__________________________________________________________________________ Americans Drastically Reduce Spending on Health Care According to a new study cosmetic surgery, dental procedures, and anything not
covered by traditional health insurance are being put off to save money. __________________________________________________________________________ What's Driving Employee Benefits As a direct response to increasing health care costs,
employers are asking employees to become more invested in their health care
choices. ___________________________________________________________ USDA Grants Help Plant Seeds of Good Nutrition with School
Gardens Aiding in First Lady Michelle Obama's fight against
childhood obesity, the US Department of Agriculture is awarding $1 million in grants to eligible schools in order to help educate students about proper
nutrition by planting community gardens. ___________________________________________________________________________ Toward a Healthy High Schools Movement: Strategies for
Mobilizing Public Health for Educational Reform Jessica Ruglis and Nicholas Freudenberg ___________________________________________________________________________ 2011 Parenting Awareness Month Kickoffs Wednesday,
October 20, 2010, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, Michigan. Friday,
November 19, 2010, Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center, East Lansing,
Michigan __________________________________________________________________________ The Guide to Data
in Your Back Yard The Michigan League for Human Services was created an online
tool that will help quickly locate a wealth of local information. To access this data click here. ____________________________________________________________________________ Infant Oral Heath Summit Pediatric Dental Seminar for Dental and Medical Professionals Friday, October 1, 2010, Lansing Center, Lansing, MI (800) 589-2632, ext. 402. ____________________________________________________________________________ Save the Date - Moving Towards Solutions: Addressing Teen Pregnancy Prevention in Michigan October 14-15, 2010 Inn at St. John's Conference Center, Plymouth, MI The third Annual Moving Toward Solutions Conference will provide educators, providers and community stakeholders with practical strategies for day to day implementation and highlight programs that prevent adolescent pregnancy. Watch for more information soon on registration. _____________________________________________________________________ 2010 Michigan Premier Public Health Conference October
27-28, 2010 at the Double Tree Bay City Hotel, in Bay City, Michigan to
address the public health advances and challenges in Michigan. A
special general session explore the impact of health care reform on
public health and other timely issues facing Michigan's public health.
Click here to register or for more info. Conference
Partners include: Great Lakes Chapter Society for Public Health
Education, Michigan Association of Counties, Michigan Association for
Local Public Health, Michigan Public Health Association, Michigan
Departments of Agriculture, Community Health and Natural Resources and
Environment, Michigan Public Health Institute, Michigan State
University, and the University of Michigan School of Public Health
_______________________________________________________________________________ Toolkit on Children's Health Insurance The Children's Health
Insurance: Tools
to Advance Enrollment and Retention Efforts toolkit
has been developed to
assist organizations in increasing awareness and understanding of
children's
health insurance programs and guiding eligible parents and guardians to
apply for coverage on
behalf of their children. Available materials include backgrounders,
enrollment
document checklists, event posters, fact sheets, photonovellas,
postcards, print public service announcements (PSAs), radio PSA
scripts, and
Web banners. ________________________________________________________________________________
Child Abuse Prevention
To help
prevent child abuse in the State of Michigan, purchase a Children's Trust Fund License Plate on line at www.michigan.gov/sos
The
Kids Count in Michigan project is part of a broad national effort to
improve conditions for children and their families. Funding for the
project is provided by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Detroit-based
Skillman Foundation, and local United Ways. The annual data book is
available from the Michigan League for Human Services and on the web at www.milhs.org.
The 2010 Kids Count Data shows that:
Childhood
poverty rose by 6 percent between 2005 and 2007, with nearly one in
every five children in Michigan living in poverty.
The number
of students receiving free or reduced-priced lunches rose 14 percent
between 2006 and 2008; more than two of every five public school K-12
students now participate in the School Lunch Program at free or reduced
prices.
Confirmed victims of abuse or neglect jumped an alarming
16 percent between 2000 and 2008, with nearly 30,000 children found to
be abused or neglected in 2008.
The report also found positive
trends. Childhood deaths dropped 18 percent, teen deaths fell by 11
percent and infant mortality declined 4 percent between 2000 and 2007.
Births to teens declined 20 percent over the decade.
The report
also tracked dramatic differences among the county groups, based on
population size. Teens living in rural areas with a total population of
under 20,000, for example, had much higher death rates (82 deaths per
100,000 teens), in part due to the danger of high-risk country roads.
The rate of deaths in urban and midsized areas was 56 deaths and, 64
deaths, respectively, per 100,000 teens.
