Category Archives: General

Telling Congress to increase, not cut, SNAP/Food Stamp benefits is one of twelve ways to fight poverty, a number of experts note in a blog post from The Nation. FRAC President Jim Weill weighs in on the positive effects of the SNAP/Food Stamp Program, noting it boosts food security, health and nutrition and lifts millions out of poverty and deep poverty. However, the Institute of Medicine reaffirmed that current benefit levels are not enough to make a healthy diet affordable for recipients. “This means that the program isn’t doing as much for food security, poverty reduction, child development, disease prevention and healthcare cost containment as it could,” writes Weill. The program is important to the country, say 73 percent of voters, and 70 percent say it’s wrong to cut benefits in order to reduce federal spending. “Tell your Representatives and Senators,” writes Weill, “that the right course for the nation is to improve food stamp benefits (and support at least the temporary benefit boost the President has proposed) and that they must oppose any SNAP cuts being considered by the Agriculture Committees in the ‘Farm Bill.’” Other important ways to fight poverty: support increasing the minimum wage to more than $11 per hour (from Sister Simone Campbell, Sisters of Social Service, executive director of NETWORK); fund LIHEAP at the maximum authorized level (from Dr. Deborah Frank, founder and principal investigator, Children’s Healthwatch); urge Congress to pass the Healthy Families Act and a national paid leave program (from Judith Lichtman, senior adviser, National Partnership for Women & Families); and “[t]ell Congress to stop harmful cuts to anti-poverty programs now” (from Debbie Weinstein, Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs).

Read the original article from The Nation here.

Do you know where your food comes from? The question sounds simple enough, but food chain traceability is a complex worldwide issue that requires consistent standards and adequate technology in this ever changing world. Being able to trace your food back to its origins can be crucial during a food-related recall or outbreak.

Check out this article from Food Safety News for more information. This article is the first in a series of articles about traceability – next week an article will be released that gives readers an inside look at how food is traced from farm to fork.

Alaska Health Care Commission will meet on Thursday, June 20, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM, and Friday, June 21, 8:00 AM – 12:00 Noon. The meeting will be held at Providence Cancer Center in Rooms U2281 –U2285.

The focus of this meeting is health care financing and transparency.

The Alaska Health Care Commission was established by the Legislature in 2010 to advise the state on policies for improving health and health care for all Alaskans. Commission members are appointed by the governor.

Visit the Alaska Health Care Commission for more information.

National Public Health Week (NPHW) is April 1 – 7, 2013.  This year’s theme is ROI: Saves Lives, Saves Money. Here are some activities that may appeal to you.

First up: ESCAPE FIRE: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare. The documentary focuses on the complex problems of America’s broken health care system and explores ideas to solve them. From the film’s website: “Award winning filmmakers Matthew Heineman and Susan Froemke follow dramatic human stories as well as leaders fighting to transform healthcare at the highest levels of medicine, industry, government, and even the US military. ESCAPE FIRE is about finding a way out. It’s about saving the health of a nation.”

In Alaska, two screenings are planned, one in Anchorage and one in Juneau. The Anchorage screening, sponsored by State of Alaska Public Health Nursing is Thursday, April 4, at noon in suite 890 of the Frontier Building at 3601 C Street. Following the 90-minute screening is a panel discussion about the film and how it affects public health in Alaska.

The Juneau Public Health Center and its partners will present a screening on Thursday, April 4, from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM in the Hangar on the Wharf Ballroom, at 2 Marine Way #106. The screening in Juneau is followed by a panel discussion. For more information contact the Juneau Public Health Center at 907-465-3353.

If social media is more to your liking you can visit the NPHW Facebook page and participate in all of the public health-related discussions. Or today, April 3 at 2:00 PM EDT, join APHA’s third annual National Public Health Week Twitter chat. This year, the focus is the value of public health and its return on investment in our communities. All tweets should be tagged #NPHWchat.

Do you like writing letters? Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard and Sen. Tom Udall recently introduced resolutions in their respective houses supporting the goals and ideals of National Public Health Week. Send letters of support for H.RES.124 and S.RES.91 to our congressional members and ask for their support as the resolutions advance through the legislative process.

Or you can send letters to the editor to raise awareness of public health issues and successes in your community. Consult the NPHW toolkit for tips about getting your letter published. You can also request a sample op-ed from APHA.

What does public health mean to you? Let us know.