The American Heart Association (AHA) is happy to announce that its affiliates and volunteers in Arizona have succeeded with getting legislation passed to encourage schools to adopt shared use policies! In 2012, a group of health leaders first began working with the state legislature to finds ways to create tools that would allow schools to share their facilities with the community, while protecting them from liability. “We added language into the statute that would essentially make school grounds a public park when school was not in session,” said Nicole Olmstead, government relations director for the American Heart Association in Arizona, in an AHA press release. In the testimony she provided to the statehouse during the 2014 legislature, Olmstead said: “Safe places for ...
Vending machines filled with fresh fruits and vegetables will soon be coming to underserved neighborhoods in Des Moines. Robotic Retail was awarded $30,000 to make this concept a reality at the city's Ignite Community Innovation Challenge. Robotic Retail is a partnership between Eat Greater Des Moines and Oasis24seven, a company that builds and sells vending machine-style robotic stores. Its plan is to place the machines, which accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, as well as other payment methods, to distribute fresh produce at reasonable prices in areas of Des Moines identified as food deserts. Read more in this Vending Times ...
A group of parents in Miami, FL, who are seeking to ensure the safety of their children as they ride their bikes, is organizing the city's first ever "Kidical Mass" event. The event is set to take place in January 2015. According to a blog post from TransitMiami.com, the idea for Kidical Mass originated back in 2008 in Eugene, OR. The event has since spread to over 12 communities throughout Canada & the US. The purpose of the event is to raise awareness about the importance of respecting all road users, and to teach kids and parents riding and safety skills. The ride will be approximately 1-3 miles and will last about an hour. Children are expected to wear helmets and to ride with a guardian. Kids of all ages are encouraged to attend and to wear their favorite ...
Students at Chicago Public Schools weren’t getting enough physical activity and time spent in P.E., so district officials created a new department solely to improve the health and wellness of students. The department’s new chief health officer led the enactment of three new health policies and the rollout of a plan to bring at least 30 minutes of daily P.E. to all students. Soon students in grades K-8 will be getting a minimum of 150 minutes of P.E. a week, and all high school students will be required to take P.E. every semester.
EMERGENCE
Awareness: As the third-largest school district in the nation, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) are responsible for ensuring a healthy learning environment for its diverse student body (45% Hispanic and 39% black). For many years, the district ...
About 3.2 million U.S. Latinos have diabetes. And Latino kids have about a 50% lifetime risk of developing diabetes. This makes diabetes a tremendous current and future threat to Latino health—but they way Latinos see this threat varies, according to a new survey. The survey, from the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, shows that while there is general awareness of the disease, Latinos with diabetes are more likely than non-Latinos to worry that, besides themselves, someone in their family would develop diabetes. But the survey also yielded some complicated findings. For example, Latinos were more likely (87%) than whites (80%) to believe that a diabetic can take actions to prevent diabetes. But fewer than half named key disease-management practices like being ...
If all goes as planned, residents in Collier County, FL may soon experience their first ever Ciclovia/ open streets event. The date for the first event is scheduled for February 7, 2015, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. However, organizers already have plans for additional events to be held during the first Saturday of March, April, September, October and November, according to a Naples Daily news story. At the moment, organizers are waiting to get the permits they need to temporarily close down streets like Washington Avenue, Glades and Escambia, where the event would take place. While the idea for hosting a ciclovia originally came from staff at the University of Florida's family nutrition program, planning for the event has really been a community effort. Groups like the Collier ...
Latinos are less likely to receive the flu vaccine than other ethnic groups. That’s why, for National Influenza Vaccination Week Dec. 7-13, 2014, the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) is inviting Latinos to protect against the flu with vaccination and other preventive measures. Here are the top seven ways to prevent the flu: 1. Vaccination is the first and most important step to protect against flu. The vaccine reduces one’s risk of illness, hospitalization, or even death and can prevent the spread of the virus to loved ones. Flu vaccines are offered in many locations, including doctor’s offices, clinics, health departments, retail stores and pharmacies, and health centers, as well as by many employers and schools.
2. Try to avoid close contact with sick ...
Latinos need strong health care coverage, as this population struggles with high rates of obesity, diabetes, and certain cancers. But 1 of 4 of the U.S. uninsured population is Latino. How can this change? Let’s use #SaludTues to Tweet strategies and resources on how to increase health care coverage among Latinos through the Affordable Care Act (#ACA) during a Tweetchat at 1 p.m. ET Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014: WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: “Latinos and Health Coverage: Issues + Solutions”
DATE: Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014
TIME: Noon-1 p.m. CT (1-2 p.m. ET)
WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues
HOST: @SaludToday
CO-HOSTS: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (@HHSGov/@HHSLatino), Enroll America (@GetCoveredUS), and the Nation Council of La Raza ...
About 15% of SNAP participants are Latino families that need a little extra help at mealtime. Some lawmakers believe limiting what SNAP participants can buy with their benefits, like outlawing cookies, ice cream, and greasy chips, will encourage these families to choose healthier food items. Maine Governor Paul LePage has announced his intention to introduce legislation in 2015 that would ban the purchase of junk food with SNAP benefits. Augusta Senator Roger Katz has already filed legislation that's similar to a bill that was defeated two years ago. Both men site obesity and diet-related disease as a main reason for the proposed ban. The federal government already prohibits the purchase of alcohol, tobacco and other nonfood products with SNAP benefits, but has rejected bans on ...
