The form is available on their website, www.readibida.org for download or click here to be taken directly to the form. Topics submitted should be on the subject of dyslexia and related disorders that are either theoretical or applied (practical). Issues from educational, psychosocial and medical areas are welcome. The conference committee reviewers reserve the right to group some of the presentations for panel presentations. Deadline for submissions is March 25, 2012.

“Dyslexia: Challenge & Promise”, 2012 Annual Fall Conference, will be held October 11 & 12, 2012, at the Midwest Conference Center, Northlake, Illinois.

By Dr. Rani Whitfield

The current state of our economy has raised questions about whether today’s kids will be better or worse off than their parents. But, as a physician and father, I question whether they will be healthy enough to even live longer than their parents. Today, more physicians than ever are treating children for “adult” diseases like diabetes, hypertension and even heart disease. So, we should be equally concerned about the future of their health as we are about their wealth.    

This Black History Month and Heart Health Month, I decided to write an open letter to African American parents, urging you to start a family legacy of good health. The future of our children depends on it.

It’s no secret that heart disease, obesity and diabetes are taking a toll on our families and our communities at a rate higher than any other ethnic group in the country. And it is mostly preventable. As a father to a six-year-old, I know “Do as I say, not as I do” doesn’t work when kids are watching and mimicking your every move. Therefore, as parents, we have to take the first steps toward building a healthy, active lifestyle for ourselves with hopes that our kids will “do as we do.”

Contrary to what you might think, taking those steps doesn’t mean cutting out the things you enjoy – doing that can actually lead to weight gain. To be honest, I’m not giving up my favorite foods and beverages, and neither should you. It’s really about making better decisions. If you use two sticks of butter in your famous peach cobbler, use one or a healthier butter substitute. If you use salt pork in collard greens, try smoked turkey instead. Or, if you love soda, try a low- or no-calorie version or drink from a smaller cup.

Lastly, family time shouldn’t only be TV time. Get up and be active together. If your kids are jumping around with their Wii game, join them. If they’re playing tag in the backyard, be “it.” One thing I love to do with my daughter is dance because it’s good exercise and lets us be silly together. Leaving a legacy of good health doesn’t have to be serious and boring, so have fun with it.

This isn’t a letter of “shoulda, coulda, wouldas” because I understand food is a cultural and satisfying experience. Rather, it is a challenge for you to take inventory of your family’s health habits and make small adjustments that could bring about big changes. Studies show that just a small weight loss can reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes and other diseases.

So this month and year round I’m taking a pledge, and I hope you will too: I pledge to leave my daughter with better health habits than the generation before her. I will leave her with less risk for heart disease, diabetes and obesity. I will be active for her and with her. And I will make decisions that set her on the path to good health for the rest of her life.

Good luck creating your family’s good health legacy for this generation and the next.

Dr. Rani G. Whitfield, known best as “Tha Hip Hop Doc,” is a board certified family physician with a private practice in Baton Rouge. He uses hip-hop music to educate teens and young adults on health issues and is a consultant for several organizations including The Coca-Cola Company. He can be reached at www.h2doc.com.

New facility to support 220,000 annual patient visits; 43% of their patients are African American or of African descent, and 92% of their patients are low-income with 60% living below the poverty line

Boston, MA (BlackNews.com) — Today, Whittier Street Health Center (Whittier) publicly unveils its new six-story, 79,000 square foot green building in Roxbury, Massachusetts. The new health and wellness facility provides expanded capacity for the Center to continue its mission of providing high quality and cost effective healthcare.

The $37 million building will house a variety of medical, social and wellness services to improve the health of a community facing significant disparities in healthcare access and outcomes. In addition to primary care, the new facility will provide a holistic array of services, all in one location including, dental and eye care, behavioral health and substance abuse services, a pharmacy, a physical therapy clinic, and community space. It will also feature the new Dana-Farber Mammography Suite and medical oncology consultation through a partnership with Dana-Farber Community Cancer Care to address high mortality rates from cancer in the community. The health center’s design incorporates many “green” features and is seeking certification as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver building. These features underscore Whittier’s commitment to creating a “healthy” building and environment with its new facility.

The new building is funded in part through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding (ARRA). In 2010, Whittier received a $12 million grant through an ARRA, a funding opportunity supported by the US Department of Health and Human Services. “Massachusetts is a national leader in access to health care, thanks to organizations like the Whittier Street Health Center,” said Governor Deval Patrick. “Whittier’s new facility has created jobs and opportunities for hundreds of Massachusetts residents. I thank the Obama Administration and all of the committed partners for supporting this innovative health center.”

Roxbury, the primary service area of the new building, consistently ranks low for health outcomes and health behaviors among Boston’s 16 neighborhoods. According to the Boston Public Health Commission’s 2011 Health of Boston Report, among Boston’s 16 neighborhoods, Roxbury has the highest infant mortality rate, the highest rate of hospitalizations due to heart disease and the second highest diabetes hospitalization rate.

“Whittier Street Health Center is a model for how care is best delivered in an urban environment and no one is more dedicated to Boston’s underserved than Whittier Street Health Center’s CEO, Frederica Williams,” said Thomas M. Menino, Mayor of Boston. “It is because of her vision and determination that the new, larger space, will help even more of our city’s residents receive high quality healthcare.”

“The new building allows us to accomplish so much more related to improving the health of our community,” said Frederica Williams, President and CEO of WSHC. “In addition to reaching more patients and increasing our breadth of services, our new building will allow us to address increasing healthcare costs by offering innovative programs that reduce complications from chronic diseases.”

In addition, the new facility will create 50 new full time healthcare jobs, over 30 of which have already been filled. Constructing the building also supported 450 construction jobs.

The new Whittier Street Health Center will increase its capacity from the 70,000 patient visits conducted in the old building in 2011 to a new capacity of 220,000 patient visits. Currently, Whittier’s patients represent 20 different countries with 17 languages spoken by staff at the health center.

Photo Caption: Whittier Street Health Center Opens $35 million 79,000 sq. ft. State-of-the-Art Health Center in Boston. Partially funded by President Obama’s stimulus funding, the new facility is being hailed as a future model of a “one-stop” healthcare delivery system for traditionally underserved urban residents.

Programs help fill nutritional gap for children

SPRINGFIELD, IL – The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) is encouraging school administrators to make sure students take advantage of free, nutritious meals and snacks available this summer at more than 1,700 summer food service program sites statewide. Applications to be a sponsor can be submitted to ISBE beginning March 1.

“Summer food programs fill an important role for both parents and children,” said State Superintendent of Education Christopher A. Koch. “As educators, we know that nutrition is a critical prerequisite to learning. However, learning does not stop when the school year ends, and neither does the need for a nutritious meal.”

Summer food programs work by providing free meals and snacks to low-income children through age 18 when school is not in session. People ages 18 and older who are enrolled in school programs for persons with disabilities may also participate. Summer food programs typically operate June through August, but can start as early as May and can go into September.

During the summer of 2010, more than 105,000 low-income Illinois children ate free meals through summer food programs. Those children represent 14.7 percent of the roughly 721,000 children who ate free or reduced-priced meals during the 2009-2010 school year. Nationally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that more than 18 million children received free or reduced-price school meals during the 2010 school year, but only 2.8 million children received summer meals.

ISBE administers two federally funded summer food programs – the USDA’s ‘Summer Food Service Program for Children’ and the federal National School Lunch Program’s ‘Seamless Summer Option.’ Both programs are designed to bridge the summer nutrition gap by offering free nutritious breakfasts, lunches or snacks to children age 18 and younger.

Most summer food program sites are open to all children in the community. These “open sites” are also eligible for federal funds if the site is located in an area in which at least 50 percent of the children are from households that would be eligible for free or reduced-price school meals. All children 18 years of age or younger who come to an approved open site may receive meals.

Local governments, school districts and non-profits can sponsor summer food sites, which may include schools, parks, recreation centers, housing projects, migrant centers, churches, summer camps and others. Organizations and government entities may apply to ISBE to be a summer food program sponsor beginning March 1 through June 15, 2012.  Organizations may also become a site with an existing sponsor; to learn more, visit the ISBE website at: http://www.isbe.net/nutrition/htmls/summer.htm

To locate an open site summer food program in Chicago, contact the Illinois Hunger Coalition’s Hunger Hotline at (800) 359-2163 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The hotline is available in both English and Spanish. For other areas of the state, an interactive map of the state’s summer food program sites can be found online at http://webprod1.isbe.net/NutSvc/.

Cost Should Not be a Factor

Washington DC – The National Black Church Initiative (NBCI), a faith-based coalition of 34,000 churches comprised of 15 denominations and 15.7 million African Americans dedicated to the eradication of racial disparities around the world, is urging all religious communities to join together in the promotion of peace. Black leadership partners – 66,000 churches nationwide – are called upon to use the full force of our combined 100,000 churches to oppose the use of costs as a factor in making health care decisions.

Recently, the American College of Physicians, the second-largest US doctors’ group after the American Medical Association, has argued in favor of the position that doctors consider cost-effectiveness when deciding how to treat patients. It has gone so far as to include the recommendation in its latest ethics manual. Due to health care costs in the US that are twice those of other industrialized countries, they argue that:

“In making recommendations to patients, designing practice guidelines and formularies, and making decisions on medical benefits review boards, physicians considered judgments should reflect the best available evidence in the biomedical literature, including data on the cost-effectiveness of different clinical approaches.”

This is a dangerous precedent as doctors should be seeking to provide the best health care to their patients not making decisions about how to ration care by deciding who should receive which procedure or medicine based on cost. They are not qualified to do so and it is professionally and morally inappropriate. This can and will lead us down the road to health care rationing and will have a disproportionate impact on underserved populations such as African Americans who do not typically have the funds to spend as much on health care as other groups. Studies have shown that African Americans receive less health care than White Americans, particularly when the care involved expensive, lifesaving new technologies.[1] This situation will be exacerbated with health rationing based upon cost considerations.

As the Reverend Anthony Evans states: “We are not saying that cost should never be a factor, but given the history of disadvantages African Americans have had we need to see preventive care, drug therapy, the latest scientific therapies and procedures and health maintenance over the next 30 years to reduce significantly African Americans horrible health personality and to raise the life expectancy, especially among black males over the next 10 yrs.”

A critical flaw in the American College of Physicians argument is that they believe that you can reduce health care costs through rationing. This is simply not the case. The cancer at the heart of the US health care system is structural as the critical driver of health care costs is the fact that the US has a for-profit health care system with massive overhead and administrative costs since a private sector middleman is required and there is a great degree of fragmentation amongst the myriad health care providers that prevents the economies of scale evident in other countries. For the purpose of maximizing profits not health outcomes, this privately run system incentives the denial of care to those who need it the most, inhibits the use of less costly preventative procedures and encourages the use of the most expensive technologies to maximize revenues.

The classic comparison is between the US and the UK which have similar legal systems and economic structures. The US with its for profit health system spends about 15% of GDP on health care annually while failing to cover 50 million people. In contrast, the public National Health System of the UK spends about 8% of GDP on health care while covering 100% of the population. The differences are startling and can only be addressed through fundamental structural change in moving the US health care system to a greater focus on public good rather than private profit.

Amazingly, as part of its argument in favor of having doctors factor cost considerations into health care considerations, the ACP is actually quite extreme and explicit in favoring what is tantamount to stinginess:

“Parsimonious care that utilizes the most efficient means to effectively diagnose a condition and treat a patient respects the need to use resources wisely and to help ensure that resources are equitably available.”

The use of the term parsimonious goes far beyond having doctors be more efficient in what they proscribe but implies that doctors be cheap and withhold care for particular patients. Your doctor should be concerned about your health not about your ability to pay. Doctors obtain MDs not MBAs so they are simply not qualified to make these decisions. Moreover, trust is an important part of the doctor-patient relationship and it will undoubtedly be undermined if patients believe that they may have been offered a procedure based upon cost rather than effectiveness. As the Tuskegee experiments demonstrate, racism is as rife in the health care system as it is in all other aspects of American life so there is little doubt that the use of cost as a criteria for health decisions will open up a new avenue for discrimination.

As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  For that reason, the National Black Church Initiative is calling for 25 billion dollars to be spent on prevention and primary care in the United States. That would do far more to improve health care outcomes than health care rationing.

The NBCI cannot support recent efforts to take costs into consideration when determining a patient’s eligibility for health care procedures. Health care costs are rising in general as expensive but nonetheless lifesaving technologies should not be denied to Americans based upon their cost. These kinds of standards have the potential to be highly discriminatory and would serve to provide the health care industry with a powerful tool to deny much needed health care to US citizens at a time when we are trying to expand health coverage to the over 50 million uninsured Americans. The whole point of national health care is to avoid the de facto health care rationing that has become part of the dysfunctional health care regime in America. Cost-based standards should not be a factor in determining access to health care.

About NBCI

The National Black Church Initiative (NBCI) is a coalition of 34,000 churches working to eradicate racial disparities in healthcare, technology, education, housing, and the environment. NBCI’s mission is to provide critical wellness information to all of its members, congregants, churches and the public. NBCI offers faith-based, out-of-the box and cutting edge solutions to stubborn economic and social issues. NBCI’s programs are governed by credible statistical analysis, science based strategies and techniques, and methods that work. Visit our website at www.naltblackchurch.com.

Medical expert Dr. Ken Taylor explains the health priorities that should be on everyone’s New Year’s Resolutions list this year

Atlanta, GA (BlackNews.com) — While many Americans are focusing on the most popular health resolutions – to lose weight, eat better, exercise more or quit smoking – far too many will overlook three commonly ignored but critically important health priorities. OBGYN and women’s health expert Dr. Ken Taylor says explains why three commonly ignored health issues deserve top billing for health resolutions in 2012.

1) Focus on your digestive health. Millions of Americans suffer daily from common digestive problems such as heartburn, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, reflux and other gut conditions that would make Clint Eastwood blush. What’s worse: many people don’t even know their digestive health is suffering or don’t understand how it affects their overall health – from allergies, acne and chronic fatigue to arthritis, autoimmune diseases, cancer and more.

“The intestines make up the inner tube of life and play an essential role in maintaining a healthy immune system,” explains Dr. Taylor. Seventy percent of the body’s immune system resides in the digestive tract. More than 100 million Americans have digestive problems. In addition, digestive problems are very costly – many of the top-selling drugs are for digestive problems, there are more than 200 over-the-counter remedies for digestive disorders and intestinal-related conditions are among the top reasons for visits to primary care physicians. Dr. Taylor says the resolution to improve digestive health in 2012 can begin with such steps as:

* Pay attention when you go. That’s right: you can learn a lot from your elimination. Observe everything from how often you go and how regularly you go to what it looks like when you go. For example, does your poop float? That’s a no-no and a sign of potentially serious health problems.

* Get more fiber. Depending on your age and gender, you should get from 26-38 grams of fiber per day. Taylor explains that, with today’s fast-paced lifestyle and diet habits, it’s very difficult for most people to get the required daily fiber from natural food sources. He recommends fiber supplements like Metamucil and Metafiber.

* Drink plenty of water and avoid sugary drinks and too many caffeinated drinks. Limit alcoholic drinks to no more than two per day.

2) Start planning early to guarantee healthy bones. Bone health is another health priority that many people think about when it’s too late. Bone fractures can be extremely painful and take months (an average of 12 weeks) to heal. Osteoporosis and osteopenia bone disorders affect forty-four million Americans, and plague one in two American women. “It’s never too early to start thinking about and fortifying your bone health. Young people, as early as teenage years, have calcium needs that can’t be rectified later in life,” says Dr. Taylor.

So, what 2012 resolutions can help improve bone health?

* Start moving. Like muscle, bone is a living tissue and is strengthened through exercise. Weight-bearing exercises, that force you to work against gravity, are the best kind for your bones. Good examples include weight training, hiking, jogging, climbing stairs, tennis, and dancing.

* Get your calcium…dairy-free that is. Your body continually removes and replenishes calcium from your bones. If you don’t replenish enough calcium, your bones will become weaker, more brittle and dense. Dr. Taylor says dairy-free sources of calcium are best for several reasons: calcium contains animal proteins that can actually contribute to bone loss; causes digestive problems and aggravates irritable bowels; is full of saturated fat; and is often enhanced with dangerous, cancer-feeding hormones. Better sources of calcium include: dark green, leafy vegetables like spinach, kale, broccoli and bok choy; almonds; soybeans and soymilk; and figs, to name a few.

* Boost your Vitamin D intake. Your body needs vitamin D in order to absorb calcium. Some studies actually show Vitamin D is more important than calcium in preventing fractures. The best ways to get vitamin D are: sunlight, food, and supplements. Foods like fatty fishes, orange juice and soymilk are excellent sources of vitamin D. And, natural supplements are helpful for filling in the gap.

3) Guard your oral health: the gateway to your body. The mouth is the first point on your digestive path, but it’s also the point that many people skip. Dr. Taylor says oral health is a mirror of your overall health. Your mouth is a hotbed of bacteria, which are normally contained and managed by good oral health. Oral infections like tooth decay and gum disease can weaken your body’s defenses and allow harmful bacteria to grow out of control. Oral health is also connected to heart health. Research shows chronic gum disease is directly associated with heart disease. In addition, poor oral health can affect your saliva flow, which is necessary to protect your teeth and aid in food digestion. The good news is you can guard your oral health in 2012 with some simple steps:

* Start with proactive prevention. The American Dental Association recommends brushing your teeth twice a day, flossing between your teeth daily and replacing your toothbrush every three or four month. It seems simple enough, but it’s easy to get into a routine of brushing only once a day or using the same toothbrush a month or two too long.

* Get to know your dentist. Schedule regular dental appointments for cleanings, fluoride treatments and other preventive measures. If you are one of the thousands who suffer from dental phobia or dental anxiety (really on laughing matter), there are many online resources to help you overcome this fear and get better acquainted with a local dentist you can trust.

“There are understandable reasons why these health priorities are often ignored and don’t usually make the resolutions list,” said Dr. Taylor. “However, they are high on the list of health problems that have significant quality and length of life impact, and can be easily addressed and prevented. My hope is that more people will move them to toward the top of their lists for 2012 – right up there with getting married, traveling more and getting out of debt.”
Dr. Taylor has been recognized by Who’s Who of Atlanta and the Top 25 Atlanta Doctor ranking and is a member of the Atlanta Medical Association, Georgia Medical Association and the National Medical Association. For more information about Dr. Taylor, visit www.kentaylormd.com.

Photo Caption: Dr. Ken Taylor, OBGYN and women’s health expert

Chicago, IL  - Just in time for the 2012 “New Year’s Resolution” fitness craze, an exciting new workout DVD, BeMoved Bollywood has been released and is on sale now. “So you think you can’t dance?” BeMoved® founder Sherry Zunker says “yes you can” with this new dance fitness DVD, the first in a series for adults of any skill level.

BeMoved® is the newest workout inspiring people to dance! It’s one of the fastest growing fitness movements in the country. Designed by renowned director and choreographer Sherry Zunker, the BeMoved® DVD series is geared for adults age 40 and over who want an invigorating, pain free and full body workout. BeMoved® uses 14 different genres of music, including Disco, Motown, Latin and Swing…and in the first of the BeMoved® DVD series: “Bollywood!”

“I realized that for myself and for people in my age demographic, there really needed to be something that spoke to us at this point in our life,” says Zunker. “I really wanted to be able to take a dance / movement class that I could physically do and not hurt myself. At the same time I wanted it to be stimulating and challenging and I wanted it to MOVE ME.” This is the inspiration behind BeMoved® and the philosophy behind “BeMoved Bollywood.”

BeMoved® Dance Fitness – Series One DVD Bollywood is designed with easy to follow, step-by-step instructions, close up video shows details of several of the dance movements and stretches. Sections include:

• The Warm Up, a combination of therapeutic movements activates your breathing, central core strength and balance, while improving your flexibility, coordination and musicality.

• The Bollywood dance sequence is an energizing and upbeat low impact cardio workout that builds into an entire Bollywood dance routine. The sequence introduces dance steps and arm movements that are not only fun but burn off calories, too. Before you know it, you are building endurance and toning your body, while simultaneously unleashing your inner dancer.

• The Cool Down and final stretch segment incorporates dance steps, movements and stretches from the entire class, leaving you feeling invigorated, renewed and fit.

 “I think America’s new found love affair with dance, really has shifted the perception that only professional dancers can dance,” says Zunker. “I feel like the world is now embracing the fact that everybody can dance and everybody can find dance to change the way they live to enhance their health and well-being.”

DVD’s are just $24.99 (plus shipping and handling) and can be ordered now by visiting bemoved-dance.com.
 

About Sherry Zunker

Sherry Zunker is Founder of BeMoved® –a movement product designed for adults of all movement abilities—Director of “Chicago the Musical” for RCCL and Co-Artistic Director Emerita of River North Chicago Dance Company,.

Zunker is an established director and choreographer whose work covers the concert dance realm, musical theater, corporate entertainment, production shows, television, video, and film. Her teaching career spans 30 years and is as diverse as the works she has created.

Sherry Zunker is also known for her work as Co-Artistic Director of River North Chicago Dance Company. Sherry joined River North Chicago as artistic director in 1990. She choreographed numerous works for the company, one of them being the signature piece “Reality of a Dreamer” which also became the finale piece for the award winning televised documentary of the same name. Sherry also commissioned the work of many choreographers to compile the Company’s diverse, engaging repertoire. Ms. Zunker has set her works on several companies including The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago and Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago.

Before taking on the roles of director and choreographer, Zunker had a diverse performance career. She danced with Chicago Repertory Dance Ensemble, was a principal dancer with Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, performed as a soloist in Bob Fosse’s Dancin’, and also danced under Tony Award-winning choreographer Ann Reinking in the Goodman Theater’s production of “Pal Joey.” Zunker has also danced in several musical stage productions, commercials and films including “The Blues Brothers” and “A League of Their Own.”

For more information about Sherry Zunker and BeMoved®, visit bemoved-dance.com.

Washington, DC - AARP Foundation Tax-Aide, the nation’s largest free, volunteer-run tax preparation and assistance service, is seeking volunteers across the country to help taxpayers who are seeking assistance preparing and filing their 2011 tax returns. Volunteers do not need to be an AARP member or retiree to participate.

AARP Foundation Tax-Aide volunteers receive free tax training and are reimbursed on a limited basis for qualified program-related expenses. They help taxpayers at sites around the state, learning new skills while giving back to countless communities.

“Since 1968, we’ve assisted nearly 50 million people in preparing and filing their tax returns,” said AARP Foundation Vice President Bonnie Speedy. “We could not do it without our hundreds of volunteers, who make an indelible mark on the communities they help.”

Last year, tens of thousands of AARP Foundation Tax-Aide volunteers helped over 2.5 million taxpayers across the country.

For more information on how you can join the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide team, visit our Web site at www.aarp.org/tavolunteer8 or call our toll-free number, 1-888-OUR-AARP (1-888-687-2277). Deadline for application is December 15, 2011.

AARP Foundation Tax-Aide is a program of AARP Foundation, offered in conjunction with the IRS.