News and Events

NECON Conference 2001

National 5 A Day Week

CVH 2002 Conference Call for Abstracts

Job Opportunities

Governor's Fifth Cardiovascular Health Summit

Cardiovascular Health Screening Workshops

Third Report of the Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults

Nonprofit Warehouse

Health Challenges for the 21st Century
MCHC Newsletter

On October 16, 2001, the New England Coalition for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (NECON) and Region I, US Department of Health & Human Services will convene its annual region-wide forum of policymakers and legislators at the Massachusetts Medical Society in Waltham, MA.  

While the plenary sessions and panels will concentrate on strategies for implementing NECON's six recommendations to which the governors so positively responded in September 2000, the following important ongoing NECON concerns will also be addressed:

1.  Progress of State Health Action Forums on implementation of the Working Groups' Recommendations;
2.  Report on presentation of additional NECON recommendations to the New England Governor's Conference in August 2001; and
3.  Continuing missions of the NECON-Region I Task Force/Working Groups

For more information or to register on-line ($45 for the day) please check out www.NECONinfo.org.  Please respond no later than September 30, 2001.

Join thousands of Americans in celebrating National 5 A Day Week by encouraging others to eat 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day to improve their health.  Each year, during the second full week of September (September 9-15, 2001), the National Cancer Institute and its private industry partner, the Produce for Better Health Foundation conducts this nationwide effort.

The 5 A Day Week 2001 theme, "5 A Day:  Yes You Can!" reminds Americans that they can overcome common barriers to meeting the 5 A Day goal.  Check out their web site at www.5aday.gov/5adayweek2001.html for more information and materials you can print out.

Cardiovascular Health for All:  Meeting the Challenge of Healthy People 2010 - A National Conference - April 11-13, 2002 - Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, DC

CVH 2002 will be the key cardiovascular conference of the new millennium.  The conference will address the cardiovascular challenges set forth in Healthy People 2010 as well as the overarching goals of increasing the quality and years of healthy life and eliminating health disparities.  With a focus on disease prevention and treatment, the conference will demonstrate how a multitiered approach to prevention, community education, and innovative treatment can impact cardiovascular health. 

Abstracts are welcome in the following four HP2010 performance goals related to Heart Disease and Stroke:
--Prevent development of risk factors
--Detect and treat risk factors
--Early recognition and treatment of acute coronary syndromes and stoke
--Prevent recurrence of complications of cardiovascular disease

Submission deadline for abstracts is September 14, 2001.  Detailed submission instructions are available at http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/emails/cvh21010.htm.

Online submission is also available.  Abstract submitters will be notified by October 29, 2001, of the Abstract Committee's decisions.

For more information on attending the conference, please contact Jenny Bogue at National Trade Productions -- 1-800-687-7469, ext. 227 or by e-mail at ntpinfo@pshow.com. 

Job Opportunities

University Wellness Coordinator

The University of Southern Maine Lifeline Center is seeking a Wellness Program Coordinator to assume full time responsibility for the development, marketing, implementation, and evaluation of a community wellness program at USM.  The program will service employees, dependents, and retirees and work closely with student-based departments to provide wellness services/activities that impact the entire campus community.  The staff person will be based at the Portland campus.  Qualifications:  Required--Bachelor degree in Wellness Management, Health Promotion, Health Education or related field.  Three to five years of progressive experience/responsibilities in coordination/administration of a university employee wellness or corporate wellness program.  Combination of equivalent education and experience may be considered.  Must have demonstrated organizational/planning skills.  Strong oral and written skills are required.  Send cover letter, writing sample, and three letters of reference to Tom Downing, Director, USM Lifeline Center, 96 Falmouth Street, Box 9300, Portland, ME  04104-9300.  Deadline for materials is Friday, September 21, 2001. 

Governor's Fifth Cardiovascular Health Summit

Start with the Heart:  Creating Effective Policies for Heart Health in Maine was held at the Augusta Civic Center on June 21, 2001.  We are in the process of compiling information obtained during the Summit and will post it here as soon as it is available.

The next Cardiovascular Health Screening Workshops will be held October 2, 3, & 4 at the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland and November 14, 19 & 20 at the Senator Inn in Augusta.  To print a copy of the entire brochure including a registration form, click here.  Brochures will be mailed late August.  If you would like to receive a brochure, please contact Diane Campbell at dianec@mcd.org to be put on the mailing list.

The Executive Summary summarizes the Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III, or ATP III).  The executive summary contains treatment recommendations derived from the evidence-based full ATP III report.  Key tables and figures from the full report are included for easy reference.

Topics addressed in the executive summary include classification of lipids and lipoproteins, coronary heart disease (CHD) risk assessment, lifestyle interventions, drug treatment, and interventions to improve adherence.  Recommendations for special populations such as patients with CHD, patients at high risk for developing CHD, patients with diabetes, women, older Americans, young adults, and racial and ethnic groups are provided.

To view the executive summary online, go to http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/cholesterol/atp_iii.htm  

Nonprofit Warehouse.com is dedicated to finding ways to meet the needs of those groups who accept the noble task of helping others.  Their goal is to bring non-profit and selected for-profit manufacturers together with non-profit organizations in a common place for the mutual benefit of the people they serve.

Nonprofit Warehouse now offers high quality, custom ground eyeglasses and Hard Resin Plastic or shatter resistant Polycarbonate lenses. They also provide a nonprofit Dental lab.  These services are available to government agencies, non-profit organizations, religious outreach groups, and doctors and selected for- profit groups that work with the underprivileged.

You can view these and other services they provide at www.nonprofitwarehouse.com 

Major public health challenges for the 21st century include:

• reducing risk factor levels and preventing the development of adverse risk factors. Continued research is needed to understand the determinants (social, psychological, environmental, physiologic, and genetic) of CVD risk factors.
• reducing the racial/ethnic disparities in heart disease and stroke mortality.
• increasing the ability to reach underserved groups with appropriate and effective public health messages.
• promoting policy and environmental strategies that enhance healthy behavior.
• determining the relation between genetics and disease. The associations of genetic variants with CVD, and especially the interplay between genetic and environmental factors, may play increasingly important roles in the nation's efforts to prevent CVD.
• identifying new or emerging risk factors and determining their potential for public health intervention. New or emerging risk factors that have been associated with CVD include elevated levels of total homocyst(e)ine, fibrinogen, and C-reactive protein, and infectious agents such as Helicobacter pylori and Chlamydia pneumoniae.
• focusing on secondary prevention and disability. An aging U.S. population and an increasing number of persons surviving life-threatening cardiovascular conditions requires public health programs to focus on issues such as disability and quality of life. Persons with existing cardiovascular conditions are at increased risk for future life-threatening events related to those conditions.
• addressing the needs of the global community. Although CVD death rates are higher in developed nations, most cases occur in developing nations. Developing countries may face a double burden of infectious and chronic diseases. International collaboration to improve cardiovascular health will need to continue to reduce the burden of CVD worldwide.

Reported by: Cardiovascular Health Bureau, Division of Adult and Community Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC.

(MMWR Weekly, August 6, 1999/ 48(30); 649-656)