World TB Day 2010: On the Move Against Tuberculosis

March 24, 2010 | by

Today is World Tuberculosis Day; it’s celebrated annually on March 24th. The event is used to raise awareness about the ongoing fight against the disease. This year’s theme is on innovation and focuses on individuals around the world who have found new ways to stop TB and can serve as an inspiration to others.

WorldTBDay

Tuberculosis or TB, which is short for Tubercles Bacillus, is a common and often deadly infectious disease caused by mycobacteria in humans. TB usually attacks the lungs but it can also affect other parts of the body. More than 2 billion people are infected with TB bacilli; 1 in 10 will become sick with active TB in their lifetime [1]. Left untreated, more than 50% of those infected will die from the disease.

Where You Live Matters to Your Health

March 18, 2010 | by

The County Health Rankings — the first set of reports to rank the overall health of every county in all 50 states — were released recently by the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The 50 state reports, available on www.countyhealthrankings.org, enables consumers, public health and community leaders, policy-makers and others to see how healthy their county is, compare it with others within their state and find ways to improve the health of their community.

County Health Rankings

The County Health Rankings

The County Health Rankings identify the healthiest and least healthy counties within every state in the nation. Health outcomes in the County Health Rankings represent how healthy a county is. Two types of health outcomes are measured: how long people live (mortality) and how healthy people feel while alive (morbidity).

The National Health Observances Toolkit

March 3, 2010 | by

Health observances are special days, weeks or months designated by government, health organizations and medical professionals devoted to promoting specific health topics. For 2010, there are over 175 national health observances!

National Health Observances

St. Vincent de Paul Charitable Pharmacy Provides $5M in Medication

February 22, 2010 | by
St-Vincent-de-Paul

The St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP) Charitable Pharmacy in Cincinnati, Ohio, announced last week that it surpassed $5.1 million dollars worth of medication dispensed to help people in need since it opened in September 2006 [1]. The Charitable Pharmacy is the only pharmacy in southwest Ohio that provides free, professional pharmaceutical care to people in need.

You Can Help Improve the Health of America: Healthy People 2020

December 3, 2009 | by

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is inviting people to submit comments and suggestions as part of the collaborative process for Healthy People 2020. Healthy People is consortium of diverse, motivated and dedicated agencies and organizations committed to working together to help achieve health goals and objectives for the nation. As a national initiative, Healthy People 2020’s success depends on public input.

Healthy People 2020

Every 10 years, the HHS leverages scientific insights and lessons learned from the past decade, along with knowledge of new and emerging issues, data, trends and innovations to set the nation’s health priorities. In 2007 and 2008, the Healthy People 2020 framework was established, consisting of the vision, mission and overarching goals. In 2009, specific objectives and strategies to achieve them were developed. This month, the HHS is requesting public comments on the draft set of proposed objectives for Healthy People 2020. You are invited to comment on the proposed objectives and topic areas and suggest additional objectives and/or topic areas that you feel are missing.