SPARK's Coordinated School Health (CSH) program is now being used by Texas schools thanks to a recent action by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to approve the curriculum for use among students in grades K-8. Texas is now the third state to approve the curriculum as part of a comprehensive student health program, which provides students with physical education, physical activity, health education, and nutrition education in order to counter childhood obesity. In a Yahoo news article, Danielle Housley, MPH Healthy Start Project Facilitator at Northside Independent School District in San Antonio, Texas said: "The SPARK PE Curriculum has become an essential piece of our elementary physical education programs." Educators from other school districts also had positive things to say ...
More Latino workers died on the job last year, even though overall worker deaths declined, according to new federal statistics. Overall, 4,405 workers died from injuries sustained on the job in 2013, 223 fewer than in 2012, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Center for Public Integrity reports. That is about 3.2 deaths per every 100,000 full-time workers. However, Hispanic worker deaths increased from 708 to 797, about 3.8 deaths per 100,000. “It’s no surprise that the number remains high,” said Rebecca Smith, deputy director of the National Employment Law Project, a worker advocacy and research group, told the Center for Public Integrity. “In part, that’s a function of many Latino workers moving to more dangerous forms of employment, ...
A grand opening ceremony for a new 1.3 mile levee trail in Wyandotte County, is scheduled to take place on Saturday, September 20, 2014! Thanks to the collaborative efforts of Mayor Holland, UG Public Works, the Infrastructure Action Team, and the Kaw Valley Drainage District, the beautiful Armourdale Hike & Bike Route- Island View Loop, will be opened to the public for recreational use. According to Wesley McCain, a program coordinator for Healthy Communities Wyandotte, the beautiful trail, which sits alongside the Kansas river, is located on the west side of Armourdale, a predominantly Latino part of the county. To celebrate the occasion, a ribbon cutting ceremony and a 2.6 mile levee run/walk will take place on September 20 at 10am. Learn more about this event or ...
For many Hispanics in Los Angeles, getting access to fresh, affordable foods is tough---a lot tougher than simply stopping at a local corner store and loading-up on chips and soda. Fortunately, the Los Angeles Food Policy Council has been an active force in bringing healthy, affordable food to the L.A. area for years. One of the council's projects, the Healthy Neighborhood Market Network, builds the capacity of small ‘mom n’ pop’ store owners in ‘food desert’ communities to thrive as good food businesses and civic leaders through ongoing, multi-lingual business and leadership development trainings, mentorship and consulting. One recent success has brought fresh fruits and veggies into an unlikely place----a liquor store. Century Liquor in South LA installed a fruit ...
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides more than 8 million low-income pregnant women, new mothers, infants, and young children with monthly nutritious foods, nutrition education, and increased access to health care. 41% of WIC participants are Latinos. The WIC food packages were revised in 2007 to align the authorized food with the latest nutrition science and guidance, and the revisions were viewed positively by a majority of participants. As seen in this report, there is a growing body of evidence that suggests the revised WIC food packages have favorable impacts on dietary intake, breastfeeding outcomes, and obesity rates. In addition, emerging studies suggest an important role for WIC in improving neighborhood food ...
Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, has received the 2014 “Regional Mujer Award” from the National Hispana Leadership Institute, a national leadership organization for Latinas. Mujer (Woman) awards are given annually to Latinas who serve their communities with “justice, love, and the deepest pride in their culture.” Past Mujer winners include actresses Eva Longoria and Rosaro Dawson, Lidia Soto-Harmon, CEO of Girl Scouts, and Ivelisse Estrada, VP of Univision. Ramirez, an internationally recognized expert in health disparities research, has spent 30 years developing unique health communication models that have helped reduce cancer rates and increase cancer screening ...
The area along Murchison Road in Fayetteville, North Carolina hasn't seen a full-service grocery store in years, leaving folks who live and work in the area little options for fresh fruits and vegetables. But city officials are taking notice and plans are in the works to get healthy and affordable food options into the community. According to an article in the Fayetteville Observer, City officials say a Walmart with a full-service grocery store is planned to fill an empty spot in a strip center where a Winn-Dixie operated more than 20 years ago. The Walmart Market is expected to be 41,000 square feet and will include gas pumps. No construction date is set at the moment, but according to the article the Walmart will employ more than 90 people when ...
While some Latino families and kids lack access to parks and playgrounds, others face the additional challenge of locating playgrounds that are designed for children with disabilities in mind. Fortunately, new parks designed with accessible features like broad, flat ramps to get to the top of a play house, swings with highback chairs, and sand tables placed at the level of wheelchairs, can provide disabled children with a safe place to play, while enabling them to get the physical activity they need. According to a news article from NPR, in recent years, more individuals have become aware of the need to build what is termed "inclusive" or "accessible" playgrounds. So far 2505 playgrounds in 96 cities have been logged into NPR's new tool which lets users find and track accessible ...
Please join #SaludTues, a new weekly Tweetchat series about Latino health (salud)! The series, which takes place every Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET (12 P.M. CST) every Tuesday, will feature any Latino health issue can be a topic for the #SaludTues chat, from heart health, childhood obesity, nutrition and physical activity, access to health care, education, culture of health, etc. Chats are hosted by @SaludToday, the Latino health social media campaign directed by the team at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and two co-host experts or organizations. When is #SaludTues Tweetchat No. 1? On Tuesday, Sept. 16, let's tweet about what we can to create a culture of health for Latino families at the inaugural #SaludTues chat and ...
