Public Health Watch

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APHA Legislative Update

June 2007

I. Update on FY 2008 Budget & Appropriations Process

On June 7, 2007, The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, HHS and Education passed the bill which funds most federal public health programs, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Health Resources and Services Administration. The bill, which received strong bipartisan support in the Subcommittee, provides a modest, 4.8 percent overall increase for programs in the bill, most of which have experienced significant cuts, lost purchasing power, or both over the past three years. APHA is working with its partners to ensure the bill moves quickly through the full Appropriations Committee and the House floor in mid-July.

The Senate Appropriations Committee has also passed its version of the Labor-HHSEducation Appropriations bill in June. While the Senate had $2 billion less than the House to work with, the Senate bill provides the CDC with approximately $137 million more than the bill passed by the House Appropriations Subcommittee. The full House Appropriations Committee is slated to take up the bill during the week of July 9 with full House consideration expected on or around July 17. In the Senate, the bill is tentatively scheduled to be on the floor in late July. APHA will continue to work with its partners to try to get the highest funding levels possible for public health programs as the bills move forward through the process.

II. APHA’s Summer PHACT (Public Health in Action) Campaign

During the month-long August Congressional recess, APHA members in all 50 states will be mobilizing to educate legislators about APHA's legislative priorities for 2007. APHA will provide briefing materials to members and Affiliates who wish to meet with their members of Congress (either during visits in their district offices or during town hall meetings and other public events) to articulate their support for APHA's priority issues. APHA will also provide fact sheets and other materials to leave behind with Congressional staff, talking points to help schedule a meeting with your member of Congress or their staff, links to send an electronic message to Congress and sample op-eds to submit to your local newspapers. Materials will be posted at www.apha.org/advocacy <http://www.apha.org/advocacy>.

III. SCHIP Update

Committee consideration of legislation to reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program remains a top focus for APHA and its allies who are pushing to get the program reauthorized before the October 1, 2007 deadline. A tentatively schedule markup in the Senate Finance Committee was cancelled in June after Democrat and Republican members were unable to come to an agreement over the costs associated with the reauthorization - including how large the expansion of the program will be as well as how to fund it. APHA is supporting increases in both the federal tobacco and alcohol taxes to pay for at least a portion of the expected $50 billion price tag over 5 years. The House Energy and Commerce Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on the reauthorization legislation in mid-July with further committee activity expected to follow soon thereafter. APHA will continue to monitor the progress of the legislation and work to ensure the program is reauthorized by October 1, 2007.

IV. Farm Bill Update

This year’s Farm Bill reauthorization provides a significant opportunity to improve the nutritional quality of all Americans’ diets. APHA has identified a number of priorities for inclusion in the 2007 Farm Bill. These priorities include strengthening the Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program, increasing the availability of fruits and vegetables in schools, improving the nutritional quality of school foods, expanding human nutrition research at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and ensuring that WIC food packages will be updated in the future to reflect advances in nutrition science. The House Agriculture Subcommittee with jurisdiction over nutrition issues has taken some positive steps toward meeting some of APHA’s goals in this year’s bill. The Subcommittee provided a significant increase to the USDA’s Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program as well as the Department of Defense Fresh Program - two key programs that increase fruit and vegetable consumption in our nation’s schools. While other APHA-supported proposals were not included in the subcommittee’s mark, APHA will continue to work improve the bill as it moves through the House and as the Senate begins its work on the legislation as well.

V. Health Disparities Legislation Introduced

House and Senate bills to address the causes and costs of disparities in health access, treatment and care were recently introduced.

The Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2007, introduced by Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA) is comprehensive legislation aimed at talking the root causes of the current health disparities crisis - access to health care, research, and education. This bill was developed by the Health Chairs of the House minority caucuses and is focused on eliminating the persistent health disparities that leave millions of Americans in poorer health and more likely to die prematurely. The legislation would focus on improving health workforce diversity; providing culturally and linguistically appropriate health care; increasing access to health care; and improving data collection and analysis. In addition to the House bill, Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Thad Cochran (R-MS) have introduced the Minority Health Improvement and Health Disparity Elimination Act in the Senate.

Disparities in health are a considerable cost to our society. Despite dramatic achievements in health and healthcare over the past century, there exist evident racial/ethnic and rural/urban health disparities in health outcomes exacerbated by the lack of insurance coverage, and the lack of access to quality health care. APHA has endorsed both the House and Senate bills and will work to move both bills through Congress this year.

VI. House Defeats DC Needle Exchange Ban

On June 28, 2007, the House of Representatives defeated an amendment by Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) that would have prohibited the District of Columbia from spending any local funds on any needle exchange programs. Since 1998, the District has been prohibited from using any local funds for programs that provide intravenous drug users with clean needles - even though there is strong data that shows that these programs greatly reduce the spread of HIV and other disease spread through the use of contaminated needles. APHA sent a letter to leaders in Congress urging rejection of any effort to reinstate the ban, which was not included in this year’s committee-passed appropriations bill that funds the District of Columbia. APHA will continue to work to discourage any attempt to reinstate this language in the Senate or as the House and Senate work out any potential differences in their versions of the bills during conference.

VII. Stem Cell Legislation Update

As expected, President Bush veted a bill, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007 - which passed the House 247-176 and the Senate 63-34 - that would have allowed federal funding for research using stem cells derived from human embryos originally created for fertility treatments and willingly donated by patients. At the same time, the President issued an executive order to the National Institutes of Health urging scientists to pursue research on stem cells that "are derived without creating a human embryo for research purposes or destroying, discarding or subjecting to harm a human embryo or fetus."

Federal funding for stem cell research currently allows research only using lines created on or before Aug. 9, 2001, under a policy previously announced by the President. White House spokesperson Tony Fratto said the President would outline a program to allow research that creates additional "pluripotent" stem cells, which can develop into all types of tissues in the body and have the potential to repair and restore tissue. Adding that the White House is encouraged by recent stem cell research using amniotic fluid and embryos that had been declared "clinically dead".

In response to the measure’s veto, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), told reporters, "last year, the Republican-controlled House and Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill to open up the hope of stem cell research to the millions of Americans,” adding, "Now a year has passed, and our best scientists continue to work with one hand tied behind their back."

VIII. Policy Watch: News on relevant federal, state and local activities affecting public health programs

Annual State Score Cards Released. On June 15th, the Alliance for Health Reform and the Commonwealth Fund released a report, “Aiming Higher: Results from a State Scorecard on Health System Performance,” comparing health data gathered from every state. The statistics, which measured states’ progress across five dimensions: access, quality, avoidable hospital use and costs, equity, and healthy lives, stressed that access to health care is highly correlated with high quality performance. Even the highest-scoring states were well below where they should be. A panelist, Peter Budetti of Oklahoma, one of the lower ranking states, explained that the state is working to improve its health care system but is limited in scope by budget constraints that wealthier states do not experience. Christopher Koller of Rhode Island, one of the highest-ranked states, reviewed some of the strengths of the state’s health care system, including insurance access, emphasis on quality, and leadership and collaboration. Mary Wakefield of North Dakota stressed the importance of a primary care-based health system, and argued that our current systems are not compatible with the rapid advancement of technology. They agreed that measuring progress and gathering information was a key component to achieving high-performance health care in the future.

Equity in Prescriptive Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act Introduced. Representative Nita Lowey (D-NY) introduced the Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act. The bill would require health plans to cover FDA-approved contraceptives and related medical services to the same extent that they cover other prescription drugs services. According the Center for Reproductive Rights, every year an estimated 31 million American women are at risk for unintended pregnancy. According to the Center, contraceptives that are not completely covered by insurance can cost women between $300 and$700 a year while “the cost to employers of providing insurance is minimal - for example, one estimate found the employer’s cost to be as little as $1.43 per employee per month.

Representative Cummings (D-MD) Promoting Dental Care to Low-Income Children. On June 18th Representative Elijah Cummings (D-MD) spoke out against the lack of adequate dental care for low-income children. Although it is intended for dental care to be included for children who are Medicaid Beneficiaries, many children are unable to receive such care. Rep. Cummings introduced a bill known as “Deamonte’s Law” to ensure an increase in access to dental care for children covered by Medicaid. The bill honors a young Maryland boy named Deamonte Driver who died from a tooth infection that spread to his brain due to insufficient dental care. On May 17th Cummings, backed by members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sent a letter to the Director of the Center for Medicaid and State Operations, Dennis Smith, requesting the enforcement of federal laws stating all children who are Medicaid Beneficiaries receive dental care in addition to the other services provided.

HIV/AIDS Workers in New York Seek To Address Increased Rates Among Minority Women. New data from the New York State Department of Health has shown a rapidly rising number of HIV/AIDS-infected Black and Latina women in eight Western counties in the State. Hoping to reverse this trend, Group Ministries, Inc. hosted a forum entitled “Disproportionate Impact! Women of Color and AIDS” on June 15 in Buffalo. Discussions and workshops centered on teaching attendees effective prevention methods, multicultural appreciation and effective political advocacy using the CDC-developed SISTA (Sisters Informing Sisters about Topics on AIDS) Strategy of regular condom use and assertiveness in sexual relationships. Panelist and Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples (D) hope other afflicted areas will emulate their example to reduce transmission of HIV, particularly among heterosexual women of color. “You don’t have to get [AIDS], and you don’t have to die from it,” said Powers: with the right attitude and information, “the disease is 100 percent preventable.”

Capitol Goes Green. The Greening of the Capitol Campaign, headed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), which is part of the larger Legislative Branch Appropriations Act (H.R.2771), asks for $3.9 million to make the Capitol's power plant more fuel-efficient and reduce carbon emissions. Under this proposal, the Capitol would also install energy-efficient light bulbs and slash the Government Printing Office's budget in an effort to reduce the number of print copies produced. Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL), Chairwoman of the Appropriations Subcommittee with jurisdiction over the proposal, insists that the budget is "tight" and "fiscally responsible," but aims to strip the copy-reduction proposal and an exchange program for foreign leaders from the bill in conference.

Please email us <mailto:kate.sweeney@apha.org> any relevant stories from your community or state to be included in future editions of Policy Watch.

Contact <mailto:comments@apha.org>

APHA Home <http://www.apha.org/>
APHA 800 I Street NW, Washington DC 20001
202-777-APHA (tel) * 202-777-2534 (fax)

grassroots@apha.org <mailto:grassroots@apha.org >
Don Hoppert
Director of Government Relations
American Public Health Association
800 I Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
202-777-2514 -- phone
202-777-2532 -- fax
www.apha.org
Protect, Prevent, Live Well

CPHA-N E-MAILER

Issue #13 June 26, 2007

This periodical newsletter is sent via E-mail to all members and friends of the California Public Health Association-North. It is designed to provide updates and encourage networking and information exchanges. If you do not wish to receive it, please send a note to: office@cphan.org

Mid-Year Calendar Update

An updated listing of many national meetings is included at the end of this issue. If you have events or programs you would like included, please send them to ghildo@earthlink.net ASAP. These will be included in the next issue and placed on the CPHA-N Website for general reference.

Special Journal Issue Examines Public Health Accreditation

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-supported special issue of the Journal of Public Health Management & Practice (JPHM&P) looks at efforts to establish a national voluntary accreditation program for public health agencies and examines the potential of promising accreditation models. Included in this special issue are the Final Recommendations of the Exploring Accreditation Steering Committee, a distinguished group of 25 public health leaders working with input from over 650 professionals to investigate the feasibility and desirability of establishing a national accreditation system. The committee's conclusions support the formation of a voluntary accreditation system for state and local public health departments, and recommend moving forward with the program's implementation.

To access, click on this address:
http://www.rwjf.org/programareas/features/featuredetail.jsp?
featureID=2554&type=3&pid=1141&c=EMC-CA141

What is CDOC?

CDOC is the California Dialogue on Cancer, the DHS-convened state-wide committee that is currently working to implement the California Comprehensive Plan for Cancer Control. The Plan, developed over a period of several years with the efforts of hundreds of cancer control leaders throughout California, includes major objectives on the full spectrum of cancer control : Prevention, Early Detection, Treatment, Access to Care, Survivors, Data and Surveillance all with an emphasis on eliminating disparities.

CDOC is placing a priority on having communities throughout the state take the plan and make it work for them. A number of Access to Cancer Care Community Projects have already been developed and more are being developed for 2007-2008. Local Public Health Departments and local offices of the American Cancer Society have helped to initiate local programs, leading to community wide involvement.

You can review the California Comprehensive Cancer Plan at www.thecdoc.com/plan.php. (Note: Please disregard the reference to the June '06 Conference).

Statewide Advocacy Network on Nutrition & Physical Activity

The California Center for Public Healthy Advocacy (CCPHA), an organization founded by CPHA-N and SCPHA, invites you to participate in local advocacy efforts. Members of the Advocacy Network will join a growing statewide movement of public health professionals, parents, teachers, community activists and students to address the epidemics of childhood inactivity and overweight through policy reform. Members of the network will: (1) Receive e-mail updates on state legislation regarding physical activity, physical education and nutrition; and (2) Receive e-mail alerts about advocacy tools available to the community to educate state and local policymakers, such as the Center’s January 2007 study, Searching for Healthy Food: The Food Landscape in California Cities and Counties.

One of the key items of business right now is SB 120, the menu labeling bill. The bill requires chain restaurants to provide nutritional information on menu boards and menus. SB 120 has passed the Senate and is now in the Assembly, where a vote is expected later this summer. To help ensure passage of the bill in the Assembly CCPHA wants to work with individuals in your Assembly District to inform your Assembly Member about the bill.

Join by going to http://www.publichealthadvocacy.org and clicking on the Join Advocacy Network. If you have questions, please contact Stefan Harvey at sh@publichealthadvocacy.org. Alerts will come from Amanda Purcell, the Policy Director at the Center.

Building the Science of Dissemination & Implementation
in the Service of Public Health
September 10-11, 2007, Bethesda, Maryland

This conference, led by the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR), builds upon its new strategic prospectus advancing the “science of implementation” as well as the existing trans-NIH Funding Opportunity Announcement which seeks to support dissemination and implementation research in health. The goals of the conference are as follows: 1. To explicate the state of the art, theory, and practice of dissemination and implementation research; 2. To highlight where increased conceptual, empirical, and methodological development is still needed, thus identifying challenges for the field; 3. To foster dissemination and implementation research with the ultimate goal of improving public health through the availability, adoption, adaptation and sustained maintenance of efficacious approaches that improve the quality of health and human services; and 4. To recruit additional researchers and develop a concomitant community of scientists.

Details will be available soon: http://obssr.od.nih.gov

National Conference on Health Communication, Marketing & Media: Expanding Networks, Increasing Knowledge, Advancing Public Health
August 29-30, 2007, Atlanta, GA

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is pleased to announce the first National Conference on Health Communication, Marketing and Media to be held at the Tom Harkin Global Communications Center, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This conference will provide a scientific and professional forum for researchers and practitioners to share insights, research findings and best practices to advance the fields of health communication, marketing and media. The conference is an excellent opportunity to meet with colleagues and shape the future of health communication and marketing practice. Space is limited for this conference and advance registration is required.

For info, visit http://www.cdc.gov/healthmarketing/conference2007.htm

Public Health Meetings & Events, July - December 2007

For links to these - please visit the Public Health Events Calendar on our Events page at http://cphan.org/event.html#phcalendar

Posted 6/28/07

CPHA-N E-MAILER

Issue #12 June 20, 2007

Mark your calendars:
APHA 135th Annual Meeting & Exposition
November 3-7, Washington, D.C.

You can now access the official Registration and Housing Web site for the 2007 Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. Complete your online meeting registration, and your data will be directly linked to the online hotel/housing bureau form for one-stop convenience. In order to confirm hotel reservations, secure discounted rates at official APHA Annual Meeting hotels and access complimentary shuttle bus service to the convention center, attendees must make their hotel reservations through the APHA Housing Bureau.

The Opening General Session will take place on Sunday, Nov. 4, from 12 noon to 2 p.m. at the Washington Convention Center. Featured speakers will be award-winning author Laurie Garrett and Julie Louise Gerberding, MD, MPH, Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Lance Armstrong, founder of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, a non-profit organization that inspires and empowers people affected by cancer, and a record-holding, seven-time winner of the Tour de France, will be the keynote speaker at the APHA Annual Meeting Closing General Session on Wednesday, Nov. 7, at 4:30 p.m. For the most up-to-date information, visit www.apha.org/meetings/highlights.

Exploring the Link Between HPV & Cervical Cancer

The California Family Health Council sponsored this course to support health care providers in learning about HPV, its link to cervical cancer and ways to screen, treat and help their clients prevent HPV. This online training module is a recording of an audio conference broadcast November 14, 2006. Downloadable course materials include Powerpoint visuals, an audio recording, and written course materials. Continuing education credit is available for a fee of $20. http://www.healthed.org/Training/HPV.htm

Making Chronic Disease a Key Topic in 2008 Elections

An alliance of more than 50 health care, business, labor and community organizations this week launched a national coalition dedicated to making chronic disease care and prevention a key issue in the 2008 presidential elections, CQ HealthBeat reports. The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD), which includes executives from the American Academy of Family Physicians, American Hospital Association (AHA) and Service Employees International Union, hopes to recast the health care reform debate to include key tenets of chronic disease prevention: healthy nutrition, regular exercise and smoking cessation. To help bring chronic disease to the forefront of political discussions, the PFCD will take its cue from presidential campaign strategies. In addition to using print, radio, billboard and other advertisements, the group will develop grassroots outreach campaigns.

The coalition will launch its first series of grassroots voter and candidate education efforts on May 17 in states that host high-profile presidential primaries such as Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire. Noting that 62 percent of aging baby boomers suffer from at least one chronic condition, the president of the AHA says "our health care system needs a serious overhaul in order to better focus on wellness and managing chronic illness," adding that "we need to get back to caring for the whole patient." (Carey, CQ HealthBeat, 5/15/07 [subscription required]; AHA News Now, 5/15/07; PFCD http://www.fightchronicdisease.org/pdfs/nationallaunch.pdf)

HEALTH EDUCATION SPECIALIST, SENIOR
Deadline: open and continuous until June 30, 2007

Solano County, California is seeking to appoint a HEALTH EDUCATION SPECIALIST, SENIOR to develop, promote, coordinate, implement and evaluate community public health education programs including staff education, professional consultation, community organization, public information, and individual and group teaching related to health and control of disease. Annual Salary: $55,614 - $67,599. Please visit www.solanocounty.com for minimum qualifications and how to apply.

Better way to control flu epidemics?

A report published in the March 27 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests a better way to control flu epidemics. The general recommendation that the elderly should receive vaccination first because of their greater morbidity, is challenged by studies at Yale and Rutgers Universities. Since children are the group that is most responsible for spreading the virus, they should be the first vaccinated. Children are key vectors of the flu virus and bring the virus into their homes. Vaccinating most children first, would halt the spread of the virus to adults and the elderly.

Cancer Health Disparities Summit 2007

Catalyzing Trans-disciplinary Regional Partnerships to Eliminate Cancer Health Disparities July 16-18, 2007 Bethesda, MD Please visit http://cancermeetings.org/CHDSummit07/ for more information and to register.

Stanislaus County Asthma Coalition:
A model community program

The Stanislaus County Asthma Coalition (SCAC), initiated by the Public Health Division in 2002, is composed of healthcare professionals who have the mission of creating an “Asthma Friendly” community by promoting awareness, education, management and prevention. Dr. Wallace Carroll, is the coalition’s chairperson and Dr. Arlaine Gutierrez, is the Public Education Subcommittee chair. They represent the Sutter Gold Medical Foundation as coalition leads. The coalition currently has approximately 84 members representing 40 different agencies. In October 2005, Sutter Gold Medical Foundation and SCAC partnered in the successful application submission for the Best Practices in Childhood Asthma project at a multicultural clinic in the heart of the Central Valley.

This project allowed Sutter Gold to hire an Asthma Coordinator to track and refer all high risk patients for ongoing primary care review, and appropriate therapeutic interventions. The asthma coordinator also schedules home visits and visits to satellite clinics once a week to follow up on medication compliance, environmental control, and asthma action plans, and she relays and discusses information obtained during these visits to the patient’s primary care provider, and constantly updates the care plan.

SCAC adopted the Asthma-Friendly Flag Program in July 2005. This air quality program is a partnership with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. It is working to protect faculty, staff and students from exposure to poor outdoor air quality. This free program offers educational materials to administrators, school staff, students, parents and organizations on Asthma and the health impacts of air quality. By monitoring the color of the daily flag, people with asthma can better determine a safe level of outdoor activity. The flag colors correspond to the colors of the Air Quality Index (AQI). Medic Alert, donated 245 flag sets. Currently, 86 schools, 13 migrant Head Starts, and 7 agencies have implemented the Asthma-Friendly Flag Program in the County. For free downloadable educational information about the SCAC and the Asthma-Friendly Flag Program, visit our website www.stanasthma.org or call (209) 558-4846.

Note to Readers:

This issue and past issues are posted on our Website www.cphan.org within a day of issue. Just go to the Website and click on Public Health Watch menu. This enables you to back reference items as you may need them and there is no need to place in your own computer memory. Please remember that this is a communication vehicle designed for sharing important public health information and event schedules, so let us know if you have an item to share!

QUESTIONS? CONTACT US
CPHA-N Mail Address: 555 12th St., 10th Floor Oakland CA 94607-4046
Phone: 510 601 0900 Fax: 510 653-4810 Toll free: 1 866 601-0900

Posted 6/20/07

CPHA-N E-MAILER

Issue #11 June 5, 2007

Note to Readers:

This issue and past issues are posted on our Website www.cphan.org within a day of issue. Just go to the Website and click on Public Health Watch menu. This enables you to back-reference items as you need them when there is no place to store them on your own computer. Please remember that this is a communication vehicle designed for sharing important public health information and event schedules, so let us know if you have an item to share!

Annual Occupational Safety & Health Institute: July 30-August 3

The 20th Annual Occupational Safety and Health Institute is scheduled for this summer, July 30th - August 3, 2007. It will be held in the San Francisco Bay Area at the Elihu Harris State Building, 1515 Clay Street, Oakland. Continuing Education credits for physicians, nurses and industrial hygiene professionals will be available. For more information on this important annual program, please check www.coehce.org or phone (510) 643-7277. The program is sponsored by the Center for Occupational & Environmental Health at UC Berkeley. (COEH)

California Primary Care Association Annual Conference: October 4-5

From time to time, we will provide information about some of the very important public-health-related agencies in our state. The California Primary Care Association has just released its 'Hold the Date' notice for its Annual Conference, scheduled for October 4-5th, 2007, in Sacramento. For information about the conference, contact Carole Loeb at (916) 440-8170 x206. For information about CPCA. visit the Website at www.cpca.org. Office: 1215 K Street. Sacramento. CA 95814.

CPCA represents more than 600 not-for-profit community clinics and health centers (CCHCs) which provide comprehensive, quality health care services, particularly for low-income, uninsured and underserved Californians, who might otherwise not have access to health care. CPCA's diverse membership includes community and free clinics, federally funded and federally designated clinics, rural and urban clinics, large and small clinic corporations and clinics dedicated to special needs and special populations. CPCA is designated by the Federal Bureau of Primary Health Care as the state primary care association and receives federal program support to develop and enhance services for member clinics. The mission of CPCA is to strengthen its member community clinics and health centers and networks through advocacy, education, and services, in order to improve the health status of their communities.

Massive spending on tobacco marketing

Pending legislation in Congress is proving to be increasingly necessary as the most recent FTC report shows massive spending on tobacco marketing. Expenditures on total tobacco marketing are at historically high levels, with the most recent data reporting that $36.6 million are spent per day to market this deadly and addictive product. It is particularly upsetting that tobacco companies are spending the bulk of these funds on price discounts that make cigarettes more affordable for children, the most price-sensitive consumers, while undermining state efforts to reduce tobacco use by increasing tobacco taxes. The FTC report highlights the urgent need for Congress to enact pending legislation that would grant the FDA authority to regulate tobacco products. Also, this FDA legislation would provide states the authority to regulate cigarette marketing, for the first time. To learn more about this FDA legislation or to take action, visit: http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/

CPHA-N is a non-profit organization [(501 (c) (3)] with IRS Tax donation/deduction status, thereby allowing your contributions to be tax-deductible. Our main funding support comes from memberships and member support. If you are looking for a 'charity' , we are right here! We are currently seeking contributions to our 2007 PROGRAM ENHANCEMENT FUND. This Fund is needed to support additional CE programs and members services and to expand these to more areas of Northern California. Making a donation is easy: Just go to our Website www.cphan.org You'll find a secure way to donate, plus you'll get a receipt for your personal tax records. If you prefer, just send a check payable to 'CPHA-N ' to our office: 555 12th St. 10th Fl. Oakland CA 94607

Thanks for any support you can provide!

Surgeon General to Be Kentucky Doctor

President Bush nominated Dr. James W. Holsinger Jr., professor of preventive medicine at the University of Kentucky, to be the 18th surgeon general, who oversees the U.S. Public Health Service. Holsinger has led Kentucky's health care system, taught at several U.S. medical schools and served more than three decades in the United States Army Reserve, retiring in 1993 as a major general. A cardiologist, Holsinger has served as Kentucky's secretary for health and family services, chancellor of the University of Kentucky Medical Center. Holsinger received his bachelor's degree from the University of Kentucky, and medical degree from Duke University.

Promoting the use of key preventive services by Latina Women

Latina woman and their young children use fewer preventive health services and have a higher incidence of preventable diseases than whites. Clinic-based and community-based strategies, such as use of promotoras, (lay health advisors recruited from the Latino community) can increase the use of key preventive health services by Latinas. See "Use of preventive maternal and child health services by Latina women: A review of published intervention studies" by Wasserman, Bender and Yih in the February 2007 Medical Care Research and Review. Their review reached three conclusions: (1) Every medical encounter is an opportunity to increase use of preventive services. (2) Promotoras can impact the use of preventive health services. (3) Their effectiveness can be improved. As reported in the April issue of Research Activities of the AHRQ For AHRQ article go to: www.ahrq.gov/research/apr07/0407RA14.htm

"The field of public health is facing a labor crisis"

This is the lead sentence is a report just released by the Public Health Institute's Spring 07 issue 'Voices for a Healthy Future'. Carol Woltring, MPH, Executive Director of the Center for Health Leadership and Practice at PHI, is the author of this important article. She writes "Up to 50% of the field's governmental workers are likely to retire over the next five years. Most of these workers are expected to come from field's leadership and management ranks." You'll find the article and the entire issue available in a PDF file at their Website: www.phi.org

Save the Date and plan to attend!
Sacramento Dialogue on Cancer: Thursday June 21

The Sacramento Dialogue on Cancer will take place on Thursday June 21, 2007. This major community forum will be held at the Alumni Center of Sacramento State University from 8:30AM - 4:30PM. (Registration open at 7:30AM). The Alumni Center is located at 6000 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95819. Registration fee $20. Continental breakfast and lunch will be served. Please RSVP by June 14th to (916) 422-2700. This important community forum is sponsored by the Diversity Coalition of Sacramento. For more information go to: www.diversitycoalition-sacramento.com

Posted 6/5/07

CPHA-N E-MAILER

Issue #10 May 23, 2007

CPHA-N's E-MAILER newsletter is growing

We're looking for people to serve as 'field reporters' for the CPHA-N E-MAILER. We hope that you are already a member (or soon to become one), but submissions from a 'friend of public health' will work also. Ideally we would like to have at least one person in each county of our affiliate service area of Northern California (north of Kern County to the Oregon border). Duties: provide local updates on important public- health- related programs and events. This could become key network for public health and help in sharing information throughout the state.

How to volunteer: Just send a note to Glenn at ghildo@earthlink.net indicating that you are interested in helping with this assignment. We will provide confirmation to you along with some brief guidelines.

2007 Program Enhancement Fund - Help Needed

CPHA-N is a non-profit organization [(501 (c) (3)] with IRS Tax donation/deduction status, thereby allowing your contributions to be tax-deductible. Our main funding support comes from memberships and member support. If you are looking for a 'charity,' we are right here! We are currently seeking contributions to our 2007 PROGRAM ENHANCEMENT FUND. This Fund is needed to support additional CE programs and members services and to expand these to more areas of Northern California. Making a donation is easy: Just go to our Donations Page. You'll find a secure way to donate using your credit card, plus you'll get a receipt for your personal tax records.

If you prefer, just send a check payable to 'CPHA-N' to our office: 555-12th Street, 10th Floor, Oakland CA 94607

Thanks for any support you can provide!

CCLDHE hears report on State Cancer Plan & CDOC
(California Dialogue on Cancer)

Dr. Kurt Snipes, Chief of Comprehensive Cancer Control, CDPH, and Glenn I. Hildebrand, Vice Chair, Access to Cancer Care, Disparities and Early Detection Team of CDOC, met with members of the [CCLDHE] California Conference of Local Directors of Health Education in Sacramento on May 16th. The discussion centered on efforts to help implement the state plan for comprehensive cancer control in communities throughout California. "Access to Cancer Care" Community Projects are currently underway in San Diego, Kern County, Ventura, Sacramento and Oakland/Alameda. CDOC considers community- based programs as a top priority. Current efforts are aimed at recruiting another 3-three-to-five-5 communities for 2007-2008. IF YOUR COMMUNITY IS INTERESTED IN HAVING A PROGRAM - LET US KNOW !

Contact Jennie Cook at jenniec@prodigy.net or Glenn Hildebrand at ghildo@earthlink.net or Sara Cook at scook1@dhs.ca.gov

Student Fellowship in Environmental Health Promotion

The Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) is accepting applications for the SOPHE/ATSDR Student Fellowship in Environmental Health Promotion. This fellowship is designed to recognize, assist and train students working on research or practice-based projects in environmental health education/health promotion or environmental justice from the perspective of health education or the behavioral sciences.

**All applications must be postmarked by July 31st to qualify for consideration.** Fellowship recipients will receive: $1,500 stipend to be distributed throughout the year; Fellowship certificate; Free student membership in national SOPHE for one year; Complimentary registration at the SOPHE Annual Meeting (San Diego, CA – 2008), and a presentation on the proposed project; and Recognition in SOPHE's newsletter, News & Views, on SOPHE’s web site, and through postings to related listservs.

Application forms, detailed instructions, and review criteria are available at: http://www.sophe.org/content/awards.asp.

New publication from Public Health Institute:
Latest issue of Voices for a Healthy Future

The Public Health Institute (PHI) is pleased to announce the arrival of the spring edition of its biannual newsletter -- Voices for a Healthy Future. The theme of this season’s newsletter is developing a workforce for the future of public health. In this issue, we feature the Center for Health Leadership and Practice as well as California’s Healthcare Workforce Diversity Initiative. These PHI programs focus on developing a robust “leadership bench” and increasing diversity in the health care workforce. Also featured are the Ditching Dirty Diesel Collaborative and Company-Community Partnerships for Women’s Health.

With more than 40 years of experience, PHI's work remains unified under a common mission: to promote health, well-being, and quality of life for all people through research and evaluation, training and technical assistance, and by building community partnerships.

We invite you to use our newsletter to generate discussion about the critical public health issues we've highlighted. A copy is posted on the website as a pdf file.

To view and/or print a copy, visti http://www.phi.org and click on the "What's New" button. To sign up to receive future editions of the newsletter, click on the link http://www.phi.org/news-newsletter-signup.html. To request bulk copies of the newsletter for use in your program, please contact the PHI Communications Department at (510) 285-5583 or mailto:communications@phi.org.

Public Health Practice Award Deadline: May 30th

The Public Health Practice Award Committee of the Epidemiology Section of APHA is seeking nominations for the 2007 Public Health Practice Award. This Award recognizes the brightest and most dedicated early career individuals and programs for their work in improving public health and the practice of public health through the use of epidemiological methods. The criteria for this award has are somewhat flexible, to allow the selection of either a program, an early career individual or both for the award. For example, the Governor’s Office of the State of North Dakota issued a press release when the North Dakota Adolescent Suicide Prevention Project won our 2005 award. This project demonstrated an impressive 30% reduction in adolescent suicide mortality and similar reduction in attempted suicide during the 4-year period. The winners were not epidemiologists, but used epidemiologic methods to track the success of their project.

For more information, contact Robin Taylor Wilson, PhD; phone: 717-531-7178; email: rwilson@psu.edu.

Joint Memberships

Efforts to build membership bridges between related public health organizations in our state by joint, money saving membership arrangements is working well: Congratulations to the 24 public health professionals who have taken advantage of the Dual Members [both CPHA-N & SCPHA] or Partner Memberships [both CPHA-N & NCSOPHE] for 2007.

Dr. Mark Horton Named State Public Health Officer

(from the Governor’s Press Release) Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently announced the appointment of Dr. Mark Horton as director of the newly formed California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and state public health officer. To underscore his commitment to public health, last year, the Governor signed SB 162 which created a statutorily separate Department of Public Health. The CPDH creates a more effective public health infrastructure in California, to decrease illness, injury and death rates; provides greater protection for California residents in the event of an act of bioterrorism or other major public health emergency; and increases accountability and improves program effectiveness for the public health. Dr. Horton has a long and distinguished public health career and is very familiar with the California public health landscape. He is the former Health Officer for Orange County.

Our congratulations and best wishes to Dr. Horton. Leadership from both CPHA-N and SCPHA have already scheduled a joint meeting with Dr. Horton.

American Heart Association Launches "Face the Fats" Campaign

This new national consumer education campaign is aimed at increasing consumer awareness and understanding of fats. The campaign brings the "Big Fat Picture" into focus with clear guidance and interactive tools featuring two characters "The Bad Fats Brothers – Sat and Trans" and recipes developed by celebrity chef Alton Brown. This campaign has several key elements: (1) Face the Fats: The central campaign Web site to allow consumers to learn about fats and eating sensibly; (2) My Fats Translator: A calculator that provides personalized daily calorie and fat limits based on the age, gender, height, weight, and physical activity level; (3) The Bad Fats Brothers: Sat and Trans are two characters to lead our viral marketing effort; (4) Trans Fat Conference Proceedings Report: The proceedings report for the October 2006 conference has just been published online in Circulation.

For information about this new national program goto: www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3046074
If you have questions, call Shirley Yin-Piazza at (214) 706-1939

New reports from 2004 American Community Survey

The UCLA Asian American Studies Center, as an official U.S. Census Information Center in partnership with the National Coalition for Asian Pacific Community Development, is pleased to assist the U.S. Census Bureau in announcing the release of three informative reports on Asian Americans, Black Americans, and Hispanic Americans based on the 2004 American Community Survey. Each report can be downloaded.

The American Community: 2004 -- These three reports present a portrait of racial and ethnic population groups in the United States based on data from the 2004 American Community Survey. Each report provides information on a number of characteristics (e.g., education, household type, income, commuting, etc.). Data are presented in tables, figures, and maps. In addition, the Asian and Hispanic reports present data for selected detailed groups (Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese for Asians; Guatemalans, Hondurans, Salvadorans, Colombians, Ecuadorians, and Peruvians for Hispanics). Two additional reports on the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population and the American Indian and Alaska Native population will be released later this year.

The American Community -- Asians: 2004 http://www.census.gov/prod/2007pubs/acs-05.pdf

The American Community -- Hispanics: 2004 http://www.census.gov/prod/2007pubs/acs-03.pdf

The American Community -- Blacks: 2004 http://www.census.gov/prod/2007pubs/acs-04.pdf

How US compares with other nations in health

MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL: AN INTERNATIONAL UPDATE ON THE COMPARATIVE PERFORMANCE OF AMERICAN HEALTH CARE Karen Davis, Cathy Schoen, Stephen C. Schoenbaum, Michelle M. Doty, Alyssa L. Holmgren, Jennifer L. Kriss, and Katherine K. Shea US-based health foundation The Commonwealth Fund, May 15, 2007 Volume 59

" ......Despite having the most costly health system in the world, the United States consistently under performs on most dimensions of performance, relative to other countries. This report-an update to two earlier editions-includes data from surveys of patients, as well as information from primary care physicians about their medical practices and views of their countries' health systems.

Compared with five other nations-Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom-the U.S. health care system ranks last or next-to-last on five dimensions of a high performance health system: quality, access, efficiency, equity, and healthy lives. The U.S. is the only country in the study without universal health insurance coverage, partly accounting for its poor performance on access, equity, and health outcomes. The inclusion of physician survey data also shows the U.S. lagging in adoption of information technology and use of nurses to improve care coordination for the chronically ill...."

For full reference go to: http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/publications_show.htm?doc_id=482678 Set Includes several downloads and chart packs. (Use latest version of Acrobat Reader for downloads).

Posted 5/24/07

CPHA-N E-MAILER

Issue #9 May 17, 2007

Nursing Care in Life, Death and Disaster Conference
June 20-22 in Atlanta

The American Nurses Association is hosting its inaugural quadrennial policy conference, Nursing Care in Life, Death and Disaster, June 20–22, in Atlanta, GA. This conference is dedicated to considering the significant health and disaster preparedness policy questions related to an altered standard of care that can result from a major natural or manmade disaster. It will inform nurses, policymakers, government and other disaster planners and responders regarding reconciliation of the professional, legal and regulatory conflicts of a diminished standard of care and will promote better decision-making, all to improve possible patient outcomes and the quality of care provided during a major disaster. For more information, visit www.NursingWorld.org/meetings or e-mail meetings@ana.org.

"...and now for a short commercial."

One of our objectives in sharing this communication with both our members and 'friends of public health' is to help to make everyone aware of CPHA-N and of our close connection to APHA. As an official affiliate of The American Public Health Association, CPHA-N provides that essential local focus for public health professionals throughout Northern California. This means more opportunities for attending CE programs and networking with your peers during the year. Consider both CPHA-N and APHA membership as a way to maximize you as a public health professional - working on global, national and local programs.

Joining CPHA-N has never been easier. We offer, in addition to the regular membership, several other special categories, including one for retirees; community health workers; interested private citizens; as well as joint memberships with SCPHA and NCSOPHE Chapter. You can find out more and join on line at www.cphan.org

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