|
News from your Executive Director
Week ending 18 June 2010
1. USDA Summer School Food Service Program Toolkit Available
The Summer Food Service Program feeds hungry children when school is out so they can get the nutritious meals they need. The Summer Food Service Program Toolkit has officially launched on the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) websiteto help sponsors and feeding sites create outreach materials for children and families, media, and community organizations, materials that assist in increasing awareness and participation in the program. Many of the items in the toolkit are customizable and may be downloaded and used by sponsors and feeding sites to assist in their outreach efforts. The toolkit is on the FNS Summer Food Service web page at www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/summer/library/toolkit.pdf
2. Dietary Guidelines Feature Recommendation for Physical Activity
The report from the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee is out today, see http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/DGAs2010-DGACReport.htm. There is an opportunity to comment on the report before HHS and USDA write the official Dietary Guidelines (based on the committee report). You can submit written comments by July 15 or testify at USDA on July 8,see http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/DietaryGuidelines/2010/DGAC/Report/FinalF RN2010DGACReport.pdf for more details.
3. PEP Grants Competition Opens June 18
Hello Friends--
I hope you’re all having a great summer so far!
Given your past interest in the Carol M. White Physical Education Program, I wanted to let you know that the FY 2010 competition will officially open on Friday, June 18th. The Notice of Final Priorities and Notice Inviting Applications are now posted for review only to the Federal Register’s Public Inspection site at: http://www.federalregister.gov/inspection.aspx#spec_E. The Notice of Final Priorities details and responds to all of the public comments we received in response to our Notice of Proposed Priorities, published in March, 2010, and sets the final priorities, requirements, and definitions for PEP. The Notice Inviting Applications is the official document that we will use to signal that the competition is open; it also provides more specific details about the competition.
** Please note, these documents are not yet official. These notices will be considered official when they are published on Friday, June 18th, as noted on the Federal Register’s Public Inspection site.** Given the late date of the competition’s opening, however, we wanted to give folks as much lead time as possible in gearing up to write applications.
After the competition officially opens, corresponding application materials will be posted on ED’s website at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/whitephysed/applicant.html, including information about technical assistance opportunities.
Finally, we will need many qualified peer reviewers! If you or someone you know is interested in serving as a PEP peer reviewer, please see: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osdfs/peerreview.html. We will begin active recruitment very soon so it would be great to have you in our database now. Please note, if you are going to apply or are writing an application on an entity’s behalf, you are not eligible to peer review. But please do pass this along to anyone you know that would be interested!
4. President Clinton Recognizes Healthiest Schools in America
At the Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s annual Healthy Schools Forum this week, President Clinton recognized 179 schools from 29 states and the District of Columbia for their progress using the Alliance’s Healthy Schools Framework. For a complete list of schools, including their stories visit: http://www.healthiergeneration.org/schools.aspx?id=4614
5. Sebelius Announces New $250 Million Investment to Lay Foundation for Prevention and Public Health
National Prevention Council and Prevention and Public Health Fund Will Promote Public Health and Wellness
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced $250 million in new Affordable Care Act investments to support prevention activities and develop the nation’s public health infrastructure.
Chronic diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes, are responsible for 7 of 10 deaths each year among Americans, and account for 75 percent of the nation’s health spending. Many Americans engage in behaviors such as tobacco use, poor diet, physical inactivity, and alcohol abuse, which harm their health.
“Investing in prevention and public health builds the foundation for improving the health and well-being of Americans, and for lowering costs in the health care system,” said Secretary Sebelius. “Investing in proven preventive services will help patients get the care they need early, avoiding costly and unnecessary care later. This prevention-focused approach is better for doctors, patients, and our national balance sheet.”
The investments announced today in prevention and public health are the second allocation for fiscal year 2010 from the new $500 million Prevention and Public Health fund created by the Affordable Care Act.
The $250 million investment in prevention and public health will go to:
- Community and Clinical Prevention: $126 million will support federal, state and community prevention initiatives; the integration of primary care services into publicly funded community-based behavioral health settings; obesity prevention and fitness; and tobacco cessation.
- Public Health Infrastructure: $70 million will support state, local, and tribal public health infrastructure and build state and local capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease outbreaks.
- Research and Tracking: $31 million for data collection and analysis; to strengthen CDC’s Community Guide by supporting the Task Force on Community Preventive Services; and to improve transparency and public involvement in the Clinical Preventive Services Task Force.
- Public Health Training: $23 million to expand CDC’s public health workforce programs and public health training centers.
“With these investments, we are tackling the underlying causes of chronic diseases as well as strengthening our ability to meet the public health challenges of the 21st century,” said Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin. “This moves America in the direction of becoming a fit and healthy nation.”
Earlier this week, Secretary Sebelius announced the allocation of the first half of the Prevention and Public Health fund to increase the number of clinicians and strengthen the primary care workforce. Building on the earlier investments made by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the Affordable Care Act, particularly for the National Health Service Corps, the investments will support the training and development of more than 16,000 new primary care providers over the next five years.
With these investments and others, the Affordable Care Act is continuing the Obama Administration’s historic work to promote wellness and reduce chronic disease. The new law also calls for a national strategy to improve the nation’s health, eliminates co-pays for key preventive services like cancer screenings, and provides new support for employer wellness programs.
A fact sheet will be available at www.healthreform.gov.
|
Go Back
