Join us on the 13th Floor from 12-1pm for a summer diversion that also feeds your brain

June 5th- Darfur’s Skeleton- The rarely discussed topic of the affects of the Darfur conflict on the environment is the axis around which the 3 main stories of this documentary revolve. Life in the midst of a war zone, but also a celebration of a people's agency and the will to survive and move on. (52 min)

July 10th – Breaking the Silence: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Foster Youth Tell Their Stories - Powerful tales of both the successes and failures of the foster care system for a group of former foster youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer/questioning (LGBTQ). (60 min)


July 31st – Burma- A Forgotten War- Armed with a spy camera and posing as a school teacher, filmmaker Lea Rekow secretly crosses the border of Thailand into Burma to document the startling resilience of the Burmese people who live under the rule of a corrupt junta. Burma: A Forgotten War documents the impact of landmines and the government's use of forced labor, torture, rape and drugs on the various ethnic minorities that continue to survive in the South East region of Burma. (40 min)

August 7th – Can- What does it take to heal from mental illness? Can Truong, a war refugee who was among the millions of boat people who fled Vietnam in the 1970's, was a model student, aspiring to become a doctor, when he was diagnosed with depression and bipolar disorder. After years of unsuccessfully trying conventional medical treatments for his mental illnesses, Can becomes involved in the mental health consumer movement, a social and political effort by people labeled with mental illnesses who believe in recovery through self-determination and peer support. He embarks on a healing journey of a different kind — trying to reconcile cultural differences with his very traditional Confucian father and attempts to make sense of his childhood wounds. (59 min)


August 14th – Between Two Worlds – The Hmong Shaman in America- powerfully exposes the struggle of Hmong refugees in America. This classic documentary traces the lives of three Hmong families displaced thousands of miles from their villages in Northern Laos and alienated in American cities. (27 min)


For more information contact Cecily.rodriguez@dbhds.virginia.gov

Everyone is Welcome!

Men's Health Week June 11 – 17, 2012

June is Men's Health Week
Men's Health Week is about bringing national attention to the state of men's health in order to "heighten the awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men and boys."

Celebrated during the month of June (Men's Health Month) and leading up to Father's Day, the week allows health care providers, public policy makers, media, family and friends to encourage men and boys to regularly participate in preventive screenings, seek regular medical advice and receive early treatment for disease and injury.

Surgeon General's Video Contest on Tobacco

For the Surgeon General's Video Contest on Tobacco, teens and young adults are invited to submit original videos in which they speak up about tobacco and tell us why they aren't using it. Videos will be accepted in four categories:
ages 13-17 (English)
ages 13-17 (Spanish)
ages 18-25 (English)
ages 18-25 (Spanish)
Review the contest rules before submitting videos. The deadline for submissions is 11pm EDT April 20, 2012. There will be a $1,000 grand prize winner in each category (four total prizes), and three $500 runner-up winners in each category (12 total prizes). This contest is sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in conjunction with the Surgeon General's 2012 report on tobacco use.

2010 U.S. CENSUS MAP

Remember about a year & a half ago you filled out a census form? Well here are the result of this process. What you will see is a Map of the US - not just the 48 states but all of the 50 states. Territories are not in the census - but they did provide information during this process. So let us say you are in Virginia, you can go by county & as you zoom in by city to see the increase or decrease & then you can see the changes of the various races within these cities. Look at places you know & also look at the map at the darker brown location.

You can zoom in & out to get the information on the places you know. Use your cursor can move map around & you can zoom in on specific counties to get current stats. It is very interesting!

Fascinating!!! Just glide your cursor over the map & it displays every county. Can't imagine how long it took to create this map!!
Amazing!!!
Click the "2010 US Census" Map Below.
2010 U.S. CENSUS MAP
http://projects.nytimes.com/census/2010/map?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=thab1

Hospitals find success in slashing health disparities

Cultural competency training is among the efforts that boost care quality for minority patients.

According to the 2010 National Healthcare Disparities Report, only 20 percent of health care disparities have been reduced. However, a number of hospitals and health systems have implemented different methods to narrow the gap, according to a report from a coalition of health care organizations. For example, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital implemented a four-hour training program for health professionals to help address cultural, language, and literacy needs of their Hispanic patients.

Emilio Carrillo, vice president for community health at NewYork-Presbyterian, said "The cultural competency training provides background information in terms of the various ethnicities and religions and groups that we see predominantly." The hospital also employed bilingual patient navigators and established seven patient-centered medical homes. As a result, the article notes that there was nearly a 10 percent drop in emergency department visits. The report cites case studies from eight other organizations working to reduce health disparities, including Baylor Health Cary System in Dallas, TX, University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, MS, and Adventist Health Care in Rockville, MD. The article notes that more than three-quarters of hospitals collect data on patients' race and other demographic factors, such as language and disability. "It's important to recognize that collecting data on race, ethnicity, language, disability, and gender is foundational to addressing disparities and to doing interventions to reduce them," said Romana Hasnain-Wynia, research associate professor at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Institute for Healthcare Studies in Chicago.

Richard de Filippi, chair of the American Hospital Association's Equity of Care Committee, emphasized that hospitals focused on data collection, cultural competency training, including minorities in leadership positions, and patient-centered care inevitably will lower health care disparities (O'Reilly, 03/16).

Click here to learn more

Youth Health Festival!

Attend the Youth Health Festival!Saturday, April 21, 2012 -
Health Equity Day of Action

WHAT: Youth Health Festival: Young. Healthy. YOUnited!
WHEN: Saturday, April 21, 2012, 12 noon to 4 pm
WHERE: Columbia Heights Educational Campus, 3101 16th Street, NW,
Washington, D.C. 20010 **FREE PARKING *** Learn more

2012 Rural Migrant and Immigrant Health Conference

Migrant and immigrant farm workers face daunting obstacles to good health. Low income levels, occupational and agricultural hazards, and an unfamiliarity with the American health care system are just some of the difficulties these workers face. Migrant and Immigrant Health Conference, - a two-day conference for food producers, advocates, educators, and policy makers who work or interact with migrant and immigrant farmworkers - will provide important information on agricultural and community health and safety issues, and effective health and safety programs for migrant and immigrant farmworkers and their families.

This is an excellent opportunity to network and improve your understanding of the issues affecting these vulnerable populations. Make your plans now to attend!

Who Should Attend: Farm owners, growers, food producers, agricultural safety professionals, migrant and immigrant advocates, extension educators, physicians, allied health care professionals, nurses, health clinic personnel, health educators, nutritionists, dietitians, and Department of Health and Department of Agriculture staff.

This program is funded, in part, by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

When: Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 - 8:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Where: Holiday Inn York Conference Center2000 Loucks Road York,
Pennsylvania 17408717-767- 1973

Click here to learn more

AIDS 2012: Black Stakeholders Outreach Webinar

Your Invited February 24, 9:30-11:00 AM Pacific // 12:30-2:00 PM EST.

Black AIDS Institute and the U.S. Positive Women's Network, in partnership with Countdown AIDS 2012 and Road to AIDS 2012, invite you to an AIDS 2012 Outreach Webinar targeting Black American Stakeholders

Friday February 24
9:30am-11:00am PT/10:30-12pm MT/11-12:30 CT/12-1:30 ET

To register for the webinar, click here:
http://www.anymeeting.com/PIID=EC51DE83854F

The Black AIDS Institute and the U.S. Positive Women's Network will be co-hosting the second in a series of webinars targeting Black Americans with information about the upcoming International AIDS conference in Washington (AIDS 2012). AIDS 2012 will be a one-time chance to dramatically influence the trajectory of the AIDS response in Black America, and in the U.S. overall. It is incumbent upon Black community members and stakeholders to come together and make our voices heard in the halls of Washington, and around the globe.

The 90 minute webinar will be an exclusive opportunity to learn about some of the activities being planned by, for, and about Black people attending the conference. Now that the abstract deadline has passed, we also invite you to share with the group what programming you're planning for the conference.

To register for the webinar, click here:
http://www.anymeeting.com/PIID=EC51DE83854F

Statement from Secretary Sebelius on National Native American Heritage Month

This month we celebrate National Native American Heritage Month, to honor American Indians and Alaska Natives who have contributed a great deal to our country. I recently had the opportunity to visit Indian Country in Alaska and I can say first hand that Native Americans are passionate, determined people who play a momentous role in enriching the spirit of our Nation. They are among some of America's most significant authors, artists, scientists, and political leaders. And they have fought to protect this country as members of our Armed Forces. Native Americans have long demonstrated their commitment to advancing the common goals of this Nation, and we honor their resolve in the face of years of marginalization and broken promises. The Obama Administration is addressing problems that have burdened Native American communities for far too long. Here at the Department of Health and Human Services we are working to expand access to affordable health care. Thanks to the new health care law, we have given the Indian Health Services office the authority to establish expanded health care services such as mental and behavioral health treatment and prevention, long-term care services, and dialysis services. We also support the First Lady Michelle Obama’s recently launched Let's Move! in Indian Country initiative, which aims to encourage healthy living specifically for American Indians and Alaska Natives. It is our mission to raise the physical, mental, and social health of American Indians and Alaska Natives to the highest level. And our goal is to assure that comprehensive, culturally acceptable personal and public health services are available and accessible to American Indian and Alaska Native people. Our work is rooted deeply in the foundation to uphold the Federal Government’s obligation to promote healthy American Indian and Alaska Native people, communities, and cultures as well as to honor and protect the inherent sovereign rights of Tribes. So join us in paying tribute to the rich heritage and many contributions of American Indians and Alaska Natives this month and always.

Study: Worst hospitals treat larger share of poor

CHICAGO (AP) — The nation's worst hospitals treat twice the proportion of elderly black patients and poor patients than the best hospitals, and their patients are more likely to die of heart attacks and pneumonia, new research shows.

Now, these hospitals, mostly in the South, may be at higher risk of financial failure, too. That's because the nation's new health care law punishes bad care by withholding some money, says the lead author of the study published Wednesday in the journal Health Affairs.

"These hospitals are going to have a much harder time in the new funding environment," said Dr. Ashish Jha of the Harvard School of Public Health, who led the study. "I worry they're going to get worse over time and possibly even fail. I worry that we're going to see a bunch of that happening over the next three to five years."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jjS6u7nLvyDaRc8IfcrwejNQLiGQ?docId=58348a30000f44f1a3723f8a35174a9f

Cultural Competence in Dementia Care

Cultural Competence in Dementia Care - Tuesday, June 28th from noon-1pm.

Panelists: Tracey Gendron and Shannon Marling (VCU)
Moderator: E. Ayn Welleford (VCU)

Working with individuals with diverse backgrounds implies an imperative need to become culturally competent, and in particular, to acquire the knowledge of a group’s diversity, history, culture and contemporary reality. The event will described how the cultural background of both the caregivers and elders with dementia disorders impact recognition and treatment of the disease, will identify barriers that exist among African American, Hispanic and Asian family members that impact the decision to seek treatment for symptoms of dementia, and finally, will describe the function of cognitive testing using neuropsychological assessments and the role that ethnicity plays in valid outcome measures.

To register go to:
http://www.alzpossible.org/newsletter/culturalcompetence.htm

Kimberly Williams
Education Coordinator Assistant
Department of Gerontology
Virginia Commonwealth University
Theatre Row, Room 2012
730 East Broad Street
P.O. Box 980228
Richmond, VA 23298-0228
phone 804-828-1565
fax 804-828-5259

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"An interdisciplinary approach to understanding genetic influences on alcohol problems and related disorders."

On behalf of the VCU Department of Epidemiology & Community Health I am writing to invite you to our Fall 2010 Seminar Series. This fall the seminars are focused on the theme "Social Determinants of Health" and features interdisciplinary scholarship from faculty throughout VCU - and beyond. Seminars take place on Mondays from 1 to 2pm at One Capitol Square, Rm. 305.

The first seminar will be given by Dr. Danielle Dick on 9/13 entitled "An interdisciplinary approach to understanding genetic influences on alcohol problems and related disorders." Dr. dick is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry 7 human Genetics and an expert on the intersection of environmental & developmental factors with genetic risk of substance use disorders.

Click here to view the full details about all the seminars schedules & location information.

Please circulate this information to faculy, students, & staff that you feel might be interested in attending. If you have any questions about the series, please contact Dr. Briana Mezuk at bmezuk@vcu.edu or Susan Margaret at smargaret@vcu.edu. Or call 804-628-2511.

Patient Interpreters Save Money, But Who Pays?

Great article on NPR...here's an excerpt:

Under civil rights laws, health care providers who accept federal money must provide interpretation for patients who can't speak English. But the law doesn't compel the government or insurers to pay for that. As Congress debates a health care overhaul, medical providers are hoping that will change.

Read the entire article or listen to it.