Local Success in Implementing Tobacco 21

by Guest | Aug 10, 2018 | Being Well

August 2, 2018
 
Contact: Jim Becraft, 593 842 5937

Tillamook Retailer Compliance with New Tobacco 21 Law

Tillamook County inspections indicate excellent compliance with the Tobacco 21 law that went into effect January 1, 2018.
In fact, compliance was excellent before the law went into effect, as the inspection date was 11/17/2017 based on information the Oregon Health Authority provided. According to the report, Tillamook vendors were thus ahead of the curve in meeting the standard.
 
Across much of Oregon underage sales of tobacco to minors remains widespread, however..
 
In Tillamook County 11 vendors surveyed refused attempted purchases made by inspectors less than age 21 of cigarettes, cigarillos, and electronic vaping devices.
While the survey does not mean that there are not challenges to implementation of the Tobacco 21 state statute in Tillamook County, the survey shows awareness and compliance steps are being taken locally to carefully enforce the state statute.
Across the state however, an Oregon Health Authority (OHA) report released this week found that the rate of retail tobacco sales to underage people increased slightly over the past year, as a new law took effect that increased the minimum age to buy tobacco.
The Public Health Division, in collaboration with the Oregon State Police, checks on tobacco retailers across Oregon to make sure retailers are following the law. Data from the first six months of 2018 show that since enforcement of the new sales age began, the retailer violation rate was 18 percent statewide. That’s slightly higher than the 16 percent retailer violation rate for the previous year, when the legal age being enforced was 18.
“Selling tobacco to people under 21 years old is illegal, but these data show that nearly one out of every five tobacco retailers in Oregon still sells to people under the legal age,” said Tom Jeanne, MD, deputy state health officer at the OHA Public Health Division. “Tobacco remains the number one preventable cause of death and disability and kills nearly 8,000 people in Oregon each year.”
It also costs the state $2.5 billion per year in medical costs and lost productivity. A key part of ending tobacco addiction in Oregon is making sure youth don’t start. Oregon was the fifth state to raise the legal age to purchase tobacco products to 21.
Retailer owners that sell tobacco to underage persons face up to a $500 fine for the first or second violation and up to $1,000 for three or more violations. For the first time, the OHA Public Health Division has taken the added step of publicizing the list of tobacco retailers that violated the tobacco sales law.
The list of Oregon retailers that sold tobacco to underage persons in the last year is available on the OHA Public Health Division website at https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/PREVENTIONWELLNESS/TOBACCOPREVENTION/Documents/InspectionCoReport.PDF.

Diabetes and Tobacco Use

by Guest | Jul 27, 2018 | Being Well

We’re #2!  Sometimes being near the top is not a good thing.  The percentage of adults who smoke in Tillamook County is second highest among all Oregon counties.  Recent data shows the percentage of people who smoke statewide is 17.9%.  By comparison, the percentage in Tillamook County is a whopping 30.9%.

There is some good news.  Smoking rates have been declining over the past several decades.  It is a known fact that smoking poses serious health risks, negatively impacting vital organs like the lungs and the heart.² But did you know that smoking can increase your risk for Type 2 diabetes?²

Tillamook County Wellness is committed to increasing awareness about the risk factors for developing Type 2 Diabetes, with a goal of inspiring and motivating citizens to take steps toward improved health behaviors.  The following information from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) explains how tobacco use increases risk for developing Type 2 Diabetes and how smoking worsens the condition for those who already have it.

Smoking cessation is covered by insurance.  Ask your medical provider for information about the best options and support for quitting smoking and to reduce your overall risk for Type 2 Diabetes through changes to your lifestyle.

What is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a disease in which the body’s blood sugar levels are abnormally elevated. When digested, carbohydrates from food are turned into a natural sugar called glucose, which is used by the body’s cells for energy. Glucose is ushered into the cells by a hormone called insulin. People with diabetes are unable to make or efficiently use insulin, causing glucose to build up in the blood without making its way to the cells.³

There are two types of diabetes. The most common of these is Type 2, or adult-onset diabetes, which accounts for more than 90% of all diabetes cases³ and is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States.¹ Research has found that smoking is a direct cause of Type 2 diabetes. In fact, smokers are 30-40% more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than nonsmokers, and smoking is responsible for about 9,000 diabetes deaths in the U.S. per year.²

How Does Smoking Affect Diabetes Management?

Diabetes is a serious yet manageable health condition, but smoking can worsen the disease, causing additional problems.⁴ Smokers with diabetes are more likely to have trouble regulating their blood sugar levels with treatment than diabetic nonsmokers.¹ Diabetics who smoke are also at a higher risk for disease complications than nonsmokers with diabetes, including: ^1,3

• Poor blood circulation in the legs and feet that can lead to infections, ulcers, and even amputation of toes and feet
• Heart disease
• Kidney disease
• Retinopathy (an eye disease which can lead to blindness)
• Nerve damage in the arms and legs that can cause numbness, pain, weakness, and poor mobility

How Can You Lower Your Risk for Type 2 Diabetes?

• Don’t start smoking. Smoking increases your chance of having Type 2 diabetes.⁴
• If you smoke, lower your risk for Type 2 diabetes by quitting. Find a quitting method that works for you.

1. USDHHS Consumer Booklet 2014 – U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS). Let’s Make the Next Generation Tobacco-Free: Your Guide to the 50th Anniversary Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health (Consumer Booklet). Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health; 2014.
   USDHHS 2014 – U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS). The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health; 2014.
   3. CDC 2015 – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (CDC). Smoking and Diabetes. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health; 2015. http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/diseases/diabetes.html#two. Accessed January 6, 2016.
   4. NIDDK 2014 National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Prevent Diabetes Problems. Bethesda, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; 2014. http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-topics/Diabetes/prevent-diabetes-problems/Pages/index.aspx. Accessed January 6, 2016.

https://www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/PublicHealthEducation/HealthInformation/ucm490916.htm

Tillamook County Wellness – Why I’m In – Q&A with Wellness Coordinator Michelle Jenck

by Guest | Jun 22, 2018 | Being Well

Tillamook County Wellness continues it’s work because of the extraordinary level of engagement and collaboration among community partners and the community.  The series “Why I’m In,” will feature what has inspired and motivated these efforts toward a common goal of improving community health.  Michelle Jenck, health consultant, owner of Wholly Healthy LLC and the coordinator for Tillamook County Wellness under the Tillamook County Community Health Centers, kicks off the series.
“WHY I’M IN …” Michelle Jenck
What brought you/your organization into the Year of Wellness, now Tillamook County Wellness?
 
MICHELLE:  For me, personally, I fell into this work by accident.  Despite having severe asthma as a child, I began to exercise in high school and continued to expand my fitness practices through college and into my adult life.  I found that I simply felt better, had better mental clarity and, well, honestly, my clothes just fit better when I worked out regularly.  All that activity led me to develop a personal sense of awareness connecting how I moved with how I felt.  Later, I began to do the same thing with my nutrition habits.  A great deal of this motivation came from raising a child with special needs, observing how movement and nutrition played a role in his development and academic and social success.  Anyone who knows me, knows I have been a passionate advocate for using movement and nutrition to help kids be more successful.  That reputation led to me being “tapped” by Commissioner Baertlein for this work.
 
What changes have you seen as a result of YOW/Tillamook County Wellness?
MICHELLE:  Since beginning as YOW/Tillamook County Wellness coordinator in 2015, I have had the pleasure of working with dozens of people who genuinely want to effect positive changes in their communities, workplaces, families and within themselves.  There has been a shift in attitudes about our ability to improve population health.  Ten years ago, I told a medical professional that I wanted to help children through improving P.E. and school nutrition.  I was told, “Well, good luck beating your head against that brick wall.”  In my experience, decision makers and citizens alike no longer view these kinds of changes as a pipe dream.  They believe it is possible.  And I think they believe that, in part, because of the work we are doing and because maintaining the status quo is no longer an option.
 
What have you learned from being involved in this work?
MICHELLE:  I had a lot of assumptions about how things worked in terms of population health, and how I thought things should work.  One thing I have learned is that there are more people working on societal challenges than most people are aware of.  And, more importantly, these individuals and organizations do what they do because they want to be part of the solution.  I have learned that there are barriers to be being fully effective and efficient in this work and many of these are outside of our control.  Where we can make a difference, though, is in our own community, where we live and work and in our own family and personal life.  We don’t always have to wait for a government policy to change or for special funding.  We can figure out our own work arounds, our own funding sources and make it happen.
 
 
What are your hopes for this work as it relates to you/your organization? 
MICHELLE:  For me, my wildest hopes are being realized.  We are achieving critical mass in working toward having collective impact.  My only goal was to be an agent of change and I feel like I have been able to do that.
 
What are your hopes for this work as it relates to changing population health in Tillamook County?
MICHELLE:  To demonstrate, at a grass-roots level, that measurable improvements to population health can be made and sustained.  Specifically, though, my hope is that we raise children who know their worth and potential and who have the necessary skills to bring that to fruition.  When people feel good and feel capable, they make better life choices and that translates to better health over their lifetime.

YOW “2.0” Kicks Off May 14th

by Guest | May 11, 2018 | Being Well

 
YOW is evolving!  Well into its third year, the “Year” of Wellness is transitioning into a long-term community health improvement initiative.  “When people started referring to this as the ‘Century of Wellness,’ we knew it was time to make some changes,” Commissioner Bill Baertlein stated.  Under his continued leadership, the Wellness Task Force is committed to continuing this effort under a more defined framework and a new title – “Tillamook County Wellness.”
 
To maximize and measure the impact of this work, the Wellness Task Force has chosen to focus on a key community health priority – reducing risk for Type 2 Diabetes.   According to Marlene Putman, Public Health Administrator and Director of the Tillamook County Community Health Centers, “Nearly 12% of residents in Tillamook County have been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and many more are not yet diagnosed or are at risk of developing the disease.  Because risk factors for Type 2 Diabetes are similar to those for other health concerns, such as heart and lung disease, stroke and many cancers, lowering diabetes rates will positively impact many health conditions, saving healthcare dollars and improving quality of life for our residents.”
 
While nutrition, physical activity and avoiding tobacco use go a long way toward reducing these risks, there is more to the story.  In addition to social-emotional factors, the environments where we live, work and recreate play a significant role in this complex puzzle.  “By working strategically and collaboratively to influence these factors, we can support the development of healthy community norms and values, and thus have a much greater impact on health outcomes at a population level,” said Michelle Jenck, Tillamook County Wellness Coordinator.
To accomplish the goal of reducing risk for Type 2 Diabetes, Tillamook County Wellness is hosting a Kick Off event, Monday, May 14^th from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon at the OSU Extension/Partners for Rural Innovation Building, located at 4506 Third street near the Fairgrounds.  At this event, new committees will be forming around the following strategic areas:

• Health Promotion
• Health Screenings
• Workplace Wellness
• Access to Healthy Food
• Access to Physical Activity

 
This interactive event is designed to engage passionate wellness advocates in changing their community from the ground up.  Plan to attend if you would like to learn more or are interested in joining a committee.  For more information and to RSVP your attendance, contact Michelle Jenck at (503)812-8354 or info@whollyhealthyllc.com.
 

Highlights from the Northwest Opioid & Substance Use Summit

by Guest | May 4, 2018 | Being Well

Heather White, Community Health Improvement Coordinator, Columbia-Pacific CCO
One of my favorite annual events since coming to work at Columbia Pacific CCO is the Northwest Opioid & Substance Use Summit which took place this year on April 23^rd and 24^th in Seaside. People from across disciplines and perspectives come together at this summit to learn from each other and have conversations about what we’re all doing around topics such as opioid prescribing, substance use disorders, chronic pain, and community prevention and intervention.
This year, a key thread from each of these conversations was “trauma-informed care.” Each presentation was unique and yet equally powerful, and each represented a different piece of the puzzle addressing these tough topics in our rural, coastal communities.  For example:

• Alan Evans, CEO of Helping Hands, shared his own journey from trauma and addiction to his current mission of housing and re-entry without judgment
• Ari Wagner, MS, from Greater Oregon Behavioral Healthcare, Inc., showcased how trauma-informed clinics, communities, and law enforcement can positively impact the substance use disorder epidemic
• Emily Fanjoy and Valerie Bundy, LPC, NCC, from the Tillamook County Women’s Resource Center presented on the intersections of intimate partner violence, chronic pain, and substance use disorders
• Representatives of the PowerCLEAN program in Columbia County shared how their partnership with Columbia Pacific CCO to provide holistic fitness, nutrition, and support has helped people stay in recovery
• Mike McNickle, MPH, MPA, REHS, Director of Clatsop County Public Health shared how they have partnered with Jordan’s Hope for Recovery to start a successful and safe needle exchange program
• Ron Jackson, MSW, LICSW, from University of Washington highlighted why Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) is so important to increasing success in recovery
• Denise Weiss, RN, Jeff Luty, MD, and Terra Marzano, LCSW, shared their team-based approach to MAT care at the Rinehart Clinic
• DeAnna Pearl, MAT, BS, CPS, spoke about the importance of building resilience early in childhood to reduce the risk of substance use disorders and other chronic health issues

 
Each presentation highlighted the hope we all share. Each person’s work and passion make a difference in our communities. Tillamook County is currently experiencing the fastest increase in the rate of per-capita prescription opioid overdose deaths and has the highest level of high-dose opioid prescribing in the state. The statistics can be disheartening but great work is being done.
 
According to summit attendee, Eric Swanson, Executive Director of Strategy & Business Development with Tillamook Regional Medical Center, “Opioid use/abuse is often measured in terms of the deaths that result – a very sobering statistic.  However, we often forget about the other societal impacts of addiction that are much more difficult of measure, i.e., broken homes, impact on children and other family members, loss of employment, as well as the costs to the criminal justice and health care systems.  While these statistics are often much harder to quantify, the depth and breadth of this crisis is much greater than many of us care to consider.  As we come together as a community in crisis, we must consider all the societal costs of this addiction and look for holistic strategies to impact all sides of this very complex disease.”
 
But what can I do?
 
We can all play a part! Here are some important things anyone could start doing today.
 

• Be a safe, loving adult in the lives of children around you. Research shows, again and again, that when kids have trustworthy and caring adults in their lives, who listen to them and model healthy ways to cope with stress, their risk of all sorts of chronic conditions (including chronic pain and substance use disorders) decreases greatly. If we ask ourselves “what happened to you” instead of “what’s wrong with you,” that will go a long way toward creating lasting change in our communities.
• Store and dispose of your medications safely. Lock your medicine cabinets. Monitor how quickly you run out of your medications. And when you’re done with them or when they expire, take them to a safe disposal site. This keeps prescription medicine out of the wrong hands and out of our water system. If you missed the drug takeback event on Saturday, there are year-round medication drop boxes where you can dispose unused medicine. For more info, visit: https://www.oregonpainguidance.org/regions/north-coast/drug-take-back/
• If you or someone you know takes high doses of opioids, whether prescribed or illicit, consider carrying Naloxone. It is a life-saving drug that can reverse an overdose until paramedics arrive. In rural communities like ours, we don’t always have time to wait for help. Anyone can ask for a prescription for Naloxone at Safeway or Fred Meyer pharmacies. Prices may vary by health insurance. And our Good Samaritan Laws protect anyone calling 911 from being arrested for possession or use of illegal substances. For more info, visit: http://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/PREVENTIONWELLNESS/SUBSTANCEUSE/OPIOIDS/Pages/naloxone.aspx#pharm