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November 6, 2009 |
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CalHEP Fall Meeting Set for Nov. 19 in Los Angeles The California Hepatitis Alliance—an initiative of the Center for Health Improvement—is joining with the Hepatitis C Task Force for Los Angeles County to sponsor the 7th Annual Hepatitis C Summit, the largest annual gathering of people affected by viral hepatitis in Southern California. The November 19 meeting, which is expected to be attended by more than 300 health care providers and consumers, also serves as the CalHEP Fall Meeting, one of two meetings held each year by CalHEP members. Assemblywoman Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco), a national hepatitis advocate will deliver opening remarks. Check CalHEP’s website for information about how to register. |
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Center for Health Improvement 1330 21st Street, Suite 100 Sacramento, CA 95811 916.930.9200 www.chipolicy.org
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Center for Promoting Sound Policies & Healthy Communities
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CHI Sponsors 26 CA Policymakers to Attend NASHP Conference To help California policymakers stay informed on health policy issues, CHI provided 26 full and partial scholarships for the National Academy for State Health Policy’s 22nd Annual State Health Policy Conference. The three-day conference held in Long Beach in early October featured programming on critical issues to shed light on health reform and ideas for preserving health care in the face of severe budget constraints. Scholarship recipients came from the Senate and Assembly health committees, the Legislative Analyst’s Office, the Department of Managed Health, Department of Health Care Services, Department of Public Health, and other legislative and state health-agency departments. |
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Reed Joins CA Alzheimer’s Disease Task Force CHI President & CEO Peter Reed has been named to the California Alzheimer’s Disease Task Force, a group of experts and advocates committed to the development of a State Plan for Alzheimer’s disease and disorders. The Task Force will convene subcommittees and community meetings throughout the state, including outreach to populations in rural areas and to different racial and ethnic communities, to gather input on a number of critical issues that will be exacerbated by an alarming rise in Alzheimer’s disease in coming decades. Completion of the California State Plan for Alzheimer’s disease is scheduled for late 2010. Dr. Reed, who served as senior director of programs for the national Alzheimer’s Association before joining CHI, is one of 22 members of the Task Force. Learn more about the State Plan. |
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CHI Contributes to State Health Policy Collaborative Wiki Karen Shore, PhD, CHI’s vice president for planning & health policy, is working with the State Health Policy Collaborative to develop a Wiki that will be a one-stop information sharing center for members of the collaborative to post resources from their latest policy activities, such as briefs, forums, and white papers, as well as pose discussion questions and share ideas. Resources and discussion opportunities will be available on such topics as health reform; chronic diseases/disease management; physical activity and nutrition; HIT; and health service delivery systems. The Wiki is expected to be available to members soon. The collaborative is a workgroup of the National Network of Public Health Institutes, of which CHI is an affiliate member. |
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Reed Examines How to Engage People With Alzheimer’s Writing in the October-December 2009 issue of Alzheimer’s Care Today, CHI President & CEO Peter Reed, PhD, MPH, examines the difficulties faced by professionals who want to engage people with Alzheimer’s disease in the best possible way. In the guest editorial, “The Challenge of Engaging People With Alzheimer’s Across the Disease Continuum,” Dr. Reed argues: “Professionals should recognize the continuum [of the disease’s progression] and strive to enable people with early-stage Alzheimer’s to remain fully engaged, while offering individualized support matched to remaining abilities and needs as the disease progresses—all the way through offering end-of-life care.” |
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Dementia Care Recommendations Edited by Reed Released The fourth volume of evidence-based recommendations for dementia care, |
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Liver Health Today Features CalHEP, Asian Liver Center CalHEP and the Asian Liver Center at Stanford University, a CalHEP member, made news as both are featured in the October-December 2009 issue of Liver Health Today. A story in the magazine’s “Advocacy in the News” column reports on CalHEP’s June 10 meeting in Sacramento and rally at the Capitol to protest elimination of funding for hepatitis testing and syringe exchange programs. In the same issue, writer Claire Hunt profiles the Asian Liver Center’s work to combat the hepatitis B epidemic in the US and around the world. In the US, the center’s Jade Ribbon Campaign has spread beyond the San Francisco Bay area to San Mateo and Orange counties, San Diego, New York, Hawaii, and Phoenix. Internationally, the Asian Liver Center has teamed with the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to form the Asian and Pacific Alliance to Eliminate Viral Hepatitis. |
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CHI Board Members Kohatsu, DeBuono Assume New Positions Neal Kohatsu, MD, MPH, chairman of CHI’s board of directors, is now chief of the Medi-Cal Policy Section of California’s Department of Health Care Services. Dr. Kohatsu previously served as chief of the Cancer Control Section of California’s Department of Public Health. Barbara DeBuono, MD, MPH, vice-chair of CHI’s board, has joined Porter Novelli as the public relations agency’s new chief medical officer and global director of public health and social marketing. Dr. DeBuono will continue as adjunct professor at The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services in the department of health policy. She previously was executive director, public health and government for Pfizer, where she was responsible for creating and managing public-private partnership programs in public health innovation, health policy, education, and research. |
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Health Promotion News Roundup
CHILD HEALTH Easily Available Snacks May Contribute to Childhood Obesity The easy availability of low-nutrition snacks may contribute to childhood obesity in minority and low-income communities. In “Snacking in Children: The Role of Urban Corner Stores,” published online in Pediatrics on October 12, 2009, researchers report on a survey of more than 800 children in grades 4 through 6, from 10 urban elementary schools in which half or more of the students receive free or reduced-price meals. They found that the most frequently purchased items were high-calorie, low-nutrition foods such as chips, candy and sugar-sweetened beverages. Read the report.
1 in 5 Kids Lacks Vitamin D At least one in five US children aged 1 to 11 don't get enough vitamin D and could be at risk for a variety of health problems including weak bones, the most recent national analysis suggests. By a looser measure, almost 90% of black children that age and 80% of Hispanic kids could be vitamin D deficient. These findings were reported online on October 26, 2009, in Pediatrics. Read the report by the Associated Press.
UK National Health Service Endorses Nintendo Wii for Exercise In a history-making partnership, the British National Health Service will allow its Change4Life logo to be used in advertising for Nintendo’s recently released Wii Fit Plus. The Change4Life program is a campaign by the NHS to persuade people, especially children, to get more exercise and eat healthily. A spokesperson said the NHS is endorsing exercise, rather than a videogame. “Active video games, where kids need to jump up and down or dance about as part of the game, are a great way to get kids moving.” Read the article in the Telegraph. |
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ADULT HEALTH Healthy Lifestyle Benefits Those With DiabetesResearch presented October 20, 2009, at the 20th World Diabetes Congress in Montreal provides further evidence that healthy behaviors reduce mortality in people with and without diabetes. Read Reuters’ report.
‘New York Study Says Menu Labeling Affects Behavior’ New York's mandate that fast-food restaurants post calorie information on their menus has changed consumer habits, the city said on Monday, contradicting a recent independent study showing no effect. Read the October 26, 2009, report by Reuters.
US Needs More Health Preparedness for Climate Change A study by the Washington-based health advocacy group Trust for America's Health predicted that warming temperatures will mean more infectious diseases while changes in rainfall are likely to bring new disease and safety challenges whether from floods, storms, droughts or wildfires. Changes in crop-growing conditions and yields could even threaten rural communities with food insecurity. But only five US states—California, Maryland, New Hampshire, Virginia and Washington—have plans for dealing with the health implications of climate change, while another 28 states have climate change plans without public health elements and 17 states have no climate plans at all, the report said. Read Reuters’ October 26, 2009 report. ‘Fighting HIV, a Community at a Time’ SENIOR HEALTH A ‘Bridge’ Job Is Good for Baby Boomer Health Research published in the October 2009 issue of the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association, found that compared with full retirement, engaging in bridge employment either in a career field or in a different field was associated with fewer major diseases and functional limitations, whereas engaging in career bridge employment was associated with better mental health. Read the research article.
Fitness Fades Fast After 45 The declines in fitness that accompany growing old typically speed up after the age of 45, new research published in the October 26, 2009, issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine shows. The findings have broad implications, given the rising number of older adults in the US and the explosion in the sedentary, overweight, and aging population. But people can slow the inevitable by staying lean, exercising, and refraining from smoking. Read the HeathDay News report. |
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Nov. 18 Forum Focuses on Comparative Quality Reports The California Health Policy Forum—an initiative of the Center for Health Improvement—focuses on whether NCQA findings that health plan performance has plateaued are a bellwether of more quality challenges ahead, the types of data being measured and shown in public reports, the types of decisions these reports seek to inform, and the role of such reports in ensuring continuous improvements in the quality of care provided. This forum will be held in the State Capitol, Room 437, from 10 a.m. to Noon, on November 18. Forums are open to all; RSVPs are requested. Details. |
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Volume IV, Issue No. 3 |
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A Note From CHI’s President & CEO: Peter S. Reed, PhD, MPH With the nation on the verge of reforming our health care system, it is indeed an exciting time for CHI. As you know, we’re committed to promoting population health and healthy behaviors through sound policies and healthy communities, and we’re encouraged by the efforts we see to address these through reform. In this newsletter, you’ll see our values in action through such initiatives as the California Health Policy Forum and the California Hepatitis Alliance, as well as in a range of health policy, research, community programs, and awareness-raising activities . You’ll also notice “Donate” buttons in the newsletter below for two project-specific fundraising campaigns we’ve just launched. Through this new campaign, we are offering you the opportunity to support our good work by making a donation to the California Health Policy Forum and CalHEP. Thank you for supporting CHI in its efforts to promote health and prevent disease. |