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Partnership Pulse
January/February 2011
Welcome to the first issue of the Partnership Pulse - a periodic newsletter of the Partnership for a Heart-Healthy, Stroke-Free Massachusetts. This newsletter is intended to keep you informed about resources and best practices that you can use in your work to prevent and control heart disease and stroke.
NEW for Members! Check out the Partnership website for one-stop shopping to see what's happening in heart disease and stroke in MA. Simply click on Member Directory at HeartStrokeMA.org. While you're there, upload your organization's information into the database. If you're not yet a member, it's an easy way to join. It's simple: make an entry and save on membership dues!
EVENTS Approximately 200 health and community professionals attended the Partnership's fifth annual education conference, co-sponsored by the Diabetes Coalition of Massachusetts, on January 28, 2011, at Devens Common Center. It was titled Weighing the Evidence: Changing Policy, Systems, and the Environment for Preventing and Managing Heart Disease, Stroke, and Diabetes. Plenary speakers and workshops focused on physical activity, smoking cessation, and the new CPR guidelines. View a video of conference highlights here: conference video. Photos and presentations will be posted on our website soon: HeartStrokeMA.org.
Save the date! The Partnership's seventh Annual Meeting will be on Friday, June 3, 2011.
PARTNER SPOTLIGHT Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) seeks to improve emergency medical response to stroke and heart attack. Based on research conducted in two Massachusetts communities with two EMS agencies and five hospitals, it was shown that better pre-hospital care can decrease door-to-drug time by ten minutes. Better pre-hospital care can make a difference to improve outcomes for heart attack and stroke victims. To learn more about this success story, click here for the June 2010 Partnership Annual Meeting presentation (PDF).
Best practice spotlight My Life, My Health: Living with Chronic Conditions is the evidence-based Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) developed by Stanford University. This six-week program is led by trained peer leaders and focuses on providing educationanl strategies and support to help people with chronic conditions effectively manage their health. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) is utilizing the CDSMP to promote healthy aging by offering leader training sessions and participant workshops in community settings throughout the state. For a listing of My Life, My Health workshops and trainings, visit the MDPH section on Healthy Aging Events and Workshops. For more information on the CDSMP, download the CDSMP Fact Sheet (PDF) from the National Council on Aging.
Educational Resources · CDC Healthy Lifestyle Newsletter The CDC Healthy Lifestyle Newsletter is distributed weekly by e-mail to from the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity and can provide health professionals with patient education materials, policy updates, and new data and surveillance on topics related preventing obesity and chronic disease by advocating for healthy lifestyles. CDC.gov users who subscribe can select topics of interest and will be updated by e-mail about new information available on CDC.gov. Visit the Healthy Living section of CDC Features to view current and previously featured updates.
· New APHA Book on Chronic Disease Epidemiology for Program Planners Chronic Disease Epidemiology and Control (3rd ed.) by Patrick L. Remington, MD, MPH; Ross C. Brownson, Ph.D; and Mark V. Wegner, MD, MPH, explains the most recent information on chronic disease and presents concrete evidence-based strategies. This book is a great resource and tool for program planners and other health professionals for learning more about risk factors and developing chronic disease programs. To learn more about this book click here.
· UMass Psychiatry Wellness Initiative The Wellness Initiative offers resources to those seeking to increase physical activity, decrease stress, and improve overall health. For more information about any of those resources click here to visit the Wellness Initiative website.
Policy, SystemS, & Environment · Workplace stress reduction featured in AHA Policy Statement on Worksite Wellness Programs for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention In a 2009 the American Heart Association identified workplace stress management and reduction as a key component for comprehensive wellness programs aimed at improving employee cardiovascular health. The authors of the report suggest that employers focus dually on educating employees about personal stress reduction and implementing organizational policies and practices to diminish work-related stressors such as low job control, poor supervisor and co-worker support, long working hours, shift work and work-family conflict. Through management and mitigation of work stress, employees can improve their work performance and minimize health consequences from stress overload. Click here to learn more about the AHA policy.
Data & Surveillance · CDC Data Trends & Maps The CDC has created a National Cardiovascular Disease Surveillance System for cardiovascular disease (CVD) data. The interactive Data Trends & Maps website presents CVD surveillance data according to location (national, state, and local) and indicator, cardiovascular diseases, and risk factors. The data selected can be presented as ten-year trends and organized according to basic demographics. To start using the CDC's Data Trends & Maps online tool for CVD surveillance, click here.
· AHRQ - Staying Healthy The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) provides many helpful tips on how to stay healthy. AHRQ keeps you updated on news, clinical information, data, and research findings in healthcare. Their website offers advice and resources on weight loss, disease prevention, quitting smoking, screening and testing, and understanding your health. For more information about any of these topics, click here to visit their website.
Partnership Committees Learn how to get involved with Partnership activities by visiting HeartStrokeMA.org.
Membership Chair: David Weed, Healthy City Fall River
Conference Planning Chair: Kathy Foell, MA Department of Public Health, Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention and Control Program
Health Promotion and Education Chair: Suzanne Nobrega, University of MA Lowell, Center for the Promotion of Health in the New England Workplace
Access and Health Disparities Co-Chairs: Clara Savage, Common Pathways of Worcester, and Jenn Madson, YWCA Central MA
Policy and Systems Co-Chairs: Lea Susan Ojamaa, MA Department of Public Health, and Allyson Perron, American Heart Association
Got ideas for news for the Partnership to share? E-mail the Partnership: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
© 2010, Partnership for a Heart-Healthy, Stroke-Free Massachusetts. All Rights Reserved. |
