia b i l ity of such d rug stu d ies and su bsequent use of appropri ate d rugs i n trea ment a nd thera py. He expl ained how stat i st i cs re lated to l a rge-sca le tests cou ld be " m assaged" to suit al most any pu rpose. He a l so noted the high cost of major tests, which he i n d i cat ed can't be afforded fo r the n u m ber of d rugs need i n g testing. "We need to s i m p l ify," he said. "We need to recog n i z e t h e s i m i l a r i t i e s a m ong hu mans, a n d that resu lts of much s m a l l e r tests cou ld b e generally as accurate and more affordable." He a lso questioned the et hics i n volved in test i n g where some i n d i v i d u a l s rece ive d r ugs, ot hers pl acebos, and t h e effects, positive or negative, on each . Ca l l a h a n fol lowed with a d i scussion of health care eth i c a l issu es, a n d the i ncreas i n g d e ma n d for h e a l t h ca re rati o n i n g . " E u rope h a s m a n y of t h e reforms that we so desperately long for," he said. "But they too a re need i ng to rat ion health care." He noted that i ntern a t i o n a l o bservers are cu rre ntly st udyi ng O rego n ' s health care rati o n i n g model. Foege c h ose to p o i n t to the positive s i g n s in the world h ea l th co nd i t i o n . He noted t h e d ra m a t i c red u c t i o n i n world in fant m o rt a l ity i n two g en e ra t i o n s, a nd the i m po rta n ce of U N h e a l t h a g e n c ies. Because of the world h e a l th c a re efforts, "between th ree and fou r m i l l i on c h i l d ren . did not d ie in the last 1 2 m onths," he said. Stil l, he wa rned , "The veneer of su ccess, progress and civi l i zation is t h i n . It depends on a few people of vision, dedication and pu rpose There is power i n rightness, truth and wisdo m . " Seeking to i n sp i re the s t u d e n t s i n t h e aud ie nce, h e s a i d , "It is a pri v i l ege to b e in sci ence, but it is a l so a h u ge responsi b i l ity. He noted that we w i l l learn as m u ch, in t h e next 20 years as we learned in the past 2000 yea rs. "To be fu l l is to have a l ife of pu rpose," Foege added. This is worth your t i m e and effo rt. Devote you r energies to big p rob lems; you will not be bored ." •
Sign attached to renovated house in Tacoma 's cen tra l area expresses appreciation from Martin L u ther King Housing De velopment Association to PLU students. From left, Tacoma Mayor Karen Vialle and PLUs Sara Officer and Judy Carr.
Mayor Honors Professor
I nterim Class Aids Efforts TO Refurbish Homes For Home ess
T
acoma M ayor Karen V i a l Ie and the M a r t i n Luther Ki ng H o u s i n g Devel o p m ent Association presented a Dist i n g u i shed Citi zen s h i p Award to physical ed ucation p ro fessor Sara Officer i n ea rly Febru a ry. The award recogn ized "exemplary work p rovi d i n g safe, decen t a n d affo rd a b l e h o u s i n g . " Officer's I n teri m cl a sses have hel ped refu rbish ho uses i n Taco ma's cen t ra l " H i l ltop" a rea the past two years The ho uses had been p u rchased by t h e K i ng Center, an ec u men ical social outreach agency that advocates for the h o m e l ess. O n ce refu r b i s h e d , the b u i l d i n gs p rov i d e hOUSing fo r low i n come people Last year Officer's Interim class renovat ed two houses; t h i s wi nter t h ey prepared t h ree for occupa ncy. Stud ents in the cl ass worked on the houses th ree hours a d ay, fi ve days a week . Their 800-pl us hours o f scru bbi ng, sand i n g and p a i n t i ng saved the King Center mo re than $9,000, money that can be spent to pu rchase more houses. Officer poi n ted out that more t h a n 60 PLU students had exp ressed i nterest in the class, which was l i m ited in enrollme nt to 1 5. Beca use 1 5 vol u ntee rs get more work done than a h a n dfu l of h i red worke rs, the houses were rea dy to rent more than a month early. "Th is cou rse p rovides a u nique opportu n ity to u n dersta nd some of the problems of homeless people," said Officer. "It can be a life- c h a n g i n g o p p o rt u n ity to learn more about ou rselves and t hose l ess fortu nate." A good exa m p le of l i fe-changing poten tial was expressed by Jeff Perry of Seatt le. " I fel t the need to get out of the cl ass roo m a n d to do somet h i n g," he sa i d . " I always kind o f l i ked mountains a n d to get away fro m the city. But I see now that
t h e re's a l ot of work to be done in t h e city." Perry sa id t h e cl ass had re leva n ce to h i s study of b iology a n d h i s p l a n s t o b e a doctor. " I c a n see myself work i n g as a docto r i n t h e i n n er c i ty for l ow-i ncome people," he added M a ri Yokers of Sa lem, O re., sa id the expe rie nce has been eye-open i n g "I n ever thought much about the h o m e l ess," she s a i d . I gu ess we have stereotypes that home less p eople a re l i ke bag l a d i es But a lot of t h em are norm al people who h ave had financial c rises, l i ke lost jobs or serious i l l ness " Officer added, "What we a re d o i n g a re sm a l l t h i n gs We' re not g O i n g to cha nge the ' H i l l ' in a week or a yea r, but if enough of us care we can cha nge i n di viduals in the area in a small way " S h e noted t h e PLU centen n i a l t h eme, "Ed ucating for Service." "We a re l ooki ng at the c a l l to service and relati ng it in this case specific a l l y to our co m m u n ity," she said . "
Sym posi um . . . Continued from page
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conditions a re affected by what c h i l d ren lea rn i n school." The al l-day sympos i u m will i n c l u d e gener a l sess i o n s and s m a l l g rou p d i scussio ns, with fo l l ow-up report i n g of sugg ested action p la ns. T h e confe r e n c e stee r i n g co m m i ttee i n c l uded L i l l i a n Barna, su peri nte n d e nt of Tacoma Public Schools; 29th Dist r i ct Rep re sentative Brian Ebersole; Denese Bohanna, county health department; B ryan C u n n ing ham, Private Ind ustry Co u n c i l ; Pau l E l l is, Chamber of Co m m erce; and Lyle Quasi m, Safe Streets.