In this issue:

• Measure 110 funding helps expand recovery and treatment services in Western Oregon
• Protect your heart against the dangers of cigarettes
• Readers share what inspires them to be healthy
• Q & A
• OHA's COVID-19 resources

CHANCE Recovery’s new location in Newport

Measure 110 funding helps expand recovery and treatment services in Western Oregon

Based in Albany, CHANCE Recovery has used funding from Measure 110 to expand and bolster its outreach services in Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties. They’ve given wage increases to staff, secured and moved into bigger spaces, and added more support group and counseling services.

The funding has also allowed CHANCE to help more people avoid becoming homeless.

“These are individuals who need support with substance use disorders (SUD), and by them not having to worry first about food or a roof over their head – it allows them to focus on overcoming their SUD and what’s next on their track to overcome addiction, get employed, secure housing and become independent,” said Bryan Decker, CHANCE’s executive director.

Protect your heart against the dangers of cigarettes

Tammy W. developed heart disease at 44. Click image to hear her story.

More than 8,000 people in Oregon die of tobacco-related diseases every year, and one in four of those deaths are caused by cardiovascular disease. That’s because nicotine raises blood pressure, and the carbon monoxide from cigarette smoke lowers the amount of oxygen your blood can carry. And for nonsmokers, exposure to secondhand smoke has immediate harmful effects on the heart and blood vessels and can cause heart disease and stroke.

This month, American Heart Month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched its annual Tips® campaign, sharing the stories of real people (such as Tammy, above) impacted by serious long-term health effects from smoking and secondhand smoke exposure.

Learn more about smoking and heart disease here.

Resources to quit smoking:

• Oregon Tobacco Quit Line offers free tips, information, one-on-one counseling and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) to any person in Oregon over age 13, regardless of income or insurance status. Coaches will help you build a plan and get free nicotine gum or the patch. Call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (784-8669) 24/7, text “READY” to 34191 or get started online. They offer coaching in many languages and special services for youth, pregnant people, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
• Native Quit Line is a free 24/7 service that draws on Indigenous values and provides resources, coaching and support to help American Indians and Alaska Natives quit commercial tobacco. Call 800-QUIT-NOW and press 7.
• This is Quitting is a texting program for youth and their parents that helps youth quit vaping e-cigarettes.

Quitting tobacco is difficult, but you don’t have to go through it alone! What works for one person may not work for another. Find help to quit your way through OHA’s Smokefree Oregon program.

Readers share what inspires them to be healthy

Q & A

Questions are answered by experts at OHA and other state agencies or community partners.

Q: My spouse (age 85) and I (age 87) received the updated Pfizer COVID vaccine on May 3, 2023. Is there a follow-up booster vaccine recommended and, if so, when should we receive it? – Larry, Eugene

A: Yes, there is a newer COVID-19 vaccine that we recommend you and your spouse receive at your earliest convenience, especially because respiratory viruses tend to circulate more during the colder months, and Oregonians are still being hospitalized with COVID-19. As of yesterday, Feb. 28, 154 adults were hospitalized in Oregon with COVID-19 – including 22 in intensive-care units and six on ventilators.

The vaccine you and your spouse received in May 2023 is no longer available. At the urging of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax each developed a 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine, released last fall, to better protect against the most recently circulating virus strains. Supply is plentiful, and you can search for a location near you using the Vaccines.gov search tool.

Q: I have been told by loggers in Oregon that, in an emergency, human urine can safely be used to wash the dirt out of cuts and bad abrasions. Is this true? – John, Portland

A: Using urine, human or otherwise, to clean a wound is not a good idea. The well-known wilderness school NOLS provides this article that addresses the topic. The bottom line: urine does not heal wounds. On the contrary, it is an irritant that in no way cleans or disinfects an open wound.

Rather, NOLS lists the ideal contents of a first-aid kit one might carry when away from civilization, which include several items for cleaning and disinfecting wounds such as tweezers, an irrigation syringe, antibiotic ointment packets and second skin dressings.

If you have questions about health topics in Oregon, submit your question here. Although we are unable to answer every question, we try to address those of interest to a broad audience. Please understand that we are unable to provide specific medical advice for personal medical conditions.

OHA's COVID-19 resources

• FIND A VACCINE
• COVID-19 home page
• News and reports homepage
• Respiratory virus data home page (COVID-19, RSV, flu)
  
• Wastewater surveillance data dashboard (updated every Wednesday)

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An archive of past Oregon Health News bulletins can be found here.