FEBRUARY 5, 2020
Today, February 5th, 2020, marks the 34th Annual National Girls & Women in Sports Day (NGWSD). This celebration inspires girls and women to play and be active, and to realize their full power. Join the Women’s Sports Foundation in helping #LeadHerForward in 2020.
Healthy Habits as a Child Lead to a Healthier Heart as an Adult
February is National Heart Month
By Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago for the Daily Herald, 2/1/2020
The foods we consume as children can have an impact on our health as adults -- particularly heart health.

As we celebrate National Heart Health month, Dr. Irwin Benuck, division head of Community-Based Primary Care Pediatrics and physician for Lurie Children's Preventive Cardiology Program, shares important reminders and ways to maximize your heart health.

"It's important that the foods children consume be nutritionally rich, not caloric dense," said Benuck. Foods such as fresh fruits (berries), vegetables (leafy greens) and lean proteins (skinless chicken and fish) can significantly contribute to a healthy heart.

"We encourage children to drink plenty of water. For milk, 1% or fat free white milk is ideal," Benuck said. "When preparing meals for your child, divide a plate in four quadrants with a section each for fruits, vegetables, proteins and grains, such as brown rice or whole wheat pasta."

Foods that are heart healthy prevent plaque buildup in the coronary arteries and in the blood vessels that provide blood, oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. "In addition, consuming heart healthy foods can help prevent obesity, which can lead to Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and premature coronary artery disease, a narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries," Benuck said.

Foods that are high in sugar, such as soda pop, juice and sports drinks, as well as fatty foods (especially saturated and trans fats like pastries and fried foods) and whole milk dairy products accelerate coronary artery disease. "I frequently say that coronary artery disease is not an adult disease. It is a pediatric disease," said Benuck. "All the risk factors as well as the genetics begin early in life. Even individuals who are genetically predisposed to coronary artery disease benefit greatly from heart healthy foods and a healthy lifestyle." 

Benuck and his colleagues in the Preventive Cardiology Program at Lurie Children's Hospital support Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children's (CLOCC) 5-4-3-2-1 Go! model. With generous funding from Kohl's Cares , CLOCC's 5-4-3-2-1 Go! recommends a child have five servings of fruits and vegetables, four servings of water, three servings of 1% or fat free white milk, less than two hours of recreational screen time (phone, computer and video game) and one or more hours of physical activity daily, including at least 100 minutes of vigorous physical activity weekly.

Benuck also stresses that the high use of recreational screen time, including screens in bedrooms, interferes and competes with physical activity as well as good sleep. "We are now finding that sleep is very important for healthy lifestyles and hearts," said Benuck. Additionally, Benuck points out that it's not uncommon during screen time to "mindlessly eat" or over eat.

"The habits a person learns at a young age will last a lifetime. It is very difficult to change behavior and is much easier to shape behavior," Benuck stressed. "By providing and encouraging a healthy lifestyle at a young age, individuals are more likely to obtain habits conducive to a healthy heart."

Lurie Children's Preventive Cardiology Program is committed to improving the health of children at risk for heart disease. Lurie cares for children who have cardiac risk factors for heart and vascular disease, which may include high cholesterol, high triglyceride levels, high blood pressure, obesity and a family history of heart attacks and strokes
Lurie Children's Hospital Launches Census 2020 Resource Center for Health Care Professionals and Community Engagement Leaders
In addition to determining the number of congressional seats for each state, census data is a key driver for federal allocations to vital public support services, including Medicaid and the resultant access to children's hospitals. The most recent census was conducted in 2010 and, in that count, nearly 10% of young children under the age of 5 years old were missed. This resulted in states losing over half a billion dollars a year in funding. Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago has launched an online resource center to assist the public in understanding the importance of the Census, as well as a separate repository of resources for health professionals and community engagement leaders.

Census Timeline:

  • March 2020 - Mailings begin, including letters with paper questionnaire and invites to take the census online
  • April 1, 2020 - Census Day
  • May - July, 2020 - Follow up with non-respondents
  • December 31, 2020 - Apportionment counts must be sent to President

What We Can Do:

  • Be aware. Explain to families their participation will help them and their children because it will lead to more funding for schools, libraries, state aid programs for health care and more. 

  • Spread awareness. Put up posters, post on social media and hand out flyers. Anywhere from inside the hospital, waiting rooms, physician offices, community partner locations and global emails for employees.
EVENT CALENDAR
Do you have an upcoming event that would be of interest to the CLOCC network? Email info@clocc.net or submit your information directly to our website.
Making Evaluation Happen:
Moving from Logic Models to Outcome Measures

A focus on transitioning from logic model creation to outcome measure identification and development. We will build in opportunities for participants to share and receive feedback on actual evaluation projects or ideas so feel free to bring ideas about your own program or research that we can work on together. Provided by the Smith Child Health Research, Outreach and Advocacy Center's Evaluation Core at Lurie Children's Hospital, this session is appropriate for those unfamiliar with the conduct of evaluations or those who want to brush up on their evaluation techniques.

Details: Wednesday, March 4, 2020, 1:00 - 3:00pm CST, Lurie Children's Hospital 225 E. Chicago Ave., Room 11-152

Reservations are Required
by Wednesday, February 26, 2020 to reserve.
JOB POSTINGS
If your organization is seeking to fill open positions, email info@clocc.net or submit your information directly to the clocc.net website here.
Senior Epidemiologist
Lurie Children's Healthy Communities
Chicago, IL

The Lurie Children’s Healthy Communities team is responsible for aligning the Medical Center’s clinical, research, education and advocacy expertise with its community health and outreach initiatives. This team provides oversight for the development and implementation of the Community Health Needs Assessment and Implementation Strategy and partners with leaders across the Medical Center to work towards an overall goal of advancing health equity for youth and their families across Chicago.

The Senior Epidemiologist oversees the data analyses and reporting needs of Lurie Children’s Healthy Communities consistent with the Community Health Needs Assessment and Implementation Strategy, and provides hospital leaders and community partners reliable, digestible data related to child and adolescent health issues. Learn more.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY
Iglesia Evangelica Emanuel  is seeking Food Pantry Volunteers. Serving the Belmont–Cragin area, this food pantry serves over 350 families weekly. Clients are able to choose from fresh, canned, and frozen representing all of the food groups. The pantry also provides home deliveries individuals who can’t come to pantry due to disabilities.


FOCUS UPSTREAM
CLOCC continues to expand our focus "upstream" to identify the fundamental root causes of obesity, and to broaden the scope of our obesity prevention strategies. This work coincides with heightened local and national attention to health equity and social influencers of health, such as immigration, education, poverty and racism, all of which have an impact on people's ability to eat healthy and be active where they live, work, learn, and play. If you have comments or questions about this focus, we invite you to reach out to info@clocc.net.
Public Charge Rule Goes Into Effect Outside of Illinois
The Supreme Court allowed the " Public Charge " rule to take effect on Monday, January 27, while lawsuits continue nationwide. Illinois is the lone exception to implementation of public charge, as a separate injunction in Cook County, and the lawsuit of Illinois Coalition For Immigrant And Refugee Rights, Inc., vs. Kevin K. McAeenan, et. al., remain in effect.

According to the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), the Illinois cases, as well as those being litigated in other jurisdictions, argue that the regulation is "an end-run around Congress, inconsistent with research and evidence, and based on racial animus." Litigation will continue as the regulation is implemented. Per U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USICS), the final rule will only apply to applications submitted on or after February 24, 2020. Medicaid, SNAP, HUD public housing, and Section 8 housing benefits received before February 24, 2020 will not be considered in the public charge determination.

SNAP participation in particular is a strong contributor to healthy diets for low-income families, including immigrants. Experts are already seeing evidence of how the rule change will negatively affect population health, adding to the burden of diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and other nutrition-related diseases in our country and putting children in particular at much greater risk.
CHILDHOOD OBESITY IN THE MEDIA
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