Monday, April 22, 2013

This Earth Day, Help Keep Our Environment Free of Tobacco Litter

A Community-Wide Invitation to Celebrate Earth Day by Cleaning Up Cigarette Butts



via Storify http://sfy.co/eHd9 -- April 22, 2013 at 03:31PM

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Earth Day

"Some people who talk about the environment talk about it as though it involved only a question of clean air and clean water. The environment involves the whole broad spectrum of man's relationship to all other living creatures, including other human beings. It involves the environment in its broadest and deepest sense. It involves the environment of the ghetto which is the worst environment, where the worst pollution, the worst noise, the worst housing, the worst situation in this country -- that has to be a critical part of our concern and consideration in talking and cleaning up the environment."- Gaylord Nelson Read more from the source document.

The words above, spoken on April 19, 1970 by the founder of Earth Day are as pertinent today as they were 40 years ago. Read this article to gain insight on how Your zipcode can determine your health. Our environment includes the natural world and the physical environments we create, also known as built environments. Jefferson County Public Health strives to protect the earth through its programs and services designed not only to reduce environmental health hazards but also to promote healthy living.

Light Rail Comes to JEFFCO . . . Look for the Public Health display
This coming April 27, 2013 Jefferson County will celebrate RTDs light rail coming to Jefferson County. Look for the Jefferson County Public Health display and learn more about public health’s commitment to the health of its community. http://jeffco.us/health.

  • For more information on JCPH Environmental Health Services please visit the JCPH Environmental Health Services web page or call 303-271-5700. For more information on built environments and improving access to healthy eating and active living, please contact Molly Hanson, Health Policy Analyst at mhanson@jeffco.us .

Drug Take Back Day

Jefferson County Public Health encourages all residents to take part in Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, April 27. The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and other agencies nationwide have teamed up to remove potentially dangerous controlled substances from our nation’s medicine cabinets. This is an opportunity for you to get rid of any expired, unwanted, or unused pharmaceutical controlled substances and other medications. Drugs that are not disposed of correctly are a potential source of supply for illegal use and an unacceptable risk to public health and safety.

There will be two drop off location open between 10:00 am-2:00 pm in Jefferson County:

PUBLIC HEALTH IS ROI (Return on Investment) . . . Saves Lives, Saves Money

Celebrate National Public Health Week April 1-7, 2013

National Public Health Week will be celebrated across the nation April 1-7, 2013 with the theme, “Public Health Is ROI, Saves Lives, Saves Money.” This year’s theme as declared by the American Public Health Association fits perfectly with Jefferson County Public Health’s focus on the results of its recent community health assessment and the health profile report “Healthy People Healthy, Places Jefferson County” being released this Spring. Visit www.healthypeoplehealthyplacesjeffco.com to learn more about the community health assessment, community health profile and work being done to complete a 5-year community health improvement plan.

Healthy People Cost Less

Investment of $10 per person, per year in proven community-based programs that help people increase their physical activity, eat better, and avoid smoking and other tobacco use could save the country more than $16 billion annually within five years. This is a return of $5.60 for every $1 invested.

2012 Public Health Champion - Tara Jahn

Jefferson County, Colorado--Public Health is what we as a society do collectively to prevent illness and premature death and promote health in our communities. Each year, during National Public Health Week, April 1-7, 2013, Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH) honors some of the many people it works with throughout the year that help to make our county healthy. While they may not have made public health their profession, the work they do, the partnerships they provide and their enthusiasm for protecting the health of Jefferson County residents makes them the 2012 Public Health Champions of the Year.

  • Advocating for Healthy Eating and Active Living, Tara Jahn 

As a resident of Wheat Ridge, Tara Jahn is deeply invested in a range of community building activities through her ongoing involvement with Live Local (Wheat Ridge), a grassroots initiative of Wheat Ridge 2020 started by Ms. Jahn and other Wheat Ridge partners in 2012. Tara’s work advocating for active living and sustainable, local food systems has provided leadership, compassion, and energy while making Wheat Ridge a more vibrant community.

Wheat Ridge Mayor, Jerry DiTullio had this to say about this 2012 Public Health Champion of the Year, “Tara Jahn is a relatively new face in Wheat Ridge, but she has jumped in with both feet to promote a healthy life style and to promote her new hometown of Wheat Ridge. As the Mayor of Wheat Ridge and as a longtime resident, I congratulate Tara on this well-deserved recognition. Live Local is a unique approach to support healthy communities AND local businesses at the same time. This is the type of community building of the future."

Tara understands how making physical activity fun can get more people moving. Through Live Local Active, Tara helped organize a run club that meets regularly, a variety of active and social summertime events, and most recently, a Winter Fitness Challenge that involves yoga, pilates, and group runs. She also hosted a family yoga event in a public park and organized group bike rides. Several of the events include stops at and patronage of local businesses. Community members gain exposure to local restaurants, shops, and studios they might never have visited before and businesses have a chance to build up their clientele.

She also truly understands how to encourage healthy eating and sustainable, local food systems. Through her work with Live Local Harvest, she helped organize a produce exchange last summer among local growers and most recently a Food and Film potluck series. The first dinner and film event brought together over 60 people from within and around the Wheat Ridge community to learn more about its growing local food system. The second event hosted nearly 100 participants, many of them attending for the first time.

In addition, as a member of the Wheat Ridge 38th Avenue Leadership Committee, Tara has worked to support a more economically vibrant and healthy downtown through a variety of strategies. She has played a leadership role in supporting the roadway redesign of 38th Avenue that fosters a safer and more pedestrian-friendly environment while supporting patronage of local businesses.

Tara’s work supporting a more livable, healthy and economically vibrant sector of Wheat Ridge makes her a 2012 Public Health Champion of the year. Congratulations and thank you Tara Jahn.

2012 Public Health Champions of the Year - Tobacco Prevention

Jefferson County, Colorado--Public Health is what we as a society do collectively to prevent illness and premature death and promote health in our communities. Each year, during National Public Health Week, April 1-7, 2013, Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH) honors some of the many people it works with throughout the year that help to make our county healthy. While they may not have made public health their profession, the work they do, the partnerships they provide and their enthusiasm for protecting the health of Jefferson County residents makes them the 2012 Public Health Champions of the Year.
  • Reducing Tobacco’s Toll through Community Coalitions: Breathe Easy Wheat Ridge Coalition representatives: Sarah Davis, Chair and members, Lynnette Namba and Dr. Lorrie Odom; Healthy Unincorporated Jeffco Coalition Chair, John Coles; and, BE Team student representatives: Lakewood High School senior, Carissa Leeper and Golden High School graduates, Hannah Fritz and Beau Hogan.
Community coalitions play a huge role in the battle against tobacco. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and through the first hand experiences of JCPH Tobacco Prevention Program staff, coalitions help transform the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of tobacco users and nonusers by changing the way tobacco is promoted, sold, and used. Through advocacy and education, tobacco prevention coalitions play a critical role in exposing the tobacco industry’s predatory marketing tactics as well as, in mobilizing communities to develop and implement policies and programs.

This year’s public health champions for tobacco prevention represent two community coalitions, Breathe Easy Wheat Ridge and Healthy Unincorporated Jeffco and two youth coalitions, the Breathe Easy teams at Lakewood High School and Golden High School. These 2012 Public Health Champions all played key roles in their communities advancing important tobacco prevention and control work.

The Breathe Easy Wheat Ridge Coalition, represented by Sarah Davis, Lynnette Namba and Dr. Lorrie Odom helped with community awareness and outreach and worked to educate local policymakers on the issue of secondhand smoke and the benefits of stronger smoke-free public places laws. The members of Healthy Unincorporated Jeffco, represented by Chair, John Coles, worked to build community support for a stronger smoke-free law in the unincorporated areas of Jefferson County. The coalition successfully doubled the number of residents who signed endorsements for comprehensive smoke-free protections in their community. The youth coalitions, Breathe Easy Teams at Golden and Lakewood High Schools, worked diligently to support the passing of 2 local ordinances during 2012. Golden’s BE Team, represented by graduates Hannah Fritz and Beau Hogan successfully advocated for an ordinance reducing youth access to tobacco. The Golden ordinance requires licensing of tobacco retailers and proof of identification for all tobacco purchases, regardless of customer age for non-cigarette tobacco. The ordinance also requires that clerks selling non-cigarette tobacco be at least 18 years old.

Lakewood’s BE Team, represented by senior, Carissa Leeper successfully advocated for a stronger smoke-free ordinance in their community of Lakewood. The Lakewood ordinance extends smoke-free entranceways to 25 feet and requires that all outdoor transit waiting areas, playgrounds, athletic fields and gathering places in parks and city events be smoke-free. These seven tobacco prevention Public Health Champions have helped to reduce the toll of tobacco on our communities and helped to shape tobacco-free norms, making tobacco not only less desirable and less acceptable but also less accessible. Congratulations to all of the community coalitions working on tobacco prevention and control in Jefferson County.

2012 Public Health Champion of the Year - Linda Buzard and Margaret Huffman

Jefferson County, Colorado--Public Health is what we as a society do collectively to prevent illness and premature death and promote health in our communities. Each year, during National Public Health Week, April 1-7, 2013, Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH) honors some of the many people it works with throughout the year that help to make our county healthy. While they may not have made public health their profession, the work they do, the partnerships they provide and their enthusiasm for protecting the health of Jefferson County residents makes them the 2012 Public Health Champions of the Year.
  • Preventing Pertussis and Other Vaccine Preventable Diseases among Jefferson County’s Children, Jeffco Public Schools Health Services Director, Linda Buzard and Coordinator, Margaret Huffman 
Jeffco Public Schools and its Health Services Division play a key role in promoting the health and safety of children throughout the County. In 2012, the Health Services Division teamed up with JCPH to prevent the spread of pertussis or “whooping cough” in our communities. Health Service Director, Linda Buzard, and Health Services Coordinator, Margaret Huffman are 2012 public health champions for their dedication and hard work assuring that Jefferson County’s school age children are up-to-date on immunizations. 2012 brought increased cases of pertussis disease in the County and across the state of Colorado. As pertussis threatened the lives of some of our most vulnerable populations, the very young, the elderly and those with chronic health conditions, these two women made it their mission to protect children through immunization.

Linda Buzard has been a champion for improving immunization rates and preventing spread of communicable disease in the school district for many years. Her support of school nurse and public health nurse communication and collaboration is phenomenal and sets a very positive professional role model for her school nurses. This year, Linda was instrumental in getting Jeffco Schools to participate in the Colorado Immunization Information System. This system is designed to increase and sustain high immunization coverage rates by consolidating immunization records from multiple providers. She also selected JCPH Immunization Program as the recipient of community partnership funds to increase and enhance immunization services for all Jefferson County children. Linda invited JCPH public health nurses to present to school nurses at their district wide meetings and she also included the public health nurses in a celebration of Public School Nurses’ Week.

Health Service’s Coordinator, Margaret Huffman is also a public health champion for her work preventing pertussis and other vaccine preventable diseases in the County. This past year, Margaret committed countless hours meeting with JCPH Immunization Program nurses to identify barriers to immunization for students in at-risk schools. Her commitment to developing strategies and solutions and sharing resources in order to increase immunization rates for these populations is to be commended. In addition, Margaret’s responsiveness, openness to ideas and dialogue, and her positive and congenial demeanor have made her an ideal community partner and catalyst for action.

There is no question that these two public health champions, Linda Buzard and Margaret Huffman, have improved immunization rates among Jeffco school age children and reduced the spread of pertussis in the county. Jefferson County Public Health congratulates you on being 2012 Public Health Champions of the Year and thanks you for your contribution to public health in Jefferson County.