Health Archives - Page 82 of 90

The Joys of Fresh, Plump Raspberries

Dale Carson, Indian Country Today Media Network

What’s fresh, fragrant and tastes like springtime itself? Zegweskimen (Abenaki for raspberries).

They peak from May to September in most places yet are available year round. This flavorful berry grows both wild and cultured in temperate climates worldwide. Botanists cannot decide on their origin, although Eastern Asia has two hundred known species; North America has three important species and a few minor ones as well. They are a genus of the rose family mostly in the subgenus (Idaeobatus) category, meaning perennial with woody stems and a biennial growth habit.

These juicy buds are easy to grow because all they need is water, sun and well-drained soil, plus a little mulch to keep them moist. Ninety percent of this very important commercial fruit crop in the U.S. comes from Oregon, Washington and California.

The main varieties in North America are red, black and gold. There are also purple raspberries, a hybrid blend of red and black, which are not often produced commercially. Some do grow wild in Vermont and other places where both red and black varieties grow wild. I am fairly certain those are the ones we found in profusion on this property years ago—so many that they had to be picked every couple of days for about a month.

When picking them, they should slip right off a little hollow core easily. If not, it isn’t ready; leave it on the bush to ripen further. They do have nasty stickers on the stalk, and once my mother fell backwards while picking. We were pulling those pesky, mini balls of spikes out of her back for a week.

When berry picking, not too many made it into the house to be used for freezing or cooking; picking encouraged tasting immediately for maximum flavor. It was hard not to pop every other one into your mouth. Raspberries are a great favorite of those on a low-glycemic diet, or any diet for weight loss, because they have no sodium or cholesterol. Nutrition buffs will appreciate they are high in fiber, vitamins A and C, iron and potassium.

Raspberries are highly perishable so should be used within three days of purchase. Buying loosely packed berries is best.

Raspberries play well with balsamic vinegar as evidenced by today’s popular raspberry-flavored vinaigrettes. But a simple of drizzle of balsamic across raspberries is a very unique and delicious pairing. Raspberries also make a wonderful combo with chocolate in baked items, as well as a topping for cheesecake or other desserts. A lot of people make them into sauces, jams or jelly. Native American use was not limited to pressing them into cakes as is done with chokecherries. Our ancestors (and Natives still today) also dried them for future use, boiled them with meat, or made the berries into a refreshing drink. Native use of the raspberry leaves as tea was medicinal—especially for soothing urinary tract issues, labor pains and menstrual cramps, or to prevent miscarriage in some cases.

There is a myth whose origin I cannot find, but it tells of a fox who didn’t like to eat meat. He loved raspberries and ate his fill every time he came upon them. The more he ate, the redder his fur became. This story is of the first fox, I imagine.

Elegant Raspberry-Rhubarb Dessert

For a base to this lovely offering, try a slice of pound cake, a little sponge cake, or even a homemade biscuit.

1 cup raspberries

1 cup rhubarb, cut in 1/2-inch pieces

½ cup sugar or substitute

4 tablespoons water

1 egg

1 tablespoon corn starch

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon melted butter

¼ cup sliced almonds

Put the raspberries and rhubarb in a large bowl and gently toss with the egg, cornstarch and sugar. Add the cinnamon and melted butter. Put water in a medium saucepan and bring nearly to a boil and add fruit mixture, reduce heat and stir gently until it thickens and then turn off heat. Let cool; spoon warm fruit over cake or biscuit and top with whipped cream.

Dale Carson, Abenaki, is the author of three books: New Native American Cooking, Native New England Cooking and A Dreamcatcher Book. She has written about and demonstrated Native cooking techniques for more than 30 years. Dale has four grown children and lives with her husband in Madison, Connecticut.

Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project awarded $37,500 grant

NAFSI grant will aid Muckleshoot in their efforts to access more traditional foods

By Monica Brown Tulalip News writer

The Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project has been awarded a $37,500 grant from the First Nations Development Institute. The grant will help fund the project s explorations of the Muckleshoot Tribe’s food assets and increase access to local, healthy and traditional foods. Through explorations, participants will gain an understanding of Native foods and build food security throughout the community.

Project participants enjoy community engagement through workshops, harvesting and feasts. Hands-on workshops are designed to teach traditional food principles and how to approach preparing them in a more modern way. Project coordinator, Valerie Segrest states

“The Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project is community driven and aims to increase access and revitalize a traditional and local healthy food system.”

Tribal cooks and established community groups are coming together to develop a new policy about food which will focus on a more traditional and nourishing food program. The new policy development is facilitated by professional chefs who are invited to meet with tribal cooks and the community groups during cook retreats. The project participants are working to join tribal kitchens and create a menu program. By creating a reliable menu that can be used throughout tribal kitchens they will be able to assess the food quantities needed for when they are ready to produce their own food. The menu program will also inform the five-year food sovereignty/action plan that is currently being organized.

The project comes from a community based participatory research project which was conducted in partnership with Northwest Indian College and the Burke Museum in 2007. The project operates year round and is open to all community members.

The First Nations Development Institute’s Native American Food System Initiative (NAFSI) grant is intended to help tribes and Native communities build sustainable food systems such as community gardens, food banks, food pantries and/or other agricultural projects related to Native food-systems control. The 31 grants were made possible by the generous support of the AARP Foundation, The Christensen Fund, CHS Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Advocacy and Outreach, U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, Walmart Foundation, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

To read more about the Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project please visit their website at

Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project

Cherokee Nation To Fund $100 Million Overhaul of Tribal Health Care System

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker announces a copy00 million investment in the tribe's health care system. (Cherokee Nation) — Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker announces a copy00 million investment in the tribe’s health care system. (Cherokee Nation)

The Cherokee Nation runs the country’s largest tribally operated health care system. And now it is investing copy00 million from its business holdings to improve it.

“This is exactly what our businesses were designed to do,” said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker in a press release. “Our financial success belongs to the Cherokee people. For the first time ever, we are taking a substantial amount of money directly from our businesses and putting it where it counts the most—health care for our citizens. Using our businesses to invest in and improve our health care system is the right thing to do, and it will literally save Cherokee lives.”

The tribe plans to replace or renovate four health centers and build a new hospital over the next two to three years. Cherokee Nation Businesses’ construction division will manage the entire project, hiring dozens of Cherokee subcontractors certified by the Tribal Employment Rights Office (TERO), which will help boost the local economy.

A major component of the health system expansion is a new 100-bed hospital, which replaces the current W.W. Hastings Hospital in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Built as an Indian Health Services facility in 1984, the hospital was constructed to serve 65,000 outpatient visits each year. Today, the facility is serving more than 400,000 patient visits per year. The new $53.1 million hospital allows the current hospital to become an outpatient center.

The expansion projects also include a new 28,000-square-foot health center near Ochelata and a 42,000-square-foot health center in Jay. The Redbird Smith Health Center in Sallisaw will see a 30,000-square-foot expansion and 11,000 square feet of renovations. In Stillwell, 28,000 square feet will be added to the Wilma P. Mankiller Health Center.

The CNB board of directors unanimously approved the investment. Under current Cherokee law, an annual dividend totaling 35 percent of CNB’s profits is deposited in the Cherokee Nation’s general fund. The Cherokee Nation general fund supports a variety of services, including housing, education, social services, health care and more. Last year, that dividend payment totaled $57 million.

“The needs of the Cherokee people are so diverse that the dividend payment helps us get closer to where we need to be on health care, but very slowly,” Baker said. “This infusion of copy00 million, solely to health care infrastructure, helps us impact the health outcomes of Cherokees so much quicker. Our businesses have become so successful in recent years that it just makes sense and, quite frankly, is the right thing to do.”

“This is a great opportunity to show the Cherokee people why our casinos are here,” said Shawn Slaton, CEO of CNB. “Our goal is to create jobs, grow businesses and provide funding to the Cherokee Nation for services to the Cherokee people. We are proud to be in a position where we can make such a huge contribution to the health and well-being of Cherokee citizens.”

Aside from annual dividends, this is the first major investment the tribe’s businesses have made directly to tribal infrastructure. CNB will pay for the construction of the facilities and lease them back to the tribe for operation. One of CNB’s subsidiaries, Cherokee Nation Construction Resources, will serve as the prime contractor and construction manager of the project.

“By managing this project in-house, our construction division grows in its capabilities and gains an important past performance résumé, which they can use to win contracts from the federal government and private developers,” Slaton said. “This is a real win-win for CNB and the Cherokee Nation.”

Cherokee Nation Construction Resources, a division of CNB’s environmental and construction portfolio, is managing the construction of the health system expansion. The company is using this as an opportunity to perform work for the tribe and earn past performance credit, which is a valuable credential in both government and commercial contracting.

“When we do a project, we always know that the revenue it is generating helps the Cherokee people, but normally that’s through providing jobs and via the dividend payment,” said Cheryl Cohenour, executive general manager of Cherokee Nation Construction Resources. “But this project is so much more meaningful to us. For the first time, our work will directly affect citizens in ways the 35 percent dividend or job creation cannot. There is so much pride in knowing that as a Cherokee Nation, tribally owned business, we have something tangible to show our businesses’ commitment to making change for the Cherokee people. These new, updated health facilities are going to be a source of pride for our company, as well as the entire Cherokee Nation.”

The Cherokee Nation’s health system supports 1.2 million patient visits annually. It consists of eight health centers throughout the Cherokee Nation and W.W. Hastings Hospital in Tahlequah. Most Cherokee Nation health centers offer medical, dental, lab, radiology, public health, WIC, nutrition, contract health, pharmacy, behavioral health, optometry, community health service and mammography, or a combination of those services.

The Cherokee Nation also has future plans to make renovations at the Three Rivers Health Center in Muskogee and build a new Jack Brown Center in Tahlequah. The Jack Brown Center serves Cherokee citizens who may be struggling with an alcohol or drug dependency.

“I promised to make the health of our people a main priority,” said Baker. “This is a major step in the right direction.”

Health and Harmony in the Tribal Workplace: The Power of your Words

By Grace Marks, Indian Country Today Media Network

When it comes to internal customer service, the most common complaint is negativity in the workplace. Negativity can show up as gossip, complaining, blaming, backstabbing or jealousy affecting morale and productivity.

Words carry tremendous energy. They can generate joy or inflict long-lasting and devastating pain.

Gossip is Bullying

Grace Marks

Gossip is a form of bullying. It is an act of intimidation to have power over another and occurs in all age groups and cultures. The Workplace Bullying Institute estimates that 53.5 million Americans report being bullied at work—that is roughly the combined populations of Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah. Workplace bullies are insecure, quick to jealousy, and generally unhappy with themselves. By uniting with others to share secrets about someone’s misfortune, they create a false sense of intimacy and feel better about themselves.

Non-verbal messages are a passive way to bully. Consider the rolling of the eyes, scanning someone up and down, sighing, sneering, or being ignored or whispered about. The best move is to stop gossip before it starts. An innocent, Here’s what I heard about … may destroy a reputation. If you find yourself in a gossip situation, change the subject, keep quiet, walk away from the conversation, say you’re uncomfortable gossiping, or share something positive about the person who is the subject of the gossip.

Complain—Get More of the Same

Constant complaining also has negative side effects. Most of us complain all day every day. The average person complains between 15 and 30 times per day. We complain because it makes us feel better (in the short term) and because others can agree about how we feel and how hard we have it. You may temporarily feel better after going on and on about how you have been wronged, victimized, used, manipulated, or disrespected. Despite the initial relief, complaining is like a virus eating away any sort of happiness, responsibility and purpose in your life. Complaining usually leads to greater unhappiness, negative thinking and relationship problems. Since words have energy, complaining usually gets you more of what you are complaining about.

Steps Towards Change

The first step is to increase your awareness of your behavior and words. If you are a gossiper, recognize the power of your words and find the courage to speak up positively. You can be a role model to others. If you are a complainer, direct your conscious focus on what you are grateful for and think of possible solutions. Sometimes you do have to accept a situation as something you cannot change and recognize the destructiveness in complaining about it. If you find yourself saying negative things out of jealousy, focus on your unique qualities and talents.

Putting an end to negatively and bullying begins with each of us—how we think and speak about ourselves and others. Pay closer attention to negative self-talk and judgments. Cancel or delete them in your mind whenever they surface and replace with something positive. Pat yourself on the back more often rather than being self-critical.

Choose More Healing Words

Use more healing words such as thank you, I appreciate you, I’m sorry, good work, or well done. Offer assurance to those who are anxious or troubled. Remind your family and friends they are loved, respected and valued.

Healing words can bring comfort, inner peace, and enhance overall well-being. They can improve your mood which has a positive effect on all those around you.

Grace Marks, MPH, CPC is a certified life coach, motivational speaker and holistic stress management instructor with Native Empowerment: Solutions for Health and Harmony providing customized training programs for tribal organizations and businesses. Visit www.nativeempowerment.com.

A Book for Those Serious About Defeating Diabetes

Defeating Diabetes
Brenda Davis & Tom Banard | Healthy Living Publications
280 pp | $14.95
ISBN 9781570671395

Levi Rickert, Native News Network

It is no secret to any American Indian or Alaska Native that there is a strong preponderance of the possibility of developing diabetes.

The numbers speak for themselves.

American Indians and Alaska Native are 2.2 times more likely to have diabetes compared to non-Hispanic whites. The death rate due to diabetes among American Indians and Alaska Natives is three times higher compared with the general US population. American Indians and Alaska Natives are three to four times higher at risk for developing cardiovascular disease with diabetes than Natives without diabetes.

Even with the dismal numbers associated with diabetes among American Indians and Alaska Natives, there is hope.

Earlier this year, hundreds of American Indians participated in the Longest Walk 3 – Reversing Diabetes. The Longest Walk was a walk across America, from the West Coast to Washington, DC, that sought to bring attention to the devastating effect diabetes has had within Native communities. The message of the Longest Walk also was American Indians can reverse diabetes.

American Indians are fighters; American Indians are survivors.

Beyond Native communities, we know diabetes is at epidemic rates among society.

A book called “Defeating Diabetes: A No-Nonsense Approach to Type 2 Diabetes and the Diabesity Epidemic” by a registered dietitian Brenda Davis and medical physician Tom Banard is a great tool for American Indians to pick up to read about how to defeat diabetes. Even the book’s title takes a position of strength.

Published in 2003, “Defeating Diabetes” is about making lifestyle changes about diet and exercise. Most would agree that that is a lot easier said, than done. But, the book is a quick read that provides common sense, backed with medical rationale, to alter lifestyles.

“Defeating Diabetes” contains many tables with information on fat counts, sugar content, and some 50 healthy recipes. Some of the numbers of contained in the book will make one think. For instance, one Mister Misty DQ Slush, 32 oz. contains 28 teaspoons of sugar; an ounce of hard candy has five teaspoons of sugar.

Weight control is paramount to one trying to defeat diabetes. The book’s authors provide “Seven Simple Steps to Lifelong Healthy Weight”:

Set realistic goals
Center your diet on whole plant foods
Use beverages to your advantage
Limit fat intake to not more than 25 percent of calories
Build healthy habits
Make physical activity a priority in your life
Take care of your inner being

One chapter, “Kitchen Wizardry: Tricks of the Trade” will help the reader to better understand what to buy at the grocery store, with suggestions on where to shop, how to read food labels and food storage guidelines.

“Defeating Diabetes” is a practical guide on how to defeat diabetes. Do not buy this book for your bookshelf, it must be read and used. American Indians and Alaska Natives should have this book at their fingertips if they are truly serious about maintaining a healthy lifestyle and want to defeat diabetes.

Norovirus hitting younger kids hard

By Sharon Salyer, The Herald

Norovirus, the same viral bug that sickened more than 200 people attending a cheerleading competition at Comcast Arena last year, is now the leading cause of tummy and intestinal illness among children four and under.

The virus, which causes vomiting and diarrhea, is so common and widespread that one in six children age four or younger will be treated in clinics for norovirus, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An estimated one in 14 children in this age group will be treated at an emergency room for the infection.

“The message that norovirus has been increasing, especially among those under age five is disturbing,” said Dr. Gary Goldbaum, health officer for the Snohomish Health District. “Those are the ones that get sick enough to end up in the doctor’s office.”

Although the disease can cause short-term, but very uncomfortable, problems for people of any age, it is of extra concern among the very young, he said. “They don’t tolerate getting dehydrated very well,” he said.

For some of the same reasons, norovirus can be a problem with older adults. Last year, 10 outbreaks of suspected norovirus were reported in facilities that care for the elderly, such as adult family homes and nursing homes, Goldbaum said.

Norovirus is sometimes called cruise ship disease because of outbreaks that move rapidly on such ships, sickening many people.

The virus “hits people really hard and then in a couple days, it gets better,” Goldbaum said.

Each year, noroviruses sickens more than 21 million people in the United Stats and approximately 800 people die, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Patients have been coming to area medical clinics with norovirus symptoms almost continuously for the past several months, said Dr. Yuan-Po Tu, who helps track communicable diseases at The Everett Clinic.

“It’s not an epidemic, but there’s always some level of it going around,” he said.

The virus typically sickens people for two to seven days, he said, often causing only a slight fever of 99 to 100.5 degrees.

Norovirus is extremely contagious. People near a person when they become ill can easily become infected themselves, Goldbaum said.

Those who are sickened by norovirus are contagious from the moment they begin feeling ill to at least three days and as much as two weeks after they recover, according to federal health officials.

The steps to help stop its spread include careful hand washing and not sharing food or drinks with someone who is ill.

The disease was blamed with sickening 229 teens and adults who were attending a cheerleading competition at Comcast Arena in February last year. Thirty-three people sought medical care for severe vomiting and diarrhea.

“Stop TB in my lifetime” awareness in Snohomish County, March 24

Tuberculosis control continues its long history in Snohomish County

SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. – To build local awareness of an ongoing global tragedy, the Snohomish County Board of Health recently adopted a resolution proclaiming March 24 to be “World TB Day” in Snohomish County. The Snohomish Health District is responsible for carrying out the work of preventing and controlling tuberculosis in Snohomish County.

Worldwide, each day 4,000 people die from this curable disease.

The Health District’s TB prevention and control program manages the treatment of about 20-27 active cases of TB every year. They also manage150-200 people annually who have breathed in TB bacteria but are not actively sick, known as latent tuberculosis. Snohomish County has among the highest number of TB cases in the state of Washington, which averages about 200 cases of active TB annually.

In the early part of the 19^th century, TB killed close to 1,000 people in Washington every year, up to 96 percent of the people who had the active disease. Snohomish County had its own well-populated TB hospitalnear Snohomish, named Aldercrest Sanatorium. Over the decades, TB detection and treatment improved and brought the figures down dramatically—but the disease stubbornly remains present in our community.

“Although our work has forced the numbers down over the years, this disease is still alive in Snohomish County,” said Joseph Aharchi, Health District TB program manager. The best news is that TB is preventable and curable. It’s important for Snohomish County health care and social service staff to be aware of the disease potential in their patients and clients.”

In recent years, Aharchi’s staff of 11 have found and treated TB among school students, drug populations, transients, refugees, shopping mall staff, travelers to foreign countries, and government employees. The TB team continues to work on a current outbreak among mentally ill residents. To date, the Health District has screened 140 contacts of the original case, and found 11 positive for latent TB and eight with active disease.

Managing a TB case involves interviewing and perhaps treating the original patient’s close contacts for latent tuberculosis, and aggressively treating the patient with active TB. The standard course of treatment for TB lasts six to nine months.

“TB can affect and infect anyone,” said Aharchi. “We are here to help defeat it.”

Established in 1959, the Snohomish Health District works for a safer and healthier Snohomish County through disease prevention, health promotion, and protection from environmental threats. Find more information about the Health Board and the Health District at http://www.snohd.org. Learn more about TBat theinformation table in the Health District atrium at 3020 Rucker Ave., Everett.

Salmon bisque that’s doable on weeknights

Los Angeles TimesThis restaurant-grade salmon bisque can be made in less than an hour. — Los Angeles Times
This restaurant-grade salmon bisque can be made in less than an hour.

By Noelle Carter, Los Angeles Times

With the depth of flavor in this soup, you’d never guess it came together in under an hour.

Robin’s Restaurant in Cambria, Calif., was happy to share its recipe for rich and creamy salmon bisque, which we’ve adapted below.

Robin’s salmon bisque

¼ cup salted butter
1 cup sliced leeks
1 cup sliced white mushrooms
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2¾ cups (22 ounces) clam juice
2 cups crushed tomatoes
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill, plus fresh sprigs for garnish
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 cups cubed fresh salmon (bones removed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes), about 1½ pounds
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups heavy cream

Heat a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat until hot. Add the butter, and, when it is melted, stir in the leeks, mushrooms and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until the leeks are translucent and soft.

Stir in the clam juice, crushed tomatoes, chopped parsley and dill, and season with the salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, then stir in the salmon. Continue to simmer until the salmon is fully cooked, 3 to 5 minutes.

While the soup is cooking, whisk the flour into the heavy cream in a small bowl. Slowly add the cream to the soup when the salmon is cooked. Continue to simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes.

Ladle the soup into bowls, and serve garnished with dill sprigs.

Makes 8 servings. Per serving: 475 calories; 21 grams protein; 10 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 40 grams fat; 20 grams saturated fat; 147 mg cholesterol; 4 grams sugar; 535 mg sodium.

Adapted from Robin’s Restaurant in Cambria, Calif.

Passamaquoddy’s BlackBear Communications Launches Campaign To Improve Healthcare Options for Natives

By Eisa Ulen, Indian Country Today Media Network

To create a healthcare ad for the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), Passamaquoddy-owned public relations, marketing and advertising company BlackBear Communications looked through a pile of Polaroid pictures of ordinary, everyday Native Americans. One of the images was of a beautiful girl, Ta’Shon Rain Little Light, who had been misdiagnosed with depression at the tender age of 5. This child’s real condition was cancer, and Ta’Shon’s young life was lost because of the poor healthcare she received at a local clinic. She became the cover image of a stunning BlackBear-produced NCAI campaign to improve healthcare options for Native people, people like Ta’Shon, whose lives are too often cut short because of the socio-economic conditions that limit their access to quality medical care.

Ta’Shon Rain Little Light (Facebook)

According to Elizabeth Neptune, BlackBear’s public health specialist and former councilor of the Passamaquoddy Tribe of Indian Township, Maine, the BlackBear NIH campaigns “will range the spectrum of health initiatives, from anti-obesity efforts to reminders to schedule prostrate exams. On any campaign that BlackBear is selected to participate in, BlackBear will provide a number of different services to ensure cultural sensitivity and message penetration.”

BlackBear is a Tribal owned venture between the Passamaquoddy Tribe of Indian Township and a team of public relations, advertising and marketing professionals, and the firm’s reach through this NIH partnership will extend throughout Indian country.

Neptune says BlackBear will “micro-target” the hundreds of diverse tribes throughout the United States. The firm, Neptune explains, understands that a person might self-identify as Native American and Choctaw, or Alaskan Native and Haida, and BlackBear “hopes to speak with the target audience in their own voice. Just as one wouldn’t tell a Texan to ‘fer git a bout it’ or invite a New Yorker to hoedown, BlackBear does not take a one-size-fits-all approach to communications.”

With health disparities and income inequality plaguing Native people, this great diversity within Indian country demands that the communications firm in place to help save lives understand the full range of Native experiences. “The prevailing image of Native Americans,” Neptune says, “is of destitute reservations in the backlands of America. While roughly half of all Native Americans live in rural reservations, millions of Native Americans live in urban settings.”

Neptune says that Native Americans living in cities struggle with the same issues of drugs, violence, and poverty facing other urban Americans, but “these problems run deeper and with much greater impact in the Native American/Alaskan Native population. When a national politician talks about the horrors of over 10 percent unemployment in the African American [community], imagine the difficulty for a rural tribal council member who faces over 50 percent unemployment amongst their people. Studies have proven that socio-economics play a major part in health and healthcare management.”

The major health disparities impacting Native health, Neptune says, are diabetes and substance abuse. Education through public communication helps identify substance abusers who need help, the best places for them to go to get help, and the training addicts and their family members can get to learn how to help improve health outcomes. Likewise, Neptune says, through public education, ordinary people can identify a pattern of family diabetes, learn how to talk to a nutrition expert, and begin to think about ways to cook healthier meals to have a positive impact on family wellness.

Neptune says her background as a public health specialist gives her a distinctive perspective within the BlackBear Communications team. “My particular experience in direct care and the whole health care system has placed me in the unique position to talk about those challenges faced in Indian country with authority. But the issues that confront Native American communities are many. Communities are learning, talking and tackling the problem with internal and external resources is the only way we will ever see improvement. There are also opportunities if the Native American communities want to fight for them in the realm of public debate. Whether it is a local, state or nationa initiative, Native Americans will only be heard if they speak up. BlackBear, we hope, will be more than a communications firm to reach Indian country. We want it to be a megaphone for Native Americans to address the issues and opportunities important to them.”

Perhaps BlackBear’s new partnership with NIH will help more people who deserve better healthcare information and access—and prevent tragic, avoidable loss of life, life as precious as young Ta’Shon Rain Little Light.

SnoCo teens drinking less; thinking more about suicide

The 2012 Healthy Youth Survey reflects ups and downs among local older kids

Source: Snohomish County Health District

SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. – The state’s recently released 2012 Healthy Youth Survey (HYS) shows that Snohomish County’s youth are having their ups and downs when it comes to healthy choices and experiences. The biennial report issued by the Washington State Department of Health offers health-risk information reported anonymously by students statewide in grades 6, 8, 10, and 12.

Issues of concern among Snohomish County teens include an increase in planning and seriously considering suicide, and worrisome reports of physical abuse by adults. The good news is that the teens who are depressed or considering suicide are more likely to seek help.

Use of cigarettes in the last 30 days was the lowest since 2002 in all grades, dropping to 15% for 12^th graders. Use of hookah tobacco, however, hit 19% in that age group, and more than 25% reported marijuana use.

Alcohol use was lower in Snohomish County than in Washington State across the board among all grades, decreasing 4-5% at each grade level. Most kids still are not getting enough exercise, with about 20-27% reporting that they are physically active for 60 minutes per day.

“When we focus on the kids in our community, we actually are focusing on the adult population of the immediate future,” said Dr. Gary Goldbaum, Health Officer and Director of the Snohomish Health District. “This is important information we use in planning as we attempt to meet the public health needs of the whole community.”

Data from select topics of concern in the 2012 survey are highlighted in new fact sheets on the Health District website at www.snohd.org. Health District staff has just begun analyzing this new data to identify trends and recommendations. The Snohomish Health District used data from the last Healthy Youth Survey in a community health assessment report that will be released in late April.

Find the state’s complete survey and fact sheets online at http://www.askhys.net/.

The 2012 HYS is the thirteenth survey since 1988 to sample Washington’s students about health risk behaviors that contribute to their illness, death, and social problems.

Students in each grade answered about 100 questions in six broad topics: demographics; alcohol, tobacco and other drug use; school climate; quality of life; risk and protective factors; and healthy weight, eating and physical activity.

The survey is a joint effort of the Department of Health, Department of Social and Health Services, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Liquor Control Board, the Family Policy Council, and the Department of Commerce. Results are used to plan, implement, and evaluate state youth programs.

Established in 1959, the Snohomish Health District works for a safer and healthier community through disease prevention, health promotion, and protection from environmental threats. Find more information about the Health District at www.snohd.org.