In The News
On November 21, the NYC Coalition Against Hunger, in collaboration with Public Health Solutions, held a press conference on Hunger Insecurity In NYC at our Ocean Avenue Neighborhood WIC Center. The Ocean Avenue center has been an invaluable resource to the community since Hurricane Sandy, serving nearly 500 clients from surrounding WIC clinics closed since the storm. A reporter from News12 (a television station available in Brooklyn, Bronx, Long Island and New Jersey) interviewed clients impacted by the storm for the evening news broadcasts.
Public Health Solutions’ NYC Coalition for a Smoke−Free City was referenced in Health Care Marketers Give Twitter a Try, an article by FeelGoodNow, Inc. a marketer that teaches members of the health and wellness industry how to use online marketing and custom video to grow their business.
Dr. Mary Ann Chiasson, Vice President for Research & Evaluation, was interviewed for two television programs about America’s obesity epidemic: in September, for NY1’s coverage of the Trust for America’s Health report, F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future; and in October, for a program on obesity produced by TRT TURK, Turkey’s public television international news channel.
Two new articles by our research staff have been accepted for publication. Class III Obesity and Unwanted Pregnancy Among Women with Live Births in New York City, 2004−2007, demonstrates a positive linkage between obesity and unwanted pregnancy. Continuation of Copper−containing Intrauterine Devices at 6 Months shows that IUD continuation is higher in women who receive counseling and education before IUD insertion.
Laura Stanley, School Food FOCUS’ Learning Lab Manager, participated in an APHA webinar entitled Affordable, Healthy Food = Good Public Health: Promising practices and systems change strategies to improve access to healthy food. Her topic was "How School Food FOCUS drives food system change with big — VERY big — institutional procurement."
The August 2012 Childhood Obesity journal (http://online.liebertpub.com/toc/chi/8/4) — a special issue about school food — contained two key articles by School Food FOCUS staff members:
• School Food: Point of View Matters — by Director of Strategic Development Kathy Lawrence and Executive Director Toni Liquori; and
• A ‘Real Chicken’ Revolution: How Two Large Districts Are Shifting the School Poultry Paradigm with Scratch Cooking — by Learning Lab Manager Laura Stanley and Learning Lab evaluators Kathryn Colasanti and David Conner.
"A Fresh Look at What School Menus Can Be," in the July 18th edition of The New York Times (http://nyti.ms/ND1CJz) highlighted Denver’s school food work as part of a nationwide push to make school food tastier and more healthful. All the achievements described in this piece were originally set in motion by the School Food FOCUS Learning Lab in Denver. The article also references Julia Bauscher, the School Nutrition Association’s new vice president and school nutrition director for Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, KY, another key FOCUS district.
"Hearing on Soda Ban Should Be Lively," a July 23rd article in Crain’s New York, noted that Public Health Solutions’ New York City Coalition for a Smoke–Free City would be providing testimony on Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s controversial proposal to ban sugary drinks exceeding 16 oz. (http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20120723/HOSPITALITY_TOURISM/120729967)
The Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/all-we-can-eat/post/the-chicken-that-flew-from-chicago-to-capitol-hill/2012/05/10/gIQAm2jFGU_blog.html) and Food Safety News (http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/05/students-serve-antibiotic-free-chicken-lunch-on-capitol-hill/) covered the Capitol Hill presentation of an oven–fried chicken recipe, using antibiotic–free chicken, by six high school students from the Chicago Vocational Career Academy (CVCA). School Food FOCUS, in partnership with Pew Campaign on Human Health and Industrial Farming, used the occasion to celebrate Chicago Public Schools’ recent historic purchase of antibiotic–free chicken. A number of local and national media outlets covered this important procurement initiative — for a full listing, please click here.
Want to Bring Down Smoking Rates? Follow the Lead of New York, by Sheelah Feinberg, Executive Director, NYC Coalition for a Smoke–Free City, was published on The Huffington Post. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sheelah-a-feinberg/bloomberg-tobacco_b_1542965.html) The Coalition’s work has also been featured in video pieces by EBRU TV, Columbia News Tonight, and Xinhua, China’s largest news agency.
News 12 Brooklyn highlighted the "Let’s Move" Celebration in Neighborhood WIC’s Bushwick Center during a nightly newscast, noting the recent decline in obesity rates throughout Brooklyn and the importance of eating healthy.
Gay City News mentioned Public Health Solutions in "City Admits Prevention Funding Down," a February 15th article lamenting city cuts to HIV prevention funds administered by Public Health Solutions.
(http://gaycitynews.com/old-archives/)
Mary Ann Chiasson, Public Health Solutions’ Vice President, Research & Evaluation, appeared on SiriusXM Satellite Radio’s OutQ station as a panelist in a two–hour special focused on conversations gay men should have in the bedroom.
The New York Times printed "Food Aid to the Poor," a Letter to the Editor penned by Public Health Solutions CEO Ellen Rautenberg in response to an article on the increase in American schoolchildren receiving free or low–cost meals at school. She noted that food and nutrition programs formerly thought of as "safety nets" are now a major part of steering and safeguarding the health of the country.
(http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/09/opinion/food-aid-to-the-poor.html)
Sheelah Feinberg, Executive Director of Public Health Solutions’ NYC Coalition for a Smoke–Free City, also had a Letter to the Editor, "Smoke–Free Housing," published in The New York Times. In it, she responded to an article about the rise in smoke–free public housing, encouraging private landlords to follow suit.
(http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/26/opinion/smoke-free-housing.html?_r=2)
The HIV/AIDS Prevention, Care and Treatment Edition of the NNPHI Newsletter highlighted several Public Health Solutions initiatives designed to promote STD and HIV testing, including a study exploring the effects of making home STD–testing kits available to women who have recently used emergency contraception.
(http://nnphi.org/uploads/media_items/nnphi-news-december-2011.original.pdf)
The Ridgewood Times (Times Newsweekly) showcased the Ridgewood WIC Center in "Communities Celebrate the Holidays," a pictorial of local communities celebrating the holidays that appeared in the January 5, 2012 issue.
(http://www.timesnewsweekly.com/news/2012-01-05/Photo_Gallery/Communities_Celebrate_The_Holidays.html)
Public Health Solutions President & CEO Ellen Rautenberg was quoted for an article in All Media NY about the state-mandated Certificate of Need review program, which assesses changes in health care agencies in the state. She called for greater collaboration among primary care providers in the public and private sectors.
(http://www.allmediany.com/news/2328-nys-department-of-health-weighs-community-need-vs-private-practices)
News 12 covered Neighborhood WIC’s participation in the first ever Food Day, a collaborative effort by hundreds of organizations to promote eating "real." News 12’s coverage focused on events held at the Bushwick and Williamsburg WIC centers to educate clients about the benefits and affordability of healthy and sustainably grown foods.
The Bushwick Observer ran a full-page article about Neighborhood WIC’s breastfeeding program, including details about the benefits of breastfeeding and information on how women can participate in the program.
For the second year in a row, Neighborhood WIC participated in the community baby shower held by New York City Assemblywoman Grace Meng (District 22) in Flushing. Public Health Solutions staff from Neighborhood WIC was featured in coverage of the event in both the Sing Tao Daily and on NY1.
The New York Times printed a Letter to the Editor penned by School Food FOCUS Executive Director Toni Liquori in response to an article on the introduction of scratch cooking to schools in Greeley, Colorado, applauding the change.
(http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/31/opinion/benefits-of-fresh-cooking-in-schools-and-food-safety.html)
Local ABC health reporter Dr. Sapna Parikh demoed the interactive contraceptive module developed by Public Health Solutions’ Research & Evaluation Unit in an in–depth report on health & technology.
(http://www.healthsolutions.org/video/ContraModABC/ContraModABC.html)
