Live Well Allegheny: May E-Update
Hello!
Happy May! As the temperatures get warmer, focusing on your health and wellness will now be a breeze. Our Live Well Allegheny partners offer a variety of ways for Allegheny County residents to stay healthy while enjoying the outdoors. As just a few examples, Venture Outdoors offers physical activity opportunities for people of all ages, and Grow Pittsburgh assists with community gardens and urban farms throughout Allegheny County. All of our partners offer creative ways for residents to get active and access healthy foods. They make the healthy choice the easy choice!
Speaking of healthy choices, did you know that May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month? Regular physical activity reduces your risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, and some types of cancer. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults participate in 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate aerobic activity each week, and do muscle-strengthening activities at least 2 days per week. Fortunately, we have a lot of opportunities for physical activity in Allegheny County! Enjoy one of our beautiful Allegheny County Parks while hiking, kayaking, or swimming.
While you enjoy the outdoors and stay active, it is important to care for your skin. May is Melanoma and Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month. Take steps to protect your skin from the sun by wearing sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher, covering up with a shirt and hat, and checking your skin regularly. Concerned about your skin? Talk to your doctor about any skin problems or concerns.
Do you have an event coming up? Please let us know so we can add it to the Live Well Allegheny event calendar. Contact Marie Fontelo ([email protected]) with details. Please check the partner resources page of the web site for additional resources.
The Health Department is now on Facebook! Check out the new Health Department Facebook page here. Like us on Facebook to stay up to date on all the ACHD news.
Karen Hacker, MD, MPH
Director, Allegheny County Health Department
Campaign Corner
Students at Steel Valley School District, a Live Well Allegheny member, are teaching their families and communities about community health through Pitt-Bridge health science clubs. Check out the details in this month’s Live Well Story!
Interested in highlighting a health initiative in your organization? Please reach out to Kristen Rodack ([email protected]).
Join Live Well Allegheny for a Learning Collaborative workshop on June 5th! Live Well Allegheny will host a “How to Live Well in your Environment” workshop focused on environmental considerations to healthy living. The event will feature topics like soil testing, air quality, and preventing tick bites. The event will be held June 5th from 5-7:30 p.m. at the Frick Environmental Center. This is a free event. Light refreshments will be provided.
Please RSVP to Kristen Rodack at [email protected] or 412-247-4520 by May 31st.
It is now easier than ever to sign up to become designated as a Live Well Allegheny Restaurant and Workplace! Restaurants and workplaces can commit to Live Well Allegheny through our new online commitment forms. Check out the new forms here.
On April 9th, advocates and government officials came together for the 2018 North Hills Communities Bike/Ped Summit. The summit provided a space for advocates from six communities, including Etna, Millvale, Ross Township, Shaler, Aspinwall, and Sharpsburg, to discuss challenges and goals to improving pedestrian and cyclist mobility in the North Hills.
Partner Information
Allegheny Health Network (AHN) has partnered with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank to open the region’s first fresh food “farmacy!” AHN’s Healthy Food Center will provide patients healthy, plant-based foods for treatment of Type 2 diabetes. The Healthy Food Center is located on the West Penn Hospital Campus at 4921 Mend Way in Bloomfield.
The pilot program will screen patients with Type 2 diabetes for food insecurity. If a patient is referred to the Healthy Food Center, they will meet with a dietitian and receive 2-3 days’ worth of recommended food for their condition. The food provided at the center is free of charge.
Attention people ages 50 and older: Venture Outdoors has an opportunity for you! Join Venture Outdoors for their Fit with a Physician program. Fit with a Physician brings community members and a physician together for an easy-paced walk. The medical professional will share medical information and answer individual questions during the walk. There are two walks scheduled for May: May 9th at Schenley Park and May 19th at North Park. For more information, please visit: ventureoutdoors.org or call 412.255.0564.
Join Women for a Healthy Environment for their Creating Healthy Communities: Get the Lead Out conference on May 10th! The event is a one-day conference focused explicitly on lead. Lead is a neurotoxin that has been determined to be unsafe in any amount. The conference will seek to identify ways that communities can work together to address the hazard of lead in homes, schools, and early learning centers. The conference will feature national experts and working groups.
All are welcome to the Refugee and Immigrant Health and Wellness Fair on May 12th! Over 30 local organizations will provide resources for refugee and immigrant families. The event is free and open to all – non-refugee and non-immigrant families are encouraged to come and learn more about their neighbors. The event will include free food, demonstrations, and children’s activities! Interpretation will be provided during the event.
Join our friends at Grow Pittsburgh for their Duquesne Garden Build Day on May 12th! The Build Day is an awesome opportunity to help build a community garden. Duquesne City Council members, firefighters, ROTC, church members, and local gardeners are volunteering their time to help build the garden. The Build Day is being held from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.at First Presbyterian Church of Duquesne (719 Duquesne Blvd.). Children’s activities and lunch will be provided.
Registration is open for the 2018 Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community! The Highmark Walk for a Health Community is an annual fundraising walk that benefits local health and human service agencies. This year, the Walk will benefit 78 organizations in Pittsburgh. The Walk is on Saturday, May 12th at Stage AE.
Did you know, women in the United States are more likely to die from childbirth or pregnancy-related causes than women in other developed countries? Join Healthy Start, Inc. for their 2018 Annual Cheryl Squire Flint Cultural Sensitivity Symposium: “This Woman’s Work: Exploring Maternal Mortality and Morbidity” on May 21st to learn about the public health issue. The symposium will feature speakers from a variety of disciplines to present on maternal mortality and morbidity and related topics, such as the life course perspective, health disparities, traumatic birth experience, post-partum depression, prevention, and more.
Registration is now open for the PA LGBTQA Health Conference! The conference is being held on June 12-13th at the Pittsburgh Marriott North in Cranberry. The two-day conference will address LGBTQA health disparities based on emerging data. Registration for the event closes on June 1st.
Coming soon! The American Lung Association hosts the LUNG FORCE Expo on June 7th! This one day event features expert presentations on lung cancer and other lung diseases. This event gives patients, caregivers and healthcare providers a chance to connect and learn ways to stay healthy.
What’s Happening in Public Health?
May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month! Did you know that regular physical activity increases your chances of living a longer, healthier life? It also reduces your risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, and some types of cancer. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults aim for 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate aerobic activity each week, and do muscle-strengthening activities at least 2 days per week. Physical activity is for everyone! No matter what shape you are in, you can find activities that work for you.
This May, we challenge all adults to get 30 minutes of physical activity every day. Use the toolkit below for tips on getting active and promoting Physical Fitness and Sports Month!
Did you know that May is Melanoma and Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month? Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun is the main cause of skin cancer. UV damage can also cause wrinkles and blotches or spots on your skin. The good news is that skin cancer can be prevented, and it can almost always be cured when it’s found and treated early.
Celebrate Melanoma and Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month by taking simple steps to protect your skin. Use sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher, stay out of the sun as much as possible between 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., cover up with long sleeves and a hat, and check your skin regularly to help prevent skin cancer.
The CDC’s Community Preventive Task Force has new resources that promote physical activity in communities: BE Active: Connecting Routes + Destinations. The online package of resources supports the Community Guide recommendation related to promoting and increasing physical activities in communities. The Community Preventive Task Force recommends built environment approaches that combine improvements in activity-friendly routes with one or more interventions related to everyday destinations.
Now is your opportunity to voice comments and suggestions about the PA WIC Program! The PA WIC Program has scheduled 11 public meetings as part of the development of the 2019 State Plan of Program Operations and Administration. Individuals and organizations are invited to present comments on any aspect of WIC Program operations. If you wish to present public comment please call 717.783.1289 to register.
The Allegheny County Health Department WIC Public Meeting is scheduled for May 22nd from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. at the Investment Building, 6th floor (239 Fourth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222).
Republic Food Enterprise Center, a food hub that brings locally-grown food to consumers in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, and West Virginia, is working on a project to help food growers understand consumer behavior. To understand what and how people buy vegetables, Republic Food Enterprise has developed a Consumer Buying Behavior Survey. The goals of the survey are to provide a broad measure of what vegetables people buy, information on where and how often people buy vegetables, and some exploration about attitudes around buying locally-grown vegetables.
The University of Pittsburgh is partnering with the Pittsburgh Black Breastfeeding Circle to conduct the Pittsburgh Black Breastfeeding Research Study. The research study is seeking to better understand infant feeding practices among black/African American mothers. Black/African American mothers with children ages 2 and under are invited to participate in the research study. The study consists of an online survey. For more information, please contact [email protected] or 412.383.0574.
This is the latest Live Well Allegheny e-update. Please find a variety of information that will be helpful to you in your efforts, and can also be shared within your own networks. As always, you can find a great deal of information on our website at: www.livewellallegheny.com including partner resources which are available here: https://livewellallegheny.com/about-us/live-well-allegheny-participants/partner-materials/.
We now have 55 communities, 14 school districts, 167 community partners, 42 restaurants, and 14 workplaces united in our efforts!