Quit Like a Champion™
You’ve always said you could go the distance; that you could stop lifting that pack at any time; that you had the strength and the willpower to be a quitter.
Well, the American Cancer Society® is hoping you’ll prove it – to yourself.
On Thursday, November 19, we present the American Cancer Society Great American Smokeout® event. It’s a day where defeating tobacco becomes a team sport.
Sure, overcoming the obstacle of addiction can feel like a personal competition, but when you go one-on-one with tobacco, we’re all in your corner.
So get ready, because with enough dedication, drive, and support, this is the day you’re going to lose – the cigarettes.
We know it’s a challenge. But if you can win one day, you can win them all. Give the fans of your life something to cheer about.
Quit like a champion.
To learn more, visit cancer.org/smokeout or call the American Cancer Society at 1-800-227-2345.
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Blog post brought to you by the American Cancer Society
The Possibility of Eradicating Dental Disease in Children
The DentaQuest Foundation hosted the annual Oral Health 2020 National Network Gathering in New Orleans. This year’s gathering was the biggest yet, with 250 grantees and stakeholders in attendance.
Every year this convening gives us the opportunity to map out the progress of the national network, share best practices, problem-solve challenges around access and outreach, and advance our plan to completely eradicate dental disease for the next generation - children. This year’s convening was no exception – much of our conversation focused on the continued prevalence of dental disease in children and what we can do to eliminate this issue.
One of our keynote speakers, Dr. Camara Jones, facilitated a fascinating conversation on racism, health disparities, and the social determinants of health and equity. Dr. Jones urged everyone in attendance to ask of their organizations, “How is racism operating here?” and to also recognize that “there is genius in all of our communities, and we need to invest in it.”
We talked about exciting progress that was being made when it comes to early childhood caries, but disparities remain that we cannot afford to ignore. According to recently-released data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 77% of children reach age five without a cavity – this is a monumental achievement for which we should be very proud.
However, that success is not evenly distributed across racial and ethnic groups. Also according to the CDC, the greatest racial and ethnic disparity among children ages 2-4 and 6-8 is seen in non-Hispanic African-American and Mexican-American children. Furthermore, non-Hispanic African-Americans, Hispanics, and American Indians and Alaska Natives generally have the poorest oral health of any racial and ethnic groups in the United States. From year to year, these disparities remain, meaning that we still have significant work ahead of us.
While we are getting closer than ever to the Oral Health 2020 goal of eradicating dental disease in children, all children deserve access to dental care and education that will set them up for a healthy life. With that, we’re working to ensure that oral health is improved for all children, specifically addressing these gaps so that by 2020, at least 85% of children reach age 5 without a cavity.
You can learn more about Oral Health 2020 and the gathering in New Orleans by searching the hashtag #OH2020inNOLA on Twitter.
Blog Post brought to you by the DentaQuest Foundation
2015 Ohio Election Recap
State Issue 1
State Issue 1, which will create a new process for drawing legislative districts, was the first to be called last night. With a final tally of over 72% to 28%, voters overwhelmingly approved this bi-partisan plan. Backers of the initiative had hoped for such a strong result in order to build momentum for further district-drawing reforms. The issue had not received much paid media attention due to lackluster fundraising, but in the end yes votes outnumbered no votes by 1.2 million. The new process will not go into effect until 2021.
State Issue 2
This was by far the closest issue of the night, but in the end this legislature-created barrier to allowing monopolies in the state constitution passed with a tally of 1.55 million for and 1.45 against (52%-48%). This proposal had bi-partisan support and was closely linked to the campaign for Issue 3 but both supporters and detractors.
State Issue 3
The most heavily covered issue of Election Day surprised almost everyone with the result of 64% no, 36% yes. Voters handily rejected a proposal to allow medicinal and recreational marijuana use in Ohio that would have restricted the market to the control of just 10 businesses responsible for the growth and distribution of the product. Recent polling of registered voters had shown the issue passing. Supporters of the Issue had spent over $25 million on the campaign, buying significant television time in the last 3 weeks highlighting the medical use opportunities. Voters seemed to support legalizing medicinal use, but were turned off by the oligopoly this particular proposal would have created. After the results were announced Ohio House leaders indicated a willingness to consider some form of legalization for medicinal use in light of the public support for it.
Stay informed - sign up to be a Community Health Center advocate for updates and information regarding the health center program.
Special thanks and credit to Nikki Reiss of Carpenter Lipps & Leland LLP for this post.
American Diabetes Month
Diabetes is one of the leading causes of disability and death in the United States. One in 11 Americans have diabetes — that’s more than 29 million people. And another 86 million adults in the United States are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
To raise awareness about diabetes and healthy living, OACHC is proudly participating in American Diabetes Month. In the state of Ohio, 830,000 live with diabetes.
If you are overweight, have high blood pressure, or are age 45 or older, you are at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The good news is that making healthy changes can greatly lower your risk. To help prevent type 2 diabetes:
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