Utah Department of Health Office of Health Disparities
The Connection: News about overcoming health disparities in Utah

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Free Mammogram Screening Event for Uninsured, Underinsured or Insured Refugee Women over 40 yrs old!

Comunidades Unidas Multicultural Breast Cancer Education Program in partnership with Intermountain Breast Care Services is offering a FREE Mammogram Screen Event!

Monday, August 15, 2011
5:30 to 8:00 p.m.
Intermountain Breast Care Center
5121 S. Cottonwood Street, Murray, Utah
Lower Level 2 in Women & Newborn Center North Entrance
Interpretation and transportation services provided!

By appointment only! Please contact Masha Boguslavsky at 801-487-4143 or email masha@cuutah.org.
Please no children, no childcare services available.

If found early, breast cancer can be cured!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Funding Opportunity! Call for Request for Proposals for Healthy People 2020 Community Innovations Project

John Snow,  Inc. (JSI) is pleased to announce a call for proposals for the Healthy People 2020 Community Innovations Project.  This project, administered by JSI as part of a contract it has with the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP), will fund non-profit, community-based organizations with budgets less than $750,000 to implement projects that address Healthy People 2020 overarching goals, topic areas and objectives and integrate at least one of the following Healthy People 2020 Community Innovation Project priorities: environmental justice, health equity, and healthy behaviors across all life stages. As many as 170 projects will be given between $5,000 to $10,000 to conduct projects between December 1, 2011 and May 31, 2012.

The deadline for submitting an application in response to this Request for Proposal (RFP) is Friday, August 5, 2011. More details are included in the attached Healthy People 2020 RFP, which is also available online at www.healthypeople.gov.

 A Bidders Conference will be held on Monday, June 27, 2011 as follows:

Eligible applicants in Mountain and Pacific time zones:
12:00 p.m. MDT/11:00 a.m. PDT
Dial: 1.877.223.6135; Conference I.D.: 705.32.378

During this one hour conference call and webinar, JSI and ODPHP will describe the Healthy People 2020 initiative, review the Healthy People 2020 Community Innovations Project Request for Proposal (RFP), and address any questions that bidders may have.

Thank you. We hope you will work with your staff and partners to apply for this important funding opportunity.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

4th Annual Pacific Islander FREE Health Summit on June 25th!

Join us for a fun, informative day focused on Pacific families and healthy living!    
- FREE health and vision screenings
- Try out FUN fitness classes like Hot Hula
- Get the information you NEED to keep your family healthy
- Learn from TASTY healthy cooking demonstrations
- Discuss the health issues that affect OUR community
When:  June 25, 2011 From 09:00 AM to 03:00 PM
Location:  Salt Lake Community College - Redwood/Taylorsville Campus, Student Center
Address:  4600 S. Redwood Road, Taylorsville, UT, 84123
Cost:  FREE
Website:  www.queencenter.webs.com
Contact:  Joyce AhYou
queencenter@msn.com
801 623 1642

Thursday, June 9, 2011

SEEKING FOCUS GROUP PARTICIPANTS: $25 Smith’s gift certificate and free lunch provided!

HealthInsight is conducting a series of focus groups on health information technology, or computer tools used by your doctor to track and coordinate your health care. If you are willing to share your opinions on this topic with a small group of individuals from your area, please get in touch with us. Feedback will be kept anonymous and will be shared with policymakers to inform public policy and outreach efforts.

Weber Focus Group
Time: 12pm to 1:30pm
Date: June 9, 2011
Location: Ogden, UT
Davis Focus Group
Time: 12pm to 1:15pm
Date: June 16, 2011
Location: Bountiful, UT
Summit Focus Group
Time: 12pm to 1:15pm
Date: June 23, 2011
Location: Kimball Junction
Tooele Focus Group
Time: 12pm to 1:15pm
Date: June 30th, 2011
Location: Tooele, UT

TO REGISTER, PLEASE CALL 801-892-6621, OR EMAIL NBELLO@HEALTHINSIGHT.ORG

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

UDOH Creates New ‘Office of Health Disparities Reduction’

In compliance with Senate Bill 33, the Utah Department of Health (UDOH), Center for Multicultural Health has been replaced with the Office of Health Disparities Reduction (OHD). Dulce Díez, MPH, CHES, has been selected as its manager.

Díez says the new office will have a broader mission than the former Center for Multicultural Health, which focused only on racial and ethnic minority health. “As the new Office of Health Disparities Reduction, we will continue our commitment to reducing racial and ethnic health disparities, but we are also looking for opportunities to address health disparities by geography and income,” she explained.

“The name of the office reflects a goal that is a top priority for the Utah Department of Health,” said Dr. David Patton, UDOH Executive Director. “Many citizens of our state don’t enjoy the good health outcomes we have come to expect in Utah, but every citizen should have equal opportunities to become healthy.”

Utah recently slipped from 2nd to 7th healthiest state in the nation according to the 2010 America's Health Rankings report. The United Health Foundation report highlighted geographic health disparities as one of three key Utah weaknesses, along with a shortage of primary care physicians and low funding for public health. Utah ranked 44th in the nation in the "geographic disparity" category.

Monday, June 6, 2011

MyPlate Icon Launched as a New Reminder to Help You Make Healthier Food Choices

MyPlate is a new generation icon with the intent to prompt individuals to think about building a healthy plate at meal times and to seek more information to help them do that by going to www.ChooseMyPlate.gov. The new MyPlate icon emphasizes the fruit, vegetable, grains, protein and dairy food groups.

MyPlate will replace the MyPyramid  image as the government’s primary food group symbol as an easy-to-understand visual cue to help consumers adopt healthy eating habits consistent with the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. MyPyramid will remain available to interested health professionals and nutrition educators in a special section of the new website. 

The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, launched in January of this year, form the basis of the federal government’s nutrition education programs, federal nutrition assistance programs, and dietary advice provided by health and nutrition professionals. The Guidelines messages include: 

Balance Calories
• Enjoy your food, but eat less.
• Avoid oversized portions.

Foods to Increase
• Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.
• Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk.
• Make at least half your grains whole grains

Foods to Reduce
• Compare sodium (salt) in foods like soup, bread, and frozen meals, and choose foods with lower numbers.
• Drink water instead of sugary drinks.

For the MyPlate Graphics Standards (terms of use), click here: http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/MyPlate/MyPlateGraphicsStandards.pdf

Excerpt from USDA Office of Communications Press Release June 2, 2011