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 ...
Wonder what health equity looks like in your community? Select your county name and get a customized Health Equity Report Card from Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio, which shows your area stacks up in housing, transit, poverty, health care, food, and other health equity issues compared to your state and nation. The Health Equity Report Card auto-generates local data with interactive maps and comparative gauges, which can help you visualize and explore health inequities. Get your Health Equity Report Card! “People can easily email their local Health Equity Report Card to decision-makers, share it on social media, and use it to make the case for community change to boost health equity—where everyone has a fair, just opportunity to live the healthiest lives ...
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 ...
The attack on SNAP food aid is far from over. After staving off cuts to SNAP in 2018 and 2019, the Trump administration now wants to change the way states determine who qualifies for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The change could take away food from 3 million people, according to health experts. "This rule would take food away from families, prevent children from getting school meals, and make it harder for states to administer food assistance," Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan and the Senate Agriculture Committee told NPR. USDA is asking for public comments on SNAP until Sept. 23, 2019.
How to Make a Comment to Save SNAP!
1. Copy one of our Salud America! model comments. Tweak the parts in green:
SNAP HAS WORTH
I am a NAMEOFPROFESSION in NAMEOFPLACE. ...
More than 30,000 people and groups submitted public comments to oppose the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) plan to cut off federal housing aid and evict "mixed-status" immigrant families. That is the most comments HUD ever received on a plan. The prior record was 1,000 comments. Several groups led the response. National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) and the National Housing Law Project (NHLP) led a Keep Families Together campaign. Salud America!'s letter campaign was signed by 3,382 of its network members and filed as a comment! Many comments denounced HUD's plan as a "ruthless" attempt to break up immigrant families. "It's unbelievably cruel that we have come to this, that the whole family suffers because one or maybe more are not U.S. citizens," ...
What exactly is “health literacy”? Governmental health leaders want to provide a good definition. Healthy People 2030, a 10-year outline of health improvement goals from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, wants your input on their working definition: “Health literacy occurs when a society provides accurate health information and services that people can easily find, understand, and use to inform their decisions and actions.” This definition, while an improvement over Healthy People 2020’s, focuses too much on healthcare-related information and services and too little on the social determinants of health. So, we drafted a model comment and a revised definition to submit by Aug. 5, 2019!
Send an Email: Address Social Determinants in the Definition of ...
