Wellness Information
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Your Guide to Exercise in the Hill
The Hill Health Center has put together a directory of exercise activities. The Hill provides a variety of activities ranging from swimming to weight lifting. There’s something for everyone in the family. Just click here for a map and a list of activities in the Hill. To obtain free copies of the Hill Exercise Directory, call 503-3276.
"Nutrition in a Nutshell" Newsletters
The following newsletters have been published by the WIC/Nutrition Department for the patients and staff of the Hill Health Center
April 2002 (PDF)
November 2001 (PDF)
July 2001 (PDF)
Health care professionals looking for a way to provide
culturally and linguistically appropriate services to multicultural populations
can now use a new Web-based tool supported by HRSA.
The Provider's Guide to Quality and Culture features an interactive quiz that
helps users enhance their knowledge and skills. The guide also has 11 modules on
topics such as common health problems in selected minority, ethnic and cultural
groups, and understanding immigrant, refugee and minority populations. Each
module contains readings, mnemonics, exercises, references and annotated links
to other relevant Web resources.
Recent enhancements include: (1) full-color photographs, (2) improved navigation
and visual appeal, (3) enhanced information on 5 major cultural groups in the US
with pertinent links to related information in other parts of the site, (4)
excerpts from selected chapters of the 10 volume Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Health Resources and Services
Administration (HRSA) and the United States Department of Health and Human
Services (DHHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) cultural competence monograph
series presented in short pieces of text for easy on-screen reading with full
references for all of the material, (5) additional resources and links and (6) a
fully-functional search engine. In essence, the amount of information contained
in the Guide has doubled since its release in June.
The Guide is emerging as the "one stop shopping resource" in the United States
for health professionals seeking resources on cultural issues within the context
of quality of care. The Guide emerged out of the Quality Center of the Bureau of
Primary Health Care at the Health Resources and Services Administration which
perceives cultural competence as a major quality of care issue. The Guide
responds to 4 of the 6 national aims articulated by the National Institute of
Medicine's (IOM) Crossing the Quality Chasm report (Safety, Effectiveness,
Patient-centeredness and Equity).
The Provider's Guide was developed by Management Sciences for Health, a
nonprofit organization dedicated to the improvement of global health. HRSA and
the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have recently
signed an interagency agreement to add, in FY 2002, streaming videos (with
CD-ROM support) portraying clinical case scenarios of culturally appropriate
patient encounters. We look forward to your comments on all of the above, and on
the site as a whole.
To access The Provider's Guide to Quality and Culture, go to http://erc.msh.org/quality&culture.
Leonard G. Epstein, M.S.W.
Senior Advisor on Quality and Culture
The Quality Center
Bureau of Primary Health Care/HRSA
4350 East-West Highway, 11-9C2
Bethesda, MD 20814
v (301) 594-3803
f (301) 594-5224
lepstein@hrsa.gov
http://bphc.hrsa.gov/quality
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH (May 25, 2001)
NEW RESOURCES TO HELP CONSUMERS CONTROL THEIR BLOOD PRESSURE
Fifty million Americans have high blood pressure, and less than 30 percent are
controlling their condition. High blood pressure, or hypertension, increases the
risk of stroke, heart disease, heart attacks, congestive heart failure,
progression of kidney disease, and death. A consistent blood pressure reading of
140/90 mm Hg or higher is considered high blood pressure.
"Tips on healthy eating are included in NHLBI's expanded and redesigned Web
site, "Your Guide to Lowering High Blood Pressure"
<http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/hbp/>.
In addition, the site features information on other behaviors that contribute to
blood pressure control such as maintaining a healthy weight, engaging in regular
physical activity, and abstaining from excessive amounts of alcohol. There are
also interactive quizzes and tools, information on medications, real-life
examples and recipes to help manage high blood pressure, and a new section on
issues specific to women, such as preeclampsia. Continuing education programs
and interactive software are available to help clinicians stay abreast of the
latest recommendations in high blood pressure prevention, detection, and
treatment.
For these and other resources for better heart health,
visit the NHLBI Web site at www.nhlbi.nih.gov
or call the
NHLBI Health Information Center at (301) 592-8573.
Hill Health Center to Educate Women About Folic Acid
Thanks to a grant from the March of Dimes, Renee Dinkins, Hill Health Center
perinatal coordinator, and her staff will educate up to 1,200 women this year
about the need to take Folic Acid during pregnancy.
The grant would provide Folic Acid awareness education and preconception risk
screening and education that will better prepare women for a healthy pregnancy.
Staff will link women with appropriate resources and services, she said.
The national Healthy People 2010 goal is for women to take at least 400 mcg of
folic acid each day from fortified foods or dietary supplements. Folic Acid is
found naturally in orange juice and other citrus fruits, leafy green vegetables,
beans, lentils and peanuts.
A year's supply of multi-vitamins containing the proper amount of Folic Acid
costs less than a CD, said Jann Dalton Moody of the March of Dimes.
Folic Acid helps to prevent neural tube defects, such as spina bifida. Nearly 2%
of infant mortality in Connecticut is linked to neural tube defects. The
incidence of this problem is higher in the Latino population than in the
population at large.
Of the 1,200 women taking pregnancy tests at HHC each year, about 400 women are
pregnant. Eighty percent are non-white and at greater risk. Of all HHC births,
8% were low birth weight infants, which is below the New Haven rate of 10%.