October 17th Wellness and Prevention Health Reform Digest

Wellness and Prevention

Health Reform Digest

Today's News (10/17/17 )

T he President is expected to formally declare the opioid epidemic as a public health emergency next week, following his stated intent to do so back in August. At the same time, some controversy has emerged over his nomination to run the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Further consideration of the CHAMPION Act in the House is still on hold while negotiations to identify a bipartisan set of offsets continue. As long as the Prevention Fund remains an offset, please remain vigilant and continue reaching out to Congress with your opposition.

Take Action

The Society for Public Health Education's Virtual Advocacy Day is scheduled for next Monday, October 23rd. A Thunderclap supporting prevention will be delivered that day at 10:00 a.m., with a Twitter Chat between 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. (EDT) using #ProtectPrevention.

Research!America is seeking partner organizations and institutions to join them in saluting individuals across the public health spectrum for its Annual Public Health Thank You Day. If you'd like your organization to participate.

Funding Opportunities

Public Health Institute is accepting applications for the National Leadership Academy for the Public's Health from teams in the Appalachian and Mid-regions of the United States. "For communities that are engaging in cross-sector work to improve the public health, this is an opportunity to boost your team's capacity and skills through a community leadership process." (deadline, January 12th)

Reports and Announcements

The National Health Law Program has released a fact sheet outlining the impact of the Department of Health and Humans Services' discontinuation of cost-sharing reduction payments, which c ould lead to higher premiums and additional insurers pulling out of the public exchanges.

Regulatory Comments

The Environmental Protection Agency has published its Clean Power Plan repeal proposal in the Federal Register. To submit comments (by December 15th).

Upcoming Events

Reminder: Trust for America's Health is hosting a Congressional Briefing to discuss the findings of the Health Impact Project (a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts) report, 10 Policies to Prevent and Respond to Childhood Lead Exposure, this Thursday, 9:30 - 10:30 a.m., 562 Dirksen Senate Office Building. To RSVP.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee has scheduled a hearing, Examining How Healthy Choices Can Improve Health Outcomes and Reduce Costs, for this Thursday, 10:00 a.m., 430 Dirksen Senate Office Building. To view live.

Opportunities/Deadlines

Sign On Documents and Opportunities for Input

CounterTobacco.org is holding a Point of Sale Tobacco Marketing Photo Contest to highlight marketing techniques used by the tobacco industry. Participants can submit photos into any of 10 categories, with winners receiving a prize pack. Deadline for submissions is November 6th.

CSPI has issued an action alert in opposition to the Regulatory Accountability Act (RAA), which recently passed the House and is up for consideration in Senate committee. "The RAA could undermine all laws that establish health, safety, and other safeguards. Rather than choose the best health and safety protections, agencies would have to choose the cheapest option."

The National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity's CEO Pledge for Physical Activity is a "national campaign to encourage every CEO in the United States to recognize physical activity as an important driver of employee health and business performance. The CEO Pledge is an evidence-based strategy for promoting a culture of physical activity within an organization. The Pledge is important because studies of employee wellness programs consistently find that executive leadership is critical to employee engagement. To sign on .

The National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity (NANA) is asking organizations to sign a pledge to have healthy meetings, conferences, and events. To assist organizations, NANA has developed a Healthy Meeting Toolkit . (no deadline)

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and CDC has provided social media tools to raise awareness. This month features an intimate partner violence theme week, which will share prevention information, resources, and images focusing on evidence-based prevention strategies on the VetoViolence Facebook page. CDC experts are also hosting a Facebook Q&A Wednesday, Noon - 1:00 p.m. (EDT).

The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) is circulating a national organizational sign on letter urging Congress to provide emergency supplemental funding for critical public health, healthcare, and behavioral health services to address the ongoing crisis in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. To sign on (deadline Thursday)

The 2018 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) E-Learning Institute (ELI) application period has been extended to October 20th. "The ELI Fellowship is a no cost, six-month online program that empowers education and training professionals with limited experience developing e-learning products to improve their course development skills. Participants will create an online training product, receive mentoring support from CDC and outside e-learning experts, collaborate with peers, and take part in online learning opportunities.

Regulatory Comments

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has established a public docket to solicit suggestions, recommendations, and comments from interested parties on questions relevant to FDA's newly established Opioid Policy Steering Committee. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb also posted a blog highlighting steps FDA is taking to stem the tide of opioid misuse. (deadline, December 28th)

Funding Opportunities and Awards

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 2018 Culture of Health Prize call for applications is now open. It's "an annual competition honoring communities that have placed a priority on health and are creating powerful partnerships and deep commitments to provide everyone with the opportunity to live well. Prize communities will receive $25,000, have the opportunity to share their story and lessons learned with the country, and join a national network of past winning communities." (deadline, November 3rd)

America Walks is "extending a round of community change micro grants to individuals and communities interested in improving the public sphere for walking or helping to make walking more commonplace. The program awards up to $1,500 to fund or help to catalyze smaller-scale, low-cost projects and programs that increase the prevalence of walking." (deadline November 10th)

Innovation Next, a partnership between the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and global design company IDEO, is accepting applications for innovation teams to participate in their six month accelerator program to address teen pregnancy prevention. For more information and to apply (deadline, November 14th).