JACKSON COUNTY OFFERS PREGNANT WOMEN DRUG TEST

Expectant mothers can opt to have a drug screening along with other
prenatal services to assess risk to their babies

MEDFORD -- Jackson County doctors are launching what may be the first
widespread, voluntary drug-screening test for pregnant women in Oregon.

"I actually think that Medford is ahead of the game on this one, at least
in the state," said Sandy Maynard, a planner with the Department of Human
Resources.

Other communities have tried to launch similar programs but none are
currently using them.

"The whole point of this is to improve the chance of that baby to be as
healthy as possible," said Dr. Jonathan Gell, joint medical director of
Rogue Valley Medical Center and Providence Medford Medical Center.

Gell also is a member of the Family Addiction Community Team, or FACT, a
community group that worked with doctors to set up the voluntary
drug-screening program.

Beginning in January, gynecologists and other doctors told their pregnant
patients that a drug test would be included in the prenatal screenings to
assess any heath risk to them or their babies.

Women can refuse the drug screening, but it is considered by many doctors
as important as prenatal tests for syphilis, gestational diabetes and the
HIV virus.

Doctors previously asked pregnant patients to take a drug test only if they
suspected the women were at high risk for drug use.

Dr. Richard Lowensohn, who has criticized previous proposals to require
testing, said he thought voluntary universal screening can work as long as
doctors have good relationships with their patients and it's clear the
screening is a potential benefit for mothers and their unborn children.

Lowensohn, an associate professor in obstetrics and gynecology at Oregon
Health Sciences University, spoke against mandatory universal drug testing
and state reporting when it was rejected by the 1990 Legislature.

Lowensohn said it would scare mothers away from getting prenatal care.

The new testing already has turned up a number of surprise drug users --
many of them marijuana users -- among the expectant mothers.

"The goal is to treat and not to mandate or force a woman to do anything,"
said Robin Turgeson, a nurse with the county health department.