grosse pointe - Local History Archives

GROSSE POINTE NEWS, SEPTEMBER 10, 2009
HEALTH
ASK THE EXPERTS By Lori Egan Josephs
Learn warning signs of drug use
Q
. As a parent of teenager,
• what steps can I take to
prevent them from wantingto
start using alcohol and drugs?
A The teen years are such
xTL» an influential time of a
person's life. Almost every kid
will have to make a decision at
some point on whether to try alcohol
or drugs. When you look at
the facts and trends still taking
place with teenage drinking, you
can not ignore this major health
issue.
According to the CDC, "Alcohol
is the most commonly used and
abused drug amongyouth in the
United States, more than tobacco
and illicit drugs. Although
drinking by persons under the
age of 21 is illegal, people aged
12 to 20 years drink 11 percent of
all alcohol consumed in the
United States."
when it comes to under age
drinking, parents must be proactive,
not reactive. Set the stage
long before the children, will be in
a position to say no to driiiking
or drugs. Here are some thing to
help children hi then* defense
against drinking:
1. Start the conversation about
alcohol and drugs early—Do
not wait until they are a teen.
2. Be a healthy example—
Children will look at your own
behavior when it comes to drinking
or attitude toward drinking.
3. Educate them on the consequences
of underage drinking—
Don't just tell them they can not
drink, back it up with facts, along
with legal problems.
4. Providethem with healthy
alternatives to drinking—
Sports, arts or any activity they
love that will give them an outlet
and make them fell good about
themselves. Lack of self esteem
plays a role in why children
drink.
5. Give them consistency—
Children need and actually want
structure, rules and discipline.
6. Know your children's
friends, as well as their parents
—Teens who drink, drink with
their friends. Make sure you
know as much as you can about
their friends and get to know
their parents.
7. Offer them a solid family
foundation—Whatever y our
family situation is, make your
children fell safe and secure.
8. Explain the disease of aleo-
Save the date
Theme: Are Your Kids at Risk? Teen
Alcohol and Drug Trends
Date: Tuesday, Sept. 29
Time: 7 p.m.
Admission: Free
Location: Yeoman Hall, St. Michael's
Epsicopal Church, 20475
Sunningdale Park, Grosse Pointe
Woods.
For reservations: (313) 432-3832 or
infq@familycenterweb.org
holism — Let your children
know the4 facts about alcoholism.
Specially if it runs in the
family, and what makes an alcoholic
different from a normal
drinker ker.
Unfortunately, there is no 100
percent way to guarantee your
child will never have a drink or
drug during their teenage years.
But it has been proven that doing
nothing is a bad strategy; taking
action and being a strong force
in your child's life will make a
difference.
there are many resources
available today for parents and
teenagers; giving answers and
resources to their questions on
underage drinking and drug use.
As a parent you must set a good
example for your own children.
Do not assume that it is other
people's problem or that your
child is immune to the pressures
of drinking.
Bottom line—Be the parent
and make the tough decisions for
the well-being of your child. Be c
consistent with your rules when
it comes to underage drinking,
and be a healthy role model.
Lori Josephs is an expert on
the disease of alcoholism. For
her own experience as a recovering
alcohol;s she hopes to
teach children on how to make
better choices. For more than
12 years, she has been speaking
on her experiences to audiences
at treatment centers, private
counseling groups and
students. She has a Bachelor of
Science in health care services
and is the founder to "The
Center for Successful Living."
She is a certified relationship
coach and a member of
the speaker's bureau at
Brighton Hospital. She serves
as an alumni contact for The
Betty Ford Center for
Southeastern Michigan. For
more information, call her at
(248) 529-3375 or e-mail her at
info@thecenter forsuccessfulliving.com
or visit thecenterforsuccessfullliving.
com.
Hospital hosts teen volunteers' 60th birthdays
One hot July evening, two
"Guild Girls," as the teen volunteers
were known 45 years
ago, were asked to wash dishes*
when the Bon Secours
Hospital dishwasher broke
down.
The girls, who had never
met, sweated and grumbled
their way through piles of
dirty dishes. The result, besides
clean dishes, is a friendship
that has lasted to this
very day.
Pam Stanley and Kathy
Newman, both of Grosse
Pointe Woods went on to
work as "ward clerks" at the
hospital. Stanley worked on
what was known as "St.
Mary's" hall while Newman
worked on "St. Joe's" hall.
Their friendship continued
through high school and college.
Stanley became a licensed
practical nurse and continued
to work at the hospital. She
married Mike Stanley, who
was an orderly on the same
nursing unit.
Newman graduated from
Wayne State University as a
registered nurse and became
a nurse practitioner.
The friends decided to not
only celebrate their 60th
birthdays together, but to celebrate
the milestone the entire
year. Each took turns surprising
the other with birthday
adventures.
To relive the night they met,
Stanley decided it would be
fun to return to the hospital
for lunch in the cafeteria.
Stanley contacted
Geraldine Day, a nurse at
Beaumont to set the wheels in
motion.
To the surprise of Stanley
and Newman, Day arranged
for the two to be treated to a
special lunch. A cloth-dressed
table was reserved for them
by the window overlooking
the flower garden and water
fountain. The table was set
with china, roses and balloons.
The women dined on a
meal prepared especially for
them and were served
dessert.
Hospital chef Dan Kellogg's
invitation to wash dishes was
declined.
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My friend, Carolyn
Barth, sent me
the brochure
"The Eye and
The Auto," sponsored
by the Detroit Institute of
Ophthalmology that persuaded
me to seek more information.
My own vision problems
and those of some readers present
a concern about future
loss of a driver's license.
That's why I talked to Dr.
Philip Hessburg, DIO president,
who said this was the
fifth International Conference
on the Relationship Between
Vision and the Safe Operation
of a Motorized Vehicle the DIO
has sponsored.
"We first got started at the
institute on the subject of vision
and driving because I
knew that many with minimally
impaired vision who have
lost their driver licenses could
have continued to drive safely
given results of the research
already conducted around the
world," Hessburg said.
"Instead we let the visual
acuity standards, used in every
state, which have no relationships
with driving performance
or accident statistics,
deny driver licenses to many
people. Loss of a driver's permit
results in loss of independence,
increased depression,
associated medical, societal,
economic and psychological
problems and significant costs
for real or imagined ills related
to the depression.
"There's still another major
problem. The need for all of
us, especially national media,
to address the tremendous
number of highway deaths
each year. But the big problems
here are not related to elder
citizens with minimal visual
concerns, they relate more
often to young males, usually
with perfect vision, who are
driving with alcohol impaired
judgment.
"A plane crash several years
ago that killed 110 people
drew great media coverage.
Yet every day 117 people in
this country die on the high-
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ways with little media attention.
"Since the dawn of the auto
age, we have lost 650,000 people
in all our wars, but more
than 3 million have died in
highway deaths. The 14
teenagers killed in the
Columbine High School massacre
rightfully fueled the media
for weeks. But the media
almost totally ignored the 18
teenagers who daily lose their
lives on our roads," he said.
In 2000, the U.S.
Department of Transportation
calculated such losses at $231
billion per year.
That is why The Eye and
The Auto, the only one of its
kind in the nation, is so important.
"What our conferences do is
bring together experts in the
various fields from our country
and all over the world who
serve as faculty for the professionals
who attend the conferences,"
Hessburg said. "They
come from the fields of driver
safety and performance, and
include scientists, physicians,
engineers, clinicians, designers
and policy specialists."
When I asked Hessburg how
the conferences had changed
over the years, he said that the
scientific world has come to realize
what an important role
that the brain, in addition to
the eye, plays in determining
how people drive. Research is
giving us many insights into
the relationship, he added.
"Perhaps many years ago
we should have called this
congress 'The Eye, The Brain
and The Auto,'" Hessburg said.
The major cause of accidents
is drunk driving. The
technology exists for a sensor
to note alcoholic fumes and
lock the ignition. Frequent
deaths result fromnot using a
seat belt.
Education seems to have
helped much with this problem,
though drunk and distracted
drivers remain tremendous
problems. Hessburg said
technology could save lives,
even to the point where autonomous
vehicle systems are
used.
Who hasn't escaped near accidents
when changing lanes
only to discover that another
vehicle hides in the car's blind
spot? Lane departure technology
already exists to help
make this a mistake of the
past.
Other technology includes
adaptive cruise control stop
tailgating. There's also backup/parking
assist, night vision,
adaptive frontlighting, rear
impact counter measures.
Some are standard equipment
in various high end models.
There is some belief advanced
lighting technologies,
such as LED, in the aggregate
may be the least costly way to
reduce the highway death
rates.
"Even though 90 percent of
the information necessary to
drive is gathered visually, we
still don't know for sure what
tests accurately tell us whether
the driver's vision and his cognitive
capacity is adequate,"
Hessburg said. "But we're sure
the visual acuity standards
along aren't adequate. One
new test under discussion
combines vision with levels of
sensory or cognitive performance
and is called, the
'Useful Field of View' test."
Decades of research has attempted
to put substances to
the relationship between vision
and the safe operation of
a motorized vehicle.
"It's not a simple task," he
said. "Driving may be more
cerebral than retinal. It is
clearly more cognitive than
perceptual."
The three-day conference is
Sept. 16 -18 at the Research
Laboratory at General Motors
Technical Center in Warren.
One day attendance costs
$150; three days cost $350.
For more information, call
(313) 824-4710 orvisit
eyeson.org.
"We'd really like more people
to know the important research
taking place today. As
an IRS 501 (c) (3), we cannot
lobby government officials for
changes in the law relative to
motor licensure visual standards.
But individuals who
have an important stake in this
research, and that includes all
who drive, could help persuade
their elected officials to
fund research and the eventual
implementation of that research
in our automobiles and
on our highways," Hessburg
said.
Cain may be reached at ruth
cain@comcast.net