Volunteering for Christmas and New Year's helps other people and is proven to give the volunteer an emotional boost, too. So why not volunteer your "voice"? Speak up with these six actions to promote health equity for Latino and all families this holiday season!
1. Start ‘Handle With Care’ So Police Alert Schools if Kids Are Exposed to Trauma!
60% of U.S. children have been exposed to violence, crime, or abuse. These kids still have to go to class. They carry a burden of trauma that can interfere with their behavior and grades. And schools don’t know there’s an issue at home. Enter “Handle With Care.” Download the free Salud America! “Handle With Care Action Pack” to start a Handle With Care program. In the program, police notify schools when they ...
Over 402 members of the Salud America! network sent emails to the FDA to speak in favor of the newly required health warning labels for cigarette packages and advertisements. The proposed rule, open for public comment from Aug. 16 to Oct. 15, 2019, and later extended to Nov. 27, 2019, would implement a provision of the Tobacco Control Act that requires FDA to issue regulations requiring color graphic labels that depict the negative health consequences of smoking along with written warning statements. Graphics include striking visuals of harm among children, babies, and self. “Given that tobacco use is still the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the U.S., there’s a lot at stake to ensure the public understands these risks," Dr. Ned Sharpless, Acting FDA ...
Days after Salud America! members helped flood USDA with comments to protect the SNAP food assistance program, the comment period has reopened after a controversial new report. Comments now can be submitted until Nov. 1, 2019. The reopened comment period comes after a surprise release of USDA data that advocates say underscores the deep harm of its proposed rule to limit access to the SNAP. The change would eliminate food assistance for 3.1 million people and jeopardize free school meals for nearly 1 million kids, according to the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC). “Even for those who remain eligible, forcing low-income families to navigate the burdensome paperwork will inevitably lead to eligible children losing access to a critical source of daily nutrition,” said ...
SNAP is in danger of getting cut, again! In its third proposed cut in 10 months, the Trump Administration wants to change how USDA calculates heating and cooling costs when it comes to SNAP benfits. This would cut program benefits by $4.5 billion over five years, and trim monthly benefits by as much as $75 for 1 in 5 families on SNAP. Almost 8,000 households would lose SNAP benefits entirely, according to The New York Times. “If the three proposals become final and are implemented, millions of SNAP participants will have their benefits reduced or cut altogether — particularly seniors, people with disabilities and working families — and 500,000 children will lose access to school meals,” Kate Leone, of advocacy group Feeding America, told The Times. The USDA is asking ...
Members of the Salud America! network contributed to more than 75,000 comments that were submitted to regulations.gov urging the Trump Administration to protect the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Over 1,650 people visited Salud America!'s take-action page for SNAP comments which contributed to overall comment numbers. The current rule “helps poor working families accumulate modest assets for a rainy day,” Lisa Davis, the senior vice president of No Kid Hungry, told The New York Times. Additionally, governors, mayors, attorneys general, state delegations, teachers, and pediatricians also filed comments with the USDA. These statements overwhelmingly oppose the Trump administration’s recommended rule to limit eligibility for food stamps — and cut millions from ...
How health literacy is defined has a meaningful impact on the medical field. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) sought public feedback on their new definition of health literacy for Health People 2030 by Aug. 5, 2019. We thought it focused too little on the social determinants of health, so we drafted a model comment and a revised definition for our members to consider. In all, 43 Salud America! network members emailed HHS to push for this revised definition!
The Old, New, and Suggested Health Literacy Definition
The Healthy People report provides science-based national objectives for improving the health of all Americans over a 10-year period. The report focuses on the leading causes of death and disease and drives action at the national, state, and local ...
Some kids witness domestic violence or murder. Some see loved ones hurt in accidents. These kids still have to go to class, carrying a burden of stress and trauma that can interfere with their behavior and grades—in schools that aren’t even aware there’s an issue. Fortunately, you can help these kids. Download the free Salud America! “Handle With Care Action Pack.” The Action Pack helps police, school, and mental healthcare leaders start the Handle with Care program, in which police notify schools when they encounter children at a traumatic scene, so schools can provide support right away. GET THE ACTION PACK! The Action Pack was created by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of the Salud America! Latino health equity program at UT Health San Antonio and Andrea Darr, ...
Many smokers will use tobacco products for years in spite of the known detrimental health impacts. On Aug. 16, 2019, FDA announced a rule proposal that aims to make a visual representation of those impacts to those buying cigarettes — health warning labels on every package. These labels will use graphic images to convey relevant information about the negative health consequences of smoking. "With these new proposed cigarette health warnings, we have an enormous public health opportunity to fulfill our statutory mandate and increase the public’s understanding of the full scope of serious negative health consequences of cigarette smoking," Dr. Ned Sharpless, Acting FDA Commissioner, said in a statement. Initially, hundreds of people, including over 275 Salud America! network ...
Since taking office, the Trump administration has made numerous moves that reduce the government’s role in combating climate change – including scientific research. In April, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) announced it would no longer project climate change’s long-term impacts. This means a reduction in our understanding of the issue's full scope could occur as a result. In response, 1,505 members of the Salud America! network sent USGS Director James Reilly a message: Do not limit climate science by limiting the data researchers collect. Other individuals and groups also spoke out against this decision. A coalition of 20 Senators— including Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein—sent Reilly a letter that shorter projections would make it harder to gauge and ...
