Learn about mental health first aid

Did you know that more than 43 million adults in our country struggled with mental illness in the past year? Half of us will meet the criteria for a diagnosable mental health condition at some point in our lives. Visit the CDC’s Mental Health website to learn more.

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is a way to put upstream, public health prevention strategies for behavioral health in action. Hundreds of local public health agencies, including Jefferson County Public Health, community mental health centers, primary care practices, hospitals, schools, law enforcement agencies and more are now using this evidence-based training to help address behavioral health needs in their communities. The program's popularity is impressive, but its supporters see the growth so far as just the beginning. So, if you're not one of the 25,000 certified Mental Health First Aiders in Colorado, what exactly is it all about?

The Mental Health First Aid Colorado (MHFACO) team has put together a short, introductory video explaining why it is important and how to get involved. Click here to watch the video and learn how you can become a lifeline for yourself, a colleague, client, friend or family member in need of support. You can also learn more at www.mhfaco.org.
More Resources:

If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, there are people who want to help 24/7 at:

• The National Suicide Hotline: 1-800-283-TALK (8255)

• Colorado Crisis Services: 1-844-493-TALK (8255)

• Find a Walk-In Crisis Center in Colorado near you at: http://coloradocrisisservices.org
  
• Suicide Prevention from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

Early Childhood Development

The first years of a child's life are some of the most important in terms of cognitive, social, and physical development. Early experiences occurring when a child's brain and behavior are being shaped affect a child's ability to learn, to get along with others, and to develop an overall state of well-being. Unfortunately, not all children have the same positive experiences or opportunities, which can lead to disparities. Social, economic, and environmental factors have been closely linked to health disparities.

Research suggests that many disparities in overall health and well-being are rooted in early childhood. For example, those who lived in poverty as young children are more at-risk for leading causes of illness and death, and are more likely to experience poor quality of life. This growing problem costs the United States billions of dollars annually.

Our understanding of the lasting value of early experiences continues to grow. Interventions that support healthy development in early childhood reduce disparities, have lifelong positive impacts, and are prudent investments. Addressing these disparities effectively offers opportunities to help children, and benefits our society as a whole. View pdf of CDC Grandrounds presentation on Early Child Development. Together we can address health disparities in early childhood through increased collaborations, public health partnerships, and early intervention.

The Jeffco Community Health Improvement Network was formed in 2015. The Network is comprised of over 200 members working together to increase physical activity, healthy eating, and psyshosocial well-being among low-income families with children 0-18. By working together, partners throughout the county plan to use a collective impact framework to collaboratively and strategically improve the health and well-being of our community.

Jefferson County Public Health’s home visitation programs such as Prenatal Plus, Nurse Family Partnership and the Family Collaboration Programs as well as its HEAL in Early Childhood and Clinic Services provide the support necessary to keep children and their families healthy. The Community Health Services Division implements evidence-based prevention strategies to reduce health disparities and promote health equity to positively impact later health, well-being, education and productivity and self-sufficiency.

This article can also be found here: http://www.cdc.gov/cdcgrandrounds/archives/2016/march2016.htm

Attention Pregnant Women - ZIKA Update

Mosquitoes are the deadliest animals in the world because of the diseases they spread. Zika virus disease (Zika) spreads to people mainly through the bite of two types of mosquitoes. The newest edition of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Vital Signs focuses on the threat of Zika to pregnant women and their fetuses and the steps that can be taken by them, their partners and communities to thwart this public health risk. In past outbreaks, most people with Zika have not gotten sick, so people may not even know they've been infected.

Based on current knowledge, the greatest risk for complications from Zika is to a pregnant woman's fetus. According to the Vital Signs report, pregnant women can take the following actions: 

• Avoid travel to any area with Zika. 

• Take preventive steps such as wearing insect repellent.

• Talk to her doctor first if she must travel to an area with Zika, and get tested for Zika between 2 and 12 weeks after returning. 

• Use latex condoms, the right way, every time or choose not to have any type of sex with a partner who has been in an area with Zika.

For more information on Zika and pregnancy, visit the CDC website.

For more information on animal-borne diseases, please contact our Zoonosis Program at
303-232-6301 or dvolkel@jeffco.us.

Seat Belts Save Lives!

Recent heart wrenching tragedies in the Denver Metropolitan area have involved traffic accidents in which drivers and/or passengers have not been wearing seat belts. Jefferson County Public Health reminds everyone that regular seat belt use is the single most effective way to prevent serious injuries and save people from dying in motor vehicle crashes.

According to the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) in 2014, 156 people who weren’t buckled up lost their lives in traffic crashes on Colorado roadways. If everyone had buckled up, nearly half of the victims would have lived. Please everyone, Buckle UP!


For more information on the importance of seat belts and for children, the appropriate child safety restraint type, please visit the Colorado Department of Transportation. CDOT develops and manages initiatives aimed at preventing accidents and injuries. These include campaigns to reduce alcohol & impaired Driving, increase seat belt and car seat usage, motorcycle safety, teen drivers, and improving Colorado's Road Health Summit

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month

Child maltreatment—which includes emotional, physical, sexual abuse and neglect—is a serious public health issue. Hundreds of thousands of children are victims each year. According to child protective service agencies, about 679,000 children were substantiated victims of maltreatment in 2013.

The Division of Violence Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) works to better understand the problem of child maltreatment and to prevent it before it begins. Essentials for Childhood is CDC's framework for preventing child maltreatment, and its efforts are focused on assuring safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments for all children. The framework’s online resources and tools help prevention efforts during National Child Abuse Prevention Month and throughout the year.

Facts about Child Abuse and Neglect

http://www.cdc.gov/features/healthychildren/
Child Abuse and Neglect Are Preventable

Public health works to stop child maltreatment, including abuse and neglect, before it occurs. In doing this, national, state and local public health programs promote the development of safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and environments between children and their parents or caregivers. Children's experiences are defined through their environments (such as homes, schools, and neighborhoods) and relationships with parents, teachers, and other caregivers. Healthy relationships act as a buffer against adverse childhood experiences and are necessary to ensure the long-term physical and emotional well-being of children.

View Jefferson County Public Health webpage for information on programs and services.

“Everyday Colorado” . . . Let’s All Get Talking about Our Environments

A new website developed by the Colorado School of Public Health’s Environmental and Occupational Health department collects everyday stories from people throughout the state about what they value in their many environments (natural, built, social, etc.) 

This online interactive public engagement tool called “Everyday Colorado” aims to generate knowledge about Coloradan’s everyday environmental values, concerns, and priorities as well as whether they perceive an impact to their health from the environment and where they get their information. The website will go live on April 4, 2016 in time for 2016 Public Health Week, April 4-10, 2016.

Check it Out! And please share with friends and family. Let’s all get talking about our environments.

Attention Day Care Providers! Farm to Child Care in Colorado

According to a February 29, 2016 news release from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the Colorado Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is building on the success of the 20-year-old National Farm to School Program by developing a Colorado Farm to Child Care Program.

The program will help child care centers and homes participating in CACFP have access to more locally grown produce and increase children’s acceptance of vegetables and appreciation of locally grown food through hands-on gardening, cooking, nutrition education and taste testing. "A balanced diet that includes plenty of fruits and vegetables and limits sugary beverages helps prevent obesity in children,” said Jennifer Dellaport, manager of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Early Childhood Obesity Prevention program. “By exposing young children to high quality, locally grown food, we can help them build healthy food habits that last a lifetime.”

The 2014 Colorado Child Health Survey shows 48.9 percent of children aged 1-14 years eat the recommended two daily servings of fruit and just 13 percent consume the recommended three daily servings of vegetables. Skipping vegetables means missing key nutrients such as fiber and potassium.

By the time children start school, many of their food preferences are already established. Early and repeated exposure to new foods, such as vegetables, can help shape children’s taste preferences and increase their willingness to try unfamiliar foods. Because approximately 106,000 Colorado children spend a significant amount of their time in child care centers and homes, the farm to child care program can help ensure children in care receive high quality food, are exposed to new foods and have an active role in learning where their food comes from.

“While growing a garden with the help of 3-year-olds may not be the easiest thing I have ever done, it is by far one of the most rewarding,” said Kat Paula of the Family Learning Center. “Being able to see that moment when a child realizes they are eating something they helped to grow is phenomenal. I had one child who had declined to eat bell peppers at snack for four years. When we grew them in our garden, he wanted to try them and he LOVES them now. If I could just get one child to eat more vegetables, I would consider our garden a success. I am overwhelmed by the positive response I have seen from the children!”

More about the Child and Adult Care Food Program:

The CACFP is funded by the USDA and administered by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The CACFP provides reimbursement for nutritious meals and snacks served to participating child care centers, preschools, Head Start programs, adult day care centers, homeless and domestic violence shelters, at-risk afterschool programs and family day care homes. The program reimburses care providers for serving healthy meals and snacks based on the income of the participant’s family. Foster children, Head Start participants and children whose families participate in the Federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP), Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) programs or the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) are eligible to receive free meals.

For current eligibility guidelines, go to http://www.fns.usda.gov/school-meals/income-eligibility-guidelines.

If your child or adult care program would benefit from participating in CACFP, share this information with staff members and encourage them to learn more by contacting the program at 303-692-2330 or visiting the CACFP website at https://www.colorado.gov/cdphe/cacfp.

View this information on the CDPHE web site.