Roughly 133 million Americans-nearly one in two adults-live with at least one chronic illness. Some of the biggest offenders are cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and mental illness (e.g., Alzheimer's Disease). As an individual well versed in the health care arena (I was a dietetics major in college, my mother is a nurse, and I have seven years of professional experience in the health care arena), those statistics, while serious, were not overwhelmingly surprising to me. So I was shocked, to say the least, when I recently heard a healthy 31 year old woman recount the story of her massive heart attack. (more...)
Archive for the ‘Public Affairs’ Category
Disease
Getting to the HEART of the Matter
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
Brown
The Great American Food Myth
Friday, March 12th, 2010I first heard about The Great American Food Myth from Linda Boardman, the president of Applegate Farms, at a PEW Charitable Trusts Congressional Briefing on antibiotic use in food animal production. The Great American Food Myth: a bold, memorable, almost inspirational slogan to describe a food system in crisis. The myth Boardman was describing was an argument made frequently by agribusiness - that sustainable, responsible agriculture practices cannot produce enough food to feed the growing population. But it led me to think: are there other myths about the American food production system? This week alone seemed to provide an abundance of food policy news stories that fit the definition. 
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Seng
How Do Americans Want Health Care Reformed?: Why Not Just Ask Us?
Friday, March 12th, 2010Last year my firm, a health policy and communications firm called Spectrum, decided to find out for ourselves since no one else really had. We designed a national study, the Spectrum Health Value Study, of how Americans values health products and services, as if they were spending their own money.
The results were interesting. They demonstrated that people tend to like what they already have and don't want much change. The May 2009 report by Simon & Co., our health affairs partner firm, concluded in part: (more...)
Spectrum
Food Friday: The Week in Food Policy and Nutrition
Friday, February 26th, 2010Curbing Childhood Obesity, One School Meal at a Time
Childhood obesity rates have tripled in the past 30 years and are continuing their upward trend as foods become less healthy, portion sizes increase and healthy foods are harder to find - even in our schools. This Tuesday, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack addressed this growing epidemic and outlined his priorities for the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act during a press conference in Washington, D.C. As the core legislative priority for Michelle Obama's Let's Move campaign, Sec. Vilsack aims to end childhood hunger by 2015 and curb the rising rates of childhood obesity by improving the nutritional value of the 9 billion meals served by school and summer programs each year. (more...)
Spectrum
USDA Secretary Discusses Child Nutrition Programs
Friday, February 12th, 2010Amidst 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...)
Tappouni
All Tied Up and Headed Into Overtime
Monday, February 1st, 2010It's an age-old debate. One that has drawn the interest of the entire country and the outcome hangs in the balance of which team has the strongest players and the best defensive and offensive strategies. You're thinking Super bowl? Not in the traditional gridiron sense. Rather, I'm referring to the Superbowl otherwise known as the push for health care reform. While enormous work and discussion has taken place around this here in D.C. and nationwide, it's still an issue that has experts and amateurs alike scratching our heads about how this is all going to play out.
On Thursday night I attended the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association event called "Legislative Agenda on Health Care Reform." For such a formal title, it was actually a refreshing discussion from a panel of industry and policy experts who broke the whole debate down for us into chewable, bite-sized pieces. The HBA - a professional organization that caters to the education and advancement of women and men in the healthcare industry - has a knack for putting together events that are timely and relevant, with this event being no exception. In this case, bringing this discussion together just 24 hours after the State of the Union address couldn't have been better timed. (more...)
