Kathleen Sebelius, former Govenor of Kansas, was sworn in as the 21st Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services on April 29th.  To learn more about Secretary Sebelius, please visit http://www.hhs.gov/secretary/.

Howard Koh, M.D., MPH was recently confirmed as the new Assistant Secretary for Health.  Dr. Koh was most recently the Harvey V. Fineberg  Professor of the Practice of Public Health, Associate Dean for Public Health Practice, and Director of the Division of Public Health Practice at the Harvard School of Public Health. Prior to that Dr. Koh served as Commissioner of Public Health for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  To learn more about Dr. Koh and the work of the Assistant Secretary for Health, please visit  http://www.hhs.gov/ophs/leadership/ash.html,

Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Don’t forget the physical activity e-cards available at http://www.healthfinder.gov/ecards/cards.aspx.  These free e-cards can be personalized to encourage family, friends, and colleagues to get active and eat healthy (among other behaviors). Feel free to link to these e-cards from your Web site. 

The Secretary's Advisory Committee on National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives for 2020 will hold a meeting on the Internet on July 10, 2009 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The meeting will be open to the public. Participation in the meeting is limited. Registrations will be accepted until maximum capacity is reached.  To register, please visit: www.healthypeople.gov/hp2020/advisory/default.asp.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The free LEANWorks! Website launched on June 25th.  LEANWorks! (LEAN stands for Leading Employees to Activity and Nutrition) is targeted towards small and medium sized employers interested in implementing an obesity-prevention program.  Among the resources that are provided on the Website:

• An obesity cost-calculator where employers can input employee demographic data to estimate the total costs associated with obesity and determine annual obesity-related medical costs for their companies.
• Information and resources to help employers plan, build, promote, and assess interventions to combat obesity.
• Information on how employers can estimate return on investment, a measure of the cost of an intervention compared to the expected financial return of the intervention.

Please visit www.cdc.gov/leanworks to learn more.

“Halting Obesity” describes the efforts of the CDC to address obesity by creating places where Americans can make healthy choices about nutrition and physical activity and where such choices are available, affordable, and accessible.

This feature highlights DNPAO's efforts to reduce obesity and its related conditions through policy and environmental strategies, developing partnerships, and innovative programming.

To read the feature, go to www.cdc.gov and click on “Halting Obesity” or visit http://www.cdc.gov/Features/HaltingObesity/

Be sure to check out the “Healthy Community Design” video featuring Dr. Howard Frumkin, Director of the National Center for Environmental Health. The 15-minute video provides a great overview of the principles that create healthier communities and the impact such communities can have on levels of physical activity, air quality, and social interaction.  The video recently won an Aurora Award for excellence in film and video production.  To view the video, please visit
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyplaces/
healthy_comm_design.htm

Concussion Resources
As many as 3.8 million sports and recreation-related concussions occur each year.  Signs and symptoms may not be immediately apparent.  The “Heads Up: Concussion in Youth Sports” initiative has a wide variety of free web-based and printed materials to help coaches, parents, and players recognize the symptoms of concussion and ways to ensure proper treatment and follow-up.  As the summer sports season gets underway, don’t forget to share these valuable resources with your colleagues, friends, and family members.   Please visit: http://www.cdc.gov/concussioninyouthsports/   

And Elsewhere….
Department of the Interior
National Park Service (NPS) and YMCA National Partnership
The NPS, looking to help address the obesity epidemic and ensure future outdoor recreation enthusiasts and the YMCA, wanting to encourage more outdoor activity, saw the benefit of a national partnership.  The NPS has already provided technical assistance to a half-dozen YMCAs across the US.  Read more about one of these partnerships at: http://www.nps.gov/ncrc/programs/
rtca/whatwedo/09/SC.pdf

USDA
Forest Service Launches Discover the Forest.org
The Forest Service’s new Website, www.discovertheforest.org, targets tweens (ages 9-12) and their parents.  The easy to use site features an interactive map to help users find forests and parklands across the country and the activities, such as hiking, camping, birding, and canoeing available. The site also offers free, downloadable games and activity sheets to engage children and adults alike.  The Website was launched in conjunction with the new public service announcements developed in partnership with the Ad Council.  The campaign, Where the Other You Lives, encourages children to get outdoors and explore.  Learn more about the campaign at www.discovertheforest.org.

American Public Health Association (APHA)
APHA approved the organization of the Physical Activity Special Primary Interest Group (PA SPIG).  The creation of this special interest group within APHA allows members with an interest in physical activity to come together and raises visibility for the issues of physical activity and sedentary lifestyles within the association.  The leaders of this movement note that it is critical for APHA members who have an interest in physical activity to join PA SPIG because100 members must sign-up initially, and 250 members must join within 3 years to become a long-standing section.

Children and Nature Network: Nature Rocks!
Nature Rocks is designed to inspire and empower parents to take their families out to play, explore and enjoy quality time in nature for happier, healthier and smarter children. The initiative offers tools adults can use to plan their time in the great outdoors.  To learn more, please visit: www.naturerocks.org.

National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA)
NATA has issued a position statement on the management of spine-injured athletes.   Among those under the age of 30, sport participation is the second most common cause of spine related injury. The guidelines are for athletic trainers and other health care professionals, coaches, and athletes.  Among the recommendations is a reminder that, “non-medical professionals should refrain from touching or moving an athlete who might have a spinal injury and should never remove any helmets, pads or other equipment from an injured athlete; the team's athletic trainer and/or other on-site medical staff will assess the injured athlete and determine whether he or she requires an ambulance.”

While football is associated with the greatest number of catastrophic spinal injuries for all U.S. sports, skiing, rugby, gymnastics, swimming and diving, track and field (e.g., pole vaulting), cheerleading and baseball also involve activities that place participants at risk for spine injuries.

To read NATA’s position statement in its entirety, visit:  
http://www.nata.org/statements/
position/AcuteMgtCervicalSpineInjuredAth.pdf

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Leadership for Healthy Communities Program released, “Action Strategies Toolkit: A Guide for Local and State Leaders Working to Create Healthy Communities and Prevent Childhood Obesity.”  The policy options and resources included in the toolkit were selected after a careful review by the 11 policy- maker organizations participating in the program. To download a fee copy of the toolkit, please visit: http://www.leadershipforhealthycommunities.org/
index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=352&Itemid=154  

Safe Routes to School National Partnership
The Safe Routes to School 2009 Policy Report-Moving to the Future: Building on Early Achievements discusses policies and practices that affect the ability of children to walk or bicycle to school.  The report also discusses policies that facilitate implementation of SRTS programs.  To read the report, visit: http://www.saferoutespartnership.org/media/file/SRTS-09-FinalPolicy.pdf

The Safe Routes to School State Network Project: 2008 Annual Progress Report highlights accomplishments and lessons learned in 2008.  Visit:  http://www.saferoutespartnership.org/
media/file/SRTS-09-Final-AR.pdf   

The Council of State Governments
Be sure to check out the latest legislative policy briefs, talking points, and toolkits available for free by the Council of State Governments Healthy States Initiatives.  The items cover a wide variety of topics including disease prevention through physical activity, school wellness policies, workplace health, and community wellness initiatives.  Visit http://www.healthystates.csg.org/Publications.   

Up2Us
Up2Us is “a national coalition that is leading a movement to redefine the role of sports in the lives of young Americans.”  Currently, the organization has networks in San Francisco, Boston and New York City and is looking to expand to Washington, DC.  An informational conference was held May 28th to help kick-start the process.

Up2Us focuses on sports-based youth development, particularly in underserved communities to develop the leadership skills, discipline, and positive peer relationships that will help youth succeed on the field and, most importantly, in life.  The organization also connects volunteer coaches to local programs and provides resources to help train coaches on sports-based youth development. To learn more, please visit www.up2us.org.

Examples of other programs working abroad to develop leadership and life skills through sports participation is A Ganar/Vencer, led by the Partners of Americas.  The program operates in multiple countries throughout South America and targets young men and women between the ages of 16 and 24 who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.  To learn more, please visit http://www.partners.net/partners/
Aganar_Home_EN.asp?SnID=29129253

Peace Players International also uses sport (basketball) to bridge social divides and unite and educate children living in historically divided communities, such as Northern Ireland, South Africa, Israel and the West Bank, and Cyprus. A secondary goal is to educate children to lead healthy, constructive lives.  To learn more about Peace Players International, please visit http://www.peaceplayersintl.org/index.aspx