The Partnership Center Newsletter

September 9, 2011

Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled.  Today, nearly one in three children in America is considered to be overweight or obese.

Childhood obesity is associated with increased risk of asthma, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, sleep problems, and bullying.

The month of September marks National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. As faith and community leaders in your communities, many of you have already developed  programs to address these important health issues, which effect far too many of our young people.

Through your continued efforts and the First Lady’s Let’s Move! Faith and communities initiative, we are working together to make sure that children in our communities are healthy and prepared for the future.

For those that have not, please take a look at some of the programs that you and your community can establish to address this issue.

President Obama recently said, “As a nation, our greatest responsibility is to ensure the well-being of our children.  By taking action to address the issue of childhood obesity, we can help America's next generation reach their full potential.”

Sincerely,

Mara Vanderslice Kelly, Acting Director
Center for Faith-Based & Neighborhood Partnerships
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

Featured Update

HHS awards $137 million to states to boost prevention and public health

Affordable Care Act funds will create jobs and target health improvement, local capacity building

At the end of August, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius awarded up to $137 million, partly supported by the Affordable Care Act, to states to strengthen the public health infrastructure and provide jobs in core areas of public health. Awarded in nearly every state, the grants enhance state, tribal, local and territorial efforts to provide tobacco cessation services, strengthen public health laboratory and immunization services, prevent healthcare-associated infections, and provide comprehensive substance abuse prevention and treatment.

“More than ever, it is important to help states fight disease and protect public health,” said Secretary Sebelius. “These awards are an important investment and will enable states and communities to help Americans quit smoking, get immunized and prevent disease and illness before they start.”

The grants will fund key state and local public health programs supported through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Most of these grant dollars come from the Prevention and Public Health Fund created by the Affordable Care Act. Additional SAMHSA dollars supplement this investment.

“CDC supports state and local public health departments which are key to keeping America safe from threats to health, safety, and security from this country or anywhere in the world,” said Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Thomas Frieden. “With these funds, CDC is strengthening our ability to prevent and combat diseases and keep Americans safe against expensive and dangerous health threats.”

“These funds will allow us to bolster public health services to communities and build on successful programs that have helped people lead healthier lives. Today’s investments will help us prevent future health care costs from problems such as tobacco-related illness and substance abuse,” said Pamela Hyde, administrator of SAMHSA.

The awards include:

• Up to $75 million to fund nine Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral and Treatment programs over the next five years. These programs will allow communities throughout the nation to provide more comprehensive substance abuse screening, secondary prevention, early intervention and referrals to treatment for people at higher risk for substance abuse. The actual award amounts may vary, depending on the availability of funds and the performance of the grantees.
  
  
• $1 million to further enhance the nations’ public health laboratories by hiring and preparing scientists for careers in public health laboratories, providing training for scientists, and supporting public health initiatives related to infectious disease research.
  
  
• Nearly $5 million to help states and territories enhance and expand the national network of tobacco cessation quitlines to increase the number of tobacco users who quit. Quitlines are the toll-free numbers people can call to obtain smoking cessation treatments and services.
  
  
• More than $42 million to support: improvements to the Immunization Information Systems (registries) and other immunization information technologies; development of systems to improve billing for immunization services; planning and implementation of adult immunization programs; enhancement of vaccination capacity located in schools; and evaluations of the impact on disease of recent vaccine recommendations for children and adolescents.
  
  
• $2.6 million to the Emerging Infections Programs around the country to continue improvement in disease monitoring, professional development and training, information technology development, and laboratory capacity.
  
  
• $9.2 million to eight national non-profit professional public health organizations to assist state, tribal, local, and territorial health departments in adopting effective practices that strengthen their core public health systems and service delivery. They will also enhance the workforce by providing jobs in critical disciplines of epidemiology and informatics, thus attracting new talent to public health.
  
  
• $1.5 million to evaluate and prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia to reduce cases of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections and protect Americans from healthcare-associated infectious diseases.

This announcement is another part of the Obama Administration’s broader effort to improve the health and well-being of our communities through initiatives such as the President’s Childhood Obesity Task Force, the First Lady’s Let’s Move! campaign, the National Quality Strategy, and the National Prevention Strategy. Similar to the Obama Administration’s Partnership for Patients which aims to make hospitals safer, more reliable and less costly, today’s announcement is also an important step in improving the quality of health care for all Americans.

A full list of grantees is available at: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2011pres/08/state_prevention_grants.html. 

Let’s Move Faith and Communities Update

The Mighty Eagles of Wilson get Moving!

Sometimes it takes only a single person to mobilize a community to get moving.  Inspired by the First Lady’s Let’s Move Faith & Communities initiative, Candy Taylor of the New Christian Food Pantry and Child Development Center rallied members of the low-income community she serves to form a walking group.   

While providing meals and clothing to people in Wilson County, she realized that community members often don’t have the resources, safe environments, or the time necessary to stay physically active.  So Candy started a walking group, calling them the Mighty Eagles of Wilson to “let the kids know they have the potential to soar above the clouds.”  Becoming a group has provided kids and their parents an opportunity to practice fitness habits once a week – with the added benefit of spending quality time with each other.  The Mighty Eagles boast 430 walkers, comprised mostly of children and their parents, and walked 1,186 miles in less than two months!

The Mighty Eagles meet regularly on Saturday mornings at a local community resource center.  They walk around the surrounding neighborhoods for one to two hours, socializing with one another and enjoying the weather.  Afterward they report their miles walked to Candy, who tracks the group’s progress.  In celebration of their success, the Mighty Eagles, in partnership with the Wilson County Department of Social Services, recently hosted a community-wide walking event at the Wilson County mall.  Wilson residents of all generations gathered together and participated in a variety of physical activities, including jumping rope, hula hoop, and even a baby crawling contest.  “We just want everyone moving,” said Becky Stottlemyre, faith connections program coordinator with the Wilson County Department of Social Services.  “It’s a day of motion.”

At the culmination of the event, the sentiment was that this was just the beginning.  As Candy said, “We’re not through yet — the Mighty Eagles are still moving!”

Ari Schoenholtz is the Program Analyst at the HHS Partnership Center.

The Mighty Eagles Walking Club of Wilson County, North Carolina 

Latest News

Medicare Open Enrollment is October 15 - December 7

Your health needs change from year to year. And, your health plan may change the benefits and costs each year too.  Open Enrollment is the one time of year when ALL people with Medicare can see what new benefits Medicare has to offer and make changes to their coverage.

There’s never been a better time to check out Medicare coverage. There are new benefits available for all people with Medicare - whether you choose Original Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan - including lower prescription costs, wellness visits, and preventive care. Take advantage of Open Enrollment and you may be able to save money, get better coverage, or both.

What is the benefit of having an earlier enrollment period?

Starting this year, Open Enrollment starts earlier - on October 15th - and lasts longer (7 full weeks) to give you enough time to review and make changes to your coverage. But, also starting this year, you will need to make your final selection for next year's Medicare coverage by December 7th. This change ensures Medicare has enough time to process your choice, so your coverage can begin without interruption on January 1.

It’s worth it to take the time to review and compare, but you don’t have to do it alone.  If you typically use the December holidays to discuss health care options with family or friends, plan now to move that conversation earlier.  And remember that Medicare is available to help.

• Visit www.medicare.gov/find-a-plan to compare your current coverage with all of the options that are available in your area, and enroll in a new plan if you decide to make a change.

• Call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) 24-hours a day/7 days a week to find out more about your coverage options. TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048.

• Review the Medicare & You 2012 handbook. It is mailed to people with Medicare in September.

• Get one-on-one help from your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). Visit www.medicare.gov/contacts or call 1-800-MEDICARE to get the phone number.

Grant Opportunities

As always, the final section of our newsletter includes an updated grants listing that faith-based and community non-profits can pursue. It is important to review the funding announcement thoroughly to ensure that the grant is one that is appropriate to your organization’s mission, size, and scope.

Grants Listings

Title: Public Education Efforts To Increase Solid Organ Donation Program

Description: The purpose of this program is to support the implementation of public education and outreach programs that show promise of increasing organ donation.  Specifically, this program supports the replication of strategies that have been identified through the research grant program of the Division of Transplantation as effective in increasing donation or strategies identified in the public health literature as being effective in modifying health behavior.  The program also supports the implementation of public education and outreach efforts that are based on an established framework for successful public health outreach programs.  This grant program is supportive of the Division's mission to educate the public about deceased donation and to encourage individuals to document their decision to be a donor in their statewide donor registry or by some other mechanism where a registry is unavailable. Projects may also increase knowledge of opportunities to donate specific organs or organ sections while living and the process, risks, and benefits of living donation. 

Eligibility:  This funding opportunity is open to nonprofit providers, including faith-based and community organizations.

Funding: Up to four awards, with funding from $250,000 to $1,000,000.
Link to Full Announcement: LINK TO FULL ANNOUNCEMENT 
Last Day to Apply: November 16, 2011 
Grant is administered by the: Health Resources and Services Administration

Title: Social and Behavioral Interventions To Increase Solid Organ Donation

Description: This grant program is to increase solid organ donation and to improve understanding of how to increase solid organ donation.  The goal of the grant program is to assist eligible entities in the evaluation of, or the implementation and evaluation of, highly promising strategies and approaches that can serve as model interventions for increasing solid organ donation. Projects may focus on community education and outreach initiatives or hospital based efforts focused on family consent for donation when a death has occurred. Projects may also increase knowledge of opportunities to donate specific organs or organ sections while living and the process, risks, and benefits of living donation. 

Eligibility:  This funding opportunity is open to nonprofit providers, including faith-based and community organizations.

Funding: Up to four awards, with funding from $300,000 to $1,250,000.
Link to Full Announcement: LINK TO FULL ANNOUNCEMENT 
Last Day to Apply: November 30, 2011 
Grant is administered by the: Health Resources and Services Administration

Grants Awarded

Continuing our efforts to provide you with partnership opportunities in your community, the section below lists federal grants recently awarded to organizations in your local community. 

HHS awards $40 Million in grants to sign up children for health coverage

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced $40 million in grants for efforts to identify and enroll children eligible for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Grants were awarded to 39 state agencies, community health centers, school-based organizations and non-profit groups in 23 states. The two-year grants are authorized under the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) of 2009.

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