On August 11, 2015, the City of Reading, Pennsylvania, Executive Office of the Mayor Vaughn D. Spencer passed a comprehensive Complete Streets executive order to be effective immediately. A Complete Streets approach integrates the needs of people and place in the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of transportation networks. Every year, the National Complete Streets Coalition examines, scores, and ranks newly passed Complete Streets policies. Among the Best Complete Streets Policies of 2015, the city of Reading, PA (58.1% Latino) came in first. In fact, Reading scored the first perfect score of 100. National Complete Streets Coalition congratulates communities, like Reading, for their work making streets safer, and for showing other communities across ...
SaludToday Guest Blogger
Jefferson Dental Clinics What disease kills as many people a year as handgun violence? Oral cancer. This silent killer is responsible for 10,000 deaths a year, and half of those diagnosed with oral cancer this year will be not alive in five years—and Latino men are among the most at-risk groups. Why the grim prognosis? Oral cancer is often detected late, because many skip routine dental exams. “The unfortunate reality of oral cancer is that the death rate is particularly high, not because it is hard to diagnose, but because often the cancer is discovered late in its development,” said Leslie Renee Townsend, DDS, regional dental director for Jefferson Dental Clinics. “Screenings for early detection are very important,” Townsend said. “Too often ...
Nationwide, a total of 899 Complete Streets policies are now in place to create safer, multimodal transportation networks. In 2015, 82 Complete Streets policies were passed. A Complete Streets approach integrates the needs of people and place in the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of transportation networks. These laws, resolutions, agency policies, and planning and design documents establish a process for selecting, funding, planning, designing, and building transportation projects that allow safe access for everyone, regardless of age, ability, income or ethnicity, and no matter how they travel. Each year, the National Complete Streets Coalition analyzes newly passed Complete Streets policies. The Coalition ranks new Complete Streets policies to ...
As reported by the Long Beach Press-Telegram, a community-based think tank in Long Beach, Calif. (42% Latino population) detailed in a new report how the city is facing economic troubles along ethnic and geographic lines. According to the report entitled “Long Beach Equity Atlas: Geographical Opportunity” by ReThinking Greater Long Beach, poverty among children and adults is concentrated in communities of ethnic and racial minorities, specifically in the south central and west areas while wealth is concentrated in the areas populated mostly by whites in the north central and east side of Long Beach. “The rate of poverty will increase, and we will reach a point where the reserves of the city will be at such a drain ... we will have to go to bankruptcy,” said Alex J. Norman, a ...
Minnesota is generally considered one of the healthiest states in the country; however, health incomes for the state’s residents vary greatly in terms of race, sexual-orientation, and mental health status, according to the Minnesota Commissioner of Health, Dr. Ed Ehlinger. According to the Minnesota Department of Health’s “Advancing Health Equity” report, which highlighted disparities in health among specific populations, Minnesota’s growing Latino population deal with several critical health disparities. Per the report, Minnesota’s Latino youths have extremely high rates of obesity. American Indian and African American youths also have higher rates that white youths. Also, poverty rates for children under 18 are twice as high for Latino children than for white ...
Obesity affects more than one-third of American adults, and teens who are obese can also face life threatening health risks like heart disease, high blood pressure, sleep apnea and cancer. According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation research, half of African-American and Latino children born after the year 2000 will develop diabetes or other chronic conditions. How can you bring awareness about the disease of obesity? Walk from Obesity is a fundraiser that raises awareness and funds to support advanced obesity research, professional education and access to care initiatives. The even is hosted by the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) Foundation which gathers individuals affected by obesity in cities across the nation to build an awareness and help ...
After more than a dozen years implementing active living and healthy eating initiatives based on their initial Community Action Model (CAM), Active Living By Design (ALBD) update their CAM and “3P” approach (Partner, Prepare, and Progress). ALBD recommends a community change process that is intentional about partnership, preparation, and strategic progress to change policies, systems, and environments for improved community health. This updated model can be useful to community coalitions and local leaders, as well as to funders seeking a tested approach for local investments. Explore the components of the CAM to learn more: Community Context
Essential Practices
3P Action Steps
Impacts
Communities in Action Copy and Share: Six essential practices are ...
The National Park Service's (NPS) Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance program is working with doctors, healthcare providers, and other local organizations as part of the Healthy Parks Healthy People (HPHP); Greater Washington Area Initiative (DC, VA, MD, and WV) to connect physicians with ParkRx. ParkRx (Park Prescriptions) are programs designed in collaboration among public land agencies, healthcare providers, and community partners to encourage people to utilize parks, trails, and open space for the purpose of improving individual and community health. Doctors use a prescription pad to actually prescribe park time outdoors in nature or in a park. Park prescriptions can improve their health-physical and mental-and create a generation of lifelong park stewards. Since 2013, ...
April is National Minority Health Month and we’re excited to tweet about ways to prevent the greatest health disparities affecting Latinos across the U.S. today! The rising Latino population is creating an urgent need to tackle disparities in obesity, diabetes, and cancer. The estimated cost of health inequities is over $309 billion! Time to take action! WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: “Taking Action to Address Latino Health Disparities
TIME/DATE: Noon CST (1 p.m. EST) Tuesday, April 19, 2016
WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues
HOST: @SaludToday
CO-HOSTS: The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (@NIMHD), Kaiser Permanente (@kpvivabien) & 100 Million Healthier Lives (@100MLives) We’ll open the floor to your comments, stories and ...
