Archive for the ‘Community Involvement’ Category

kwalsh
Kevin
Walsh

Crowdsourcing for a Cause

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

I just read an excellent article about crowdsourcing health care solutions by Eliot Van Buskirk at Wired.  The article, titled "Harvard-Based Crowdsource Project Seeks New Diabetes Answers," describes in great detail a new initiative to crowd source diabetes information with an end goal of curing Type I diabetes.  (Almost 2.4 million people in the US suffer from Type I diabetes.) "Using federal stimulus funding from the National Institutes of Health, Harvard Catalyst has teamed up with InnoCentive to explore whether open innovation and crowd-sourcing can spark new directions, collaborations and research in the healthcare community."

Congratulations to the National Institutes of Health for funding this and to Harvard's medical research department for developing this crowdsourced medical initiative sure to help those with Type I diabetes.

What's particularly interesting about the first phase of this project is the goal of ideation. The project's initial objective is not to identify a specific cure, but to start with the basic premises that there are questions or criteria that may not have been considered before now. (more...)

Posted in Community Involvement, Crowdsourcing, Disease Awareness, Health 2.0, Health Care Industry
By Kevin Walsh | No Comments »

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Spectrum

USDA Secretary Discusses Child Nutrition Programs

Friday, February 12th, 2010

Amidst D.C.'s "snowpocalypse," Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack managed to hold three teleconferences this week. The first was brief and followed on the heels of Mrs. Obama's unveiling of her Let's Move campaign. He along with Secretaries Sebelius and Duncan discussed their agencies' commitment to a healthier future.

The second teleconference, headlined by only Secretary Vilsack, provided an overview of the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act (CNA). According to Sec. Vilsack, the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act has twin problems: 16.5 million children live in households that suffer from food insecurity, which creates a hunger issue. At the same time, we have an epidemic of childhood obesity - one-third of our nation's children are obese or overweight. The result: high health costs and low productivity. (more...)

Posted in Community Involvement, Food Policy and Nutrition, Health Policy, Public Affairs, Public Health
By Spectrum | No Comments »

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mlustig
Megan
Lustig

Olympic Champion and Kennedy Krieger Empower Children with Special Needs

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

On Monday morning, the Today Show featured a story on I-Skate, Dorothy Hamill's Adaptive Skating Program at Kennedy Krieger Institute.

Dorothy Hamill's Adaptive Skating Program is part of the physically challenged sports programs at Kennedy Krieger Institute, and provides children with a unique opportunity to get involved with physical activity, which improves their health, as well as providing a chance for important social interaction with their peers.

The Spectrum team worked with Today Show producers and Kennedy Krieger Institute to secure this story on I-Skate, making for a wonderful, heartwarming "Good News" story to watch on a Monday morning.

This is just one example of inspiration and motivation coming out of the Kennedy Krieger Institute, and demonstrates how people at Kennedy Krieger are empowering children with disabilities.

Click here to see Dorothy skate with children in the program and the joy they experience on the ice! (more...)

Posted in Community Involvement, Public Health
By mlustig | No Comments »

 
MNewbert
Marcia
Newbert

Michelle Obama: Taking on Obesity

Monday, February 1st, 2010

In his State of the Union Address Wednesday evening, President Barack Obama praised First Lady Michelle Obama for "creating a national movement to tackle the epidemic of childhood obesity and make kids healthier." Less than 24 hours later, Mrs. Obama joined U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin to announce the release of The Surgeon General's Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation.

The paper, which is Dr. Benjamin's first release to the nation since being sworn in as Surgeon General earlier this month, includes recommendations for helping Americans to adopt healthier lives through better nutrition and regular physical activity. The paper also encourages communities to be actively involved in creating healthier living environments and combating obesity. (more...)

Posted in Community Involvement, Food Policy and Nutrition, Public Health, Uncategorized
By MNewbert | 3 Comments »

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MollyHippolitus
Molly
Hippolitus

Pres. Obama Pledged to End Hunger by 2015… We’ve Got 5 Years

Friday, January 29th, 2010

During campaign season, Obama promised to tackle domestic hunger. He made a pledge to "strengthen and expand nutrition assistance programs and commit to ending childhood hunger by 2015." The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) is holding Obama to his word.

Tuesday morning I attended FRAC's Hill briefing on "food hardship" (lacking money to buy enough food) in the U.S. The nonprofit organization works to improve public policies and public-private partnerships to "eradicate hunger and undernutrition in the United States."

For the first time, data that truly capture the extent of hunger in America, was unveiled. The report revealed nearly one in five American households ran out of money to buy enough food at least once during 2009. FRAC President, Jim Weill, along with Rep. Jim McGovern (MA), presented the data with the hope of igniting fire in the belly of our government, by helping policy leaders understand the "depth and breadth" of hunger in America. (more...)

Posted in Community Involvement, Food Policy and Nutrition, Public Affairs, Research
By MollyHippolitus | 1 Comment »

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jseng
John
Seng

Spectrum Supports Haiti Relief Via Doctors Without Borders

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

Given the disastrous earthquake that struck Haiti this past Tuesday, with fatalities estimated in the tens of thousands and unspeakable destruction and chaos, Spectrum's choice of Doctors Without Borders as our holiday beneficiary couldn't have been more fitting or timely. The company has made a donation to Doctors Without Borders for Haiti relief efforts.

Should you wish to support Doctors Without Borders and/or help spread the word throughout your digital media universe (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), just click on this link to their portal page.doctors3

Personally, all my challenges seem tiny compared to the grief and suffering befalling a country already in difficult circumstances. Thank you for doing whatever you can do to support our global neighbors.

Posted in Community Involvement
By John Seng | No Comments »

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