Gillibrand Unveils Plan To Address Asthma Problem In New York

by: robert.harding

Wed Aug 05, 2009 at 09:42:43 AM EDT

This week, Sen. Gillibrand has released a report outlining the problem of asthma in New York. Asthma affects over 370,000 children in New York, including 180,000 in the New York City area. Between 2005 and 2007, over 40,000 children were hospitalized for asthma-related illnesses. According to Gillibrand's office, asthma costs our economy approximately $16 billion a year.

Sen. Gillibrand came up with a plan to address the problem of asthma:

1. Make Inhalers Available to Every Child in Need
The FDA now requires drug makers to manufacture inhalers with a reduced impact on the environment, and completed phasing out the sale of the inhalers containing harmful propellants last year. To help schools and families afford the new inhalers they need, Senator Gillibrand's plan will provide over $100 million in funding to schools in low-income, high-incidence areas to purchase inhalers and spacers - so children suffering from asthma have access to the treatment they need.  The cost of the program is based on asthma rates among low income children at Title I schools.  The funding will provide the school with the inhalers they need and a spacer for every child.

2.  Create School Asthma Management Plans
In order to qualify for the free inhalers and spacers program, Senator Gillibrand will require that schools draft and implement a comprehensive school asthma management policy and program, including:

·         A method to identify all students with asthma and their prescriptions;
·         Asthma education for all school staff;
·         Access to medication and methods to administer medication for all children based on their individual needs;
·         Medication and emergency policies specific to each school;
·         Protocols and training to support clinical management of acute symptoms and ongoing management;
·         Systems to support ongoing care coordination with family, primary care provider and others as necessary;
·         Methods to monitor quality and outcomes of student's asthma care;

3. Train More Asthma Educators
New York only has about 100 asthma educators - experts in counseling individuals with asthma and their families on how to treat and lead healthy lives with asthma.  Asthma educators are required to put in 1,000 hours at clinical sites to complete their training, a cost that is not reimbursable by insurance.  This puts considerable financial burden on anyone interested in becoming an asthma educator.

To incentivize more health professionals to become asthma educators, Senator Gillibrand is urging U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to direct more workforce development funding to support the training of additional certified asthma educators in New York and across the country.

Investing in asthma educators can help minimize the effects of asthma on a child's everyday life and cut costs over the long run by reducing expensive trips to the emergency room. In fact, studies show that for every dollar invested in asthma education, we can save up to $36 in direct and indirect costs associated with treating asthma.

4. Invest in More Research and Data Collection
Medical and scientific research holds the potential to unlock new treatments for children suffering from asthma. To give scientists and laboratories the resources they need to make the next breakthrough in asthma treatment, Senator Gillibrand will introduce the Asthma Act - legislation sponsored by Congresswoman Nita Lowey in the House, which will provide new funding for asthma research.

Additionally, this legislation will improve collaboration of federal agencies for better asthma surveillance and data collection, and give all states, schools and families the resources they need to raise awareness, provide asthma training for educators, and referrals to health plans that provide treatment for every child suffering from asthma through the Children's Health Insurance Program.
Furthermore, national data on asthma rates is lacking, presenting an enormous obstacle in our efforts to combat this problem over the long term.  Over the coming months, Senator Gillibrand will work with Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey to author legislation that will help to create standardized national data that will help identify where funding is needed most.

Sen. Gillibrand also wrote a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius asking Sebelius to support initatives that would be federally funded that would help educate and treat those affected by asthma. You can read the letter below the fold.

Asthma can create serious problems. There was a story told at a recent health care town hall meeting of a young girl who had severe asthma, but was not getting the treatment she needed. She suffered an asthma attack that resulted in her death.

While that is an extreme case, it only shows the need for better education and better access to treatment. Asthma is just one piece of the large health care puzzle. But it's an important piece that impacts 370,000 New Yorkers daily.  

Gillibrand Takes On Trans Fats, Childhood Obesity

by: robert.harding

Wed Jul 22, 2009 at 08:33:13 AM EDT

A piece of the health care puzzle was discussed by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand today, as she released her report on obesity that featured several important facts and a plan to address childhood obesity.

Here are some of the highlights:

- Nearly 60 percent of adults in New York are either obese or overweight. The report has the county-by-county breakdowns, but the region breakdown tells the story.

New York City: 55 percent of adults either obese or overweight
Long Island: 54 percent of adults either obese or overweight
Hudson Valley: 57 percent of adults either obese or overweight
Capital Region: 59 percent of adults either obese or overweight
North Country: 62 percent of adults either obese or overweight
Central New York: 59 percent of adults either obese or overweight
Southern Tier: 61 percent of adults either obese or overweight
Rochester-Finger Lakes: 59 percent of adults either obese or overweight
Western New York: 60 percent of adults either obese or overweight

- Gillibrand will introduce legislation banning trans fats in public schools. Any school receiving federal funds would be required to eliminate foods from schools that have trans fats in them.

- Gillibrand is working with Sen. Tom Harkin, who heads the Senate Agriculture Committee, to give the USDA more authority in regulating junk food in schools.

- The reimbursement rate would increase under Gillibrand's plan for the National School Lunch Program. The goal is to provide schools with the necessary funds to make lunches healthier and more nutritional for students.

- The Improved Nutrition and Physical Activity Act is a piece of legislation that Gillibrand will introduce to promote exercise among young people and assist communities that have high rates of obesity get obese and overweight people working out and active.

From the press release:

With health care reform the top priority for Congress, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is focusing her efforts on reducing childhood obesity, announcing a new plan to ban trans fats in school and provide healthier school lunches.  As the first New York Senator in 40 years to sit on the Senate Agriculture Committee, Senator Gillibrand is providing New Yorkers with a seat at the table as congress debates how to improve the health of children and the food they eat each day.  From her seat on the Committee, Senator Gillibrand is working to secure more federal funds for New York State to combat childhood obesity and lower health care costs..

"As Congress debates how to improve health care access and lower health care costs, we must also pursue a strategy to tackle childhood obesity and improve the health of our future generations," Senator Gillibrand said.  "We can't afford to let our children grow up in a culture of obesity.  If our children are going to have the opportunity to reach their potential, they need a healthy start. The most effective way to address obesity is to provide healthier food and exercise opportunities for our children. We need to be taking real steps to give parents, schools and communities the resources they need to give our children access to fresh fruits and vegetables."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over the last 30 years, obesity among American children ages six to 11 has more than doubled - from 6.5 percent to 17 percent. In the same timeframe, obesity among 12 to 19-year-olds has more than tripled - from five percent to nearly 18 percent.

Studies show that the most effective way to prevent obesity is to address it during childhood by instilling healthy habits. Obesity puts children at risk of developing serious diseases, including Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and other conditions like depression. Obesity keeps children from performing their best at school. Studies show that being overweight or obese can have a negative effect on math and reading scores - and keeps students out of school for more sick days. According to a recent study by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, performance on standardized tests is strongly correlated to physical fitness levels.

These initiatives are key to addressing the problem. On a personal level, I have lost 50 pounds since June 2008 just by riding my bike on a regular basis and by playing tennis and other outdoor sports. Staying active is important and eating right is just as important. Both play a big role in staying healthy and living a fruitful life.

On Assessing Risk, Or, Swine Flu: Is It Time To Panic?

by: fake consultant

Thu Apr 30, 2009 at 07:28:35 AM EDT

The conversation about the politics of the thing is already well underway, engulfing those who sought to remove funding for infectious disease control out of the "stimulus" bill.

We are lacking, however, an examination of the science of the thing, and that's the point of today's conversation.

How dangerous is this infection?
Why is it killing people in Mexico but not here?
Exactly what is a pandemic?
Do those facemasks really serve any purpose?
And what about closing the border?

They're all good questions; and they are all questions we'll try to answer today.

Congressman Lee's Stance On STD Prevention Shifting

by: robert.harding

Wed Feb 04, 2009 at 09:15:05 AM EST

When making his case for why he opposed the economic stimulus package, the press release highlighted $335 million for the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases as one example of "egregious spending that have no place in an economic stimulus bill."

That's not surprising. The House Republicans kept emphasizing that fact when discussing their opposition to the economic stimulus package (even though there is $825 billion worth of investments in the package, making $335 million a small fraction of the package).

But this is what I received today from Congressman Lee's office regarding some funding he secured for the University at Buffalo.

Congressman Chris Lee (NY-26) today joined the University at Buffalo in announcing nearly $585,000 in research grants for new studies of brain aneurysms and reproductive health. The federal funding was awarded by the Department of Health and Human Services.

One grant, for $346,719, will help support a new research project to study the causes of brain aneurysms to treat and prevent them. The UB study seeks to understand how the blood flow causes degradation of arteries in the brain and what biological changes are important in this process. This knowledge will help better prevent, diagnose, and treat these aneurysms.

A second grant, for $237,750, will support a new study of how the body reacts to gonorrhea in order to help develop a vaccine. The incidence of gonorrhea in the Buffalo metropolitan area is twice the national average. Women bear the brunt of the disease, because untreated gonorrhea can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, with reproductive tract damage leading to risk of ectopic pregnancy and sterility.

Congressman Lee commented on the grant announcements: "These grants will be used by the University at Buffalo to conduct research that may one day save lives, protect pregnant women and newborns. I'm proud to support the innovators whose fine work has made UB one of the leading research institutions in the country."

(Emphasis mine.)

I have no problem with these grants. The first one (for brain aneurysms) is an important one. The second one (studying how the body reacts to gonorrhea) is just as important. However, when you highlight STD prevention monies as a reason to oppose the economic stimulus package and then you use taxpayer dollars to secure a grant for STD prevention research at a university in your district, there is hypocrisy in the air.

Granted, $237,750 is a far cry from $335 million. But that $335 million would serve the same purpose as that $237,750, only it would have reached more than just one university and it would have impacted millions of people.

So if it's okay for UB, it should be okay for America. Wouldn't you agree Congressman Lee?

More Of This Please: Scott Stringer's Cookbook

by: phillip anderson

Thu Jan 24, 2008 at 09:51:24 AM EST

In neighborhoods from East Harlem to East LA, the statistics tell the same story; a shortage of shops and restaurants offering healthy food; a surplus of outlets selling cheap, high-calorie, low-nutrient convenience foods; and an alarmingly high rate of diabetes and obesity. Uber-capitalists crow about all our consumer choices, but where are the choices for these consumers, so ill-served that it's literally making them ill?

Everyone from activists to nutritionists to farmers to politicians is trying to tackle this fundamental problem of how to provide people with more of those fresh fruits and vegetables the USDA keeps telling us to eat but doesn't seem inclined to subsidize (unlike the corn that's coming out our ears and every other orifice, now, and going into our gas tanks, at great environmental expense.)

But bringing these underserved communities more fresh, whole foods is a half-baked plan if you don't follow through and show folks how to cook up all that gorgeous produce. That's why I was so thrilled to find out about The Go Green East Harlem Cookbook, which Jones Books is publishing today. It's a lovely little paperback packed with 68 recipes for wholesome comfort foods, it's bilingual (English on one side, Spanish on the other) and it's going to be given away for free to East Harlem residents at community events (the rest of us can buy it in bookstores or online for $17.95).

Wow, sounds like a real public service! And that's because it is. The Go Green East Harlem Cookbook was produced by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer in collaboration with the non-profit Community Fund for Manhattan, who spent $54,000 to print 8,000 copies of the cookbook.

The simple, tasty recipes were donated by East Harlem's chefs, community leaders, and other residents who wanted to share their knowledge and love of good food with the rest of us, and the equally appealing photographs are the contribution of a group of graduates from the International Center of Photography. The recipes were vetted by Integrative Nutrition, a school whose declared mission is to "play a crucial role in improving the health and happiness of Americans."

They're off to a great start with this book, which, in addition to dozens of recipes for delicious soups, stews, salads and other dishes, features savvy advice from Scott Stringer on his own culinary specialty-take-out. The Manhattan Borough President is the first to admit that he himself doesn't cook, but Stringer's "Top Ten Takeout Tips" for how to ensure that the food you're eating is healthy even when you have to outsource your meals could be the most valuable resource in the entire book for those who can't, or won't, take the time to cook.

...

For far too long East Harlem (like so many other inner city communities) has been an "afterthought for urban planners," as Scott Stringer notes in the book's introduction, and a "dumping ground" for environmentally undesirable projects. Stringer's out to change all that with his Go Green East Harlem initiative, which also includes the creation of The East Harlem Asthma Center of Excellence, set to open this spring with a goal of reducing asthma hospitalizations by 50 percent within 3 years; a tree planting program that brought hundreds of new trees to East Harlem and provided a tree care workshop to teach neighborhood kids how to care for the trees; and a green building conference last fall that promoted sustainable development and renovation for less affluent neighborhoods.

So to all you cynics who think that government can't be a force for good in the 'hood, I say, get your hands on a copy of The Go Green East Harlem Cookbook. You'll have to eat your words.

What a great story. Kudos to everyone involved with this one.

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