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

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

UTAH STATE COURTS PLAN COMMUNITY FORUM AT CENTRO CIVICO MEXICANO

WHAT:  
How does the Utah State Courts ensure equality and justice for all?

This question will be answered at community forums planned by the courts as part of a judicial outreach initiative. The forums have been planned with the understanding that judges and court personnel can make a difference in helping the public better understand the justice system. The belief is that public dialogue about the court system will benefit judges and court personnel by providing a means for them to better understand the issues in our communities, while the system as a whole will benefit by developing appropriate responses to public concerns.

WHO:             
Judge Vernice Trease, 3rd District Court
Judge Julie Lund, 3rd District Juvenile Court
Judge Gus Chin, Holladay Justice Court
Brent Johnson, general counsel, Administrative Office of the Courts
Susan Vogel, staff attorney, Court’s Self-Help Center

WHEN:          
Wednesday, August 28 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

WHERE:       
Centro Civico Mexicano, 155 South 600 West, Salt Lake City
For MORE information, contact
Nancy Volmer
Utah State Courts

Monday, August 26, 2013

Applications for Public Housing Now Open

NOW accepting applications for Public Housing
  -
Valley Fair Village and County High Rise
  
Apply online at www. hacsl.org

Or at

3595 South Main Street Salt Lake City, Utah 84115
Telephone: 801-955-2902

CDC's 2012 School Health Policies and Practices Study (SHPPS) Results Released

Today, the Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) released the 2012 School Health Policies and Practices Study (SHPPS) results on the SHPPS web site at www.cdc.gov/shpps.


The release includes:
  • a comprehensive report that includes results on the following topics:
    • health education
    • physical education and physical activity
    • health services
    • mental health and social services
    • nutrition services and the school nutrition environment
    • safe and healthy school environment
    • physical school environment
    • faculty and staff health promotion
  • a fact sheet highlighting key 2012 results
  • a fact sheet highlighting trends over time (2000-2012)
  • all questionnaires
  • public-use datasets and technical documentation
SHPPS Background:  
SHPPS is a national study periodically conducted to assess school health policies and practices at the state, district, school, and classroom levels. SHPPS was conducted at each of these levels in 1994, 2000, and 2006. In 2012, SHPPS was conducted at the state and district levels. School- and classroom-level data collection will take place in 2014.

For more information about SHPPS:
Among other findings: 
  • The percentage of school districts that allowed soft drink companies to advertise soft drinks on school grounds decreased from 46.6 percent in 2006 to 33.5 percent in 2012.
  • The percentage of districts that required schools to prohibit offering junk food in vending machines increased from 29.8 percent in 2006 to 43.4 percent in 2012.
  • The percentage of districts that made information available to families on the nutrition and caloric content of foods available to students increased from 35.3 percent in 2000 to 52.7 percent in 2012.
  • The percentage of school districts that required elementary schools to teach physical education increased from 82.6 percent in 2000 to 93.6 percent in 2012. (RWJF)

Socioeconomic Stress Leaves Lasting Scars

For many Americans, stress isn't juggling family and an outsize job, or looking for meaning in work and relationships. The stress of poverty can have devastating effects on wellbeing — and when it occurs early in life, the scars are lasting and even deadly.
As Moises Velasquez-Manoff reported in an excellent story in the New York Times last month, people born at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder, regardless of later-life outcomes, are more prone to illness and premature death because "the effects of early-life stress also seem to linger, unfavorably molding our nervous systems and possibly even accelerating the rate at which we age."
Here are some of the ways poverty can hurt physical and emotional wellbeing. As the middle class continues to be replaced by wage-workers, a wider swath of Americans may face enduring disadvantages.

Back To Class: Three Ways School Meals (and Snacks) Will Look Different

With the average American child spending up more than 20 hours a week in school, it follows that they’re doing a good part of their daily eating there as well. Here’s an update on changes that state and federal health officials are making to ensure that what kids are noshing on in between class nourishes their bodies as well as their brains.
Better Breakfasts:  The Healthy, Hunger-Free Act of 2010 provided the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and states with the authority to phase in five major reforms to school nutrition, including adding six cents of federal reimbursement to states per meal to fund more nutritious lunch options for the first time in 30 years, and the ability to apply healthy nutrition standards beyond the cafeteria for snacks as well. This school year, the first phase of the updated School Breakfast Program will be in place; that means students should be able to get low-fat milk and appropriate portions for their age. Fifty percent of the the grains served at breakfast must come from whole grains, and by the next school year, 100% of them should be whole grains.
Healthier School Lunches: During the last school year, new school lunch standards limited calories to between 550 and 650 calories for elementary school lunches, between 600 and 700 for middle school lunches, and 750 to 850 calories for meals served in high schools.  Full-fat milk was eliminated and more whole grains, fruits and vegetables were added to the menu. The calorie cuts were criticized (and cleverly mocked in parody videos) by many students, who complained that the requirements left them hungry. In response, the USDA allowed schools more flexibility in meat and grain servings. For now, schools continue to have this leeway as health officials finesse requirements for lunch offerings.
Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2013/08/19/back-to-class-three-ways-school-meals-and-snacks-will-look-different/#ixzz2d6wyDb5J

Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of MLK's Historic "I Have A Dream" Speech on the Capitol Steps

On August 28, 1963, people from every corner of our country united and marched onto Washington with a shared message of civil liberty, civil rights, and economic freedom and opportunity for all. Also demanding racial justice and equality for everyone, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and delivered one of the most famous speeches in history, declaring "I have a DREAM!"

August 28, 2013 marks the 50th anniversary of this historic event. Join Governor Gary R. Herbert and the Utah Office of Multicultural Affairs in celebrating "Let Freedom Ring!"

Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Utah State Capitol Steps
12:30 to 1:00 PM

Governor Herbert welcomes members of the community to attend and encourages bells across the State of Utah to ring at 1:00 PM MST (3:00 P
M EST); a half-century to the minute after Dr. King delivered his historic address.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Job Opportunity: Outreach and Enrollment Specialist at Community Health Centers

Utah Healthcare Corps (UHC) is seeking individuals to become Outreach and Enrollment Specialist at Community Health Centers and other community health based organizations.
You will assist with all phases of enrollment, navigation, and consumer health assistance activities.

Serving with UHC allows you to get real experience in a health setting, serve your community and help provide a healthy future for all Utahans.

For a yearlong commitment starting September 1, 2013 and ending August 31, 2014,             (34 + hours/week) you will:
·        earn a living stipend of $15,000/year
·        receive health care insurance
·        earn a ~$5,750 scholarship for college or vocational school
·        day care for your children while serving, if income qualified
·        be part of a national service program that will improve the quality of life for millions of Americans, especially your own!
  
To apply for this position please click here or call 801-716-4613 or email Levi Webb at levi@auch.org for more information.

C. Levi Webb

Program Director, Utah Healthcare Corps | Special Populations Coordinator | Association for Utah Community Health

RWJF & Trust for America's Health release comprehensive report about obesity in US

After three decades of increases, adult obesity rates remained level in every state except for one, Arkansas, in the past year, according to F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2013, a report released by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. A new website—fasinfat.org—features the full report, infographics, interactive maps tracking state obesity trends from 1990, an obesity policy series highlighting strategies to prevent and reduce the epidemic, and expert commentaries.
Rank
State
2012 obesity rate
1
Louisiana
34.7%
2
Mississippi
34.6%
3
Arkansas
34.5%
4
West Virginia
33.8%
5
Alabama
33.0%
6
Oklahoma
32.2%
7
South Carolina
31.6%
8
Indiana
31.4%
9
Kentucky
31.3%
10
Tennessee
31.1%
10
Michigan
31.1%
12
Iowa
30.4%
13
Ohio
30.1%
14
Kansas
29.9%
15
Wisconsin
29.7%
15
North Dakota
29.7%
17
North Carolina
29.6%
17
Missouri
29.6%
19
Texas
29.2%
20
Georgia
29.1%
20
Pennsylvania
29.1%
22
Nebraska
28.6%
23
Maine
28.4%
24
Illinois
28.1%
24
South Dakota
28.1%
26
Maryland
27.6%
27
Virginia
27.4%
28
New Hampshire
27.3%
28
Oregon
27.3%
30
New Mexico
27.1%
31
Delaware
26.9%
32
Idaho
26.8%
32
Washington
26.8%
34
Nevada
26.2%
35
Arizona
26.0%
36
Alaska
25.7%
36
Minnesota
25.7%
36
Rhode Island
25.7%
39
Connecticut
25.6%
40
Florida
25.2%
41
California
25.0%
42
New Jersey
24.6%
42
Wyoming
24.6%
44
Montana
24.3%
44
Utah
24.3%
46
Vermont
23.7%
47
Hawaii
23.6%
47
New York
23.6%
49
Massachusetts
22.9%
50
District of Columbia
21.9%
51
Colorado
20.5%
RWJF.org