CDC Job

Position Vacancy: TB/HIV ADVISOR

GS-Position Series: Medical Officer/Epidemiologist, GS-601/602-13/14 (Overseas)

Announcements:
Epidemiologist: Medical Officer:
HHS-CDC-OM-12-621505 (Internal) HHS-CDC-OM-12-621500 (Internal)
HHS-CDC-OD-12-621510 (External) HHS-CDC-OD-12-639923 (External)

Location: Windhoek, Namibia

Closing Date: May 4, 2012

How To Apply : US Citizens: Visit http://www.usajobs.gov website.
(Troubles with the website? Please contact Human Resources Customer Services center for assistance.)

Non U.S. citizens and Commissioned Corps officers: Email current CV/resume to cjackson8@cdc.gov.

Medical Officer/Epidemiologist, GS-601/602-13/14 (Overseas)
The Division of Global HIV/AIDS (DGHA), CDC, in Namibia, announces the availability of a position for an Epidemiologist or Medical Officer/Epidemiologist based in Windhoek, Namibia, Civil Service GS-601/602, Grade 13-14/Commissioned Corps O6.

The duties of the position will be to:

· Serve as a Technical Advisor to the Namibian Ministry of Health and Social Services (MOHSS) in assisting in the improvement and expansion of effective diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of tuberculosis, with particular emphasis on HIV-related tuberculosis;

· Provide medical and epidemiological advice, consultation, and human capacity building as an international expert in TB/HIV as it applies to countries with a high TB and significant TB/HIV burden; and with particular emphasis on the Three-I’s (intensified TB case finding, isoniazid preventive therapy, and infection control).

· Guide the further development of CDC-Namibia TB and TB/HIV program implementation strategy and implementation science (operations research), focusing on technical support to the Namibian National TB and HIV/AIDS Programs, addressing TB/HIV program priorities, particularly infection control, and addressing operational research questions where there are either national or global gaps in knowledge;
· Provide leadership, direction and technical expertise to the Namibian MOHSS National TB and HIV Programs, non-governmental organizations, universities, medical institutions and other participating agencies in ensuring the successful implementation of the CDC/PEPFAR-supported Namibia TB and TB/HIV program implementation and research strategy, in close liaison with the CDC Divisions of Global HIV/AIDS and TB Elimination, and in coordination with the Namibia PEPFAR program;

· Develop protocols, initiate and implement operational research studies, analyze routine and study data through statistical methods, and disseminate program data and study results through scientific journals, periodic reports and public presentations as well as designing and conducting additional special epidemiologic studies as warranted;

· Serve as co-project officer for the TB/HIV activities under cooperative agreements with the Namibia MOHSS through which CDC is supporting TB/HIV program activities and operational research.

Applications are being accepted at http://www.usajobs.com/. Interested applicants should apply to the open/continuous Epidemiologist/Medical Officer announcements. Applications for this position announcement should be submitted through USAJobs no later than May 4, 2012.

For more information on the position, please contact Dr. David Lowrance, Country Director, GAP/CDC, Namibia at lowranced@na.cdc.gov.

HOW TO APPLY:

US Citizens: Visit http://www.usajobs.gov website.

Non U.S. citizens and Commissioned Corps officers: Email current CV/resume to cjackson8@cdc.gov.

For difficulties with the website, please contact Human Resources Customer Services center:
HR Customer Service
Department of Health and Human Services-CDC
4770 Buford Highway
Atlanta, Georgia 30341 (USA)
Work Phone: 770-488-1725
TTY/TDD 770-488-1228
Fax Number: 770-488-1979
Email: hrcs@cdc.gov
Website: http://www.usajobs.gov

Laura Eloyan, MBA
Global Recruitment Specialist
Center for Global Health
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
(404) 718-8864

IRC - Internship

International Rescue Committee
221 S 400 W
Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Tel 801.328.1091
Fax 801.328.1904
www.rescue.org


Nutrition Program Internship


BACKGROUND:
Founded in 1933, the International Rescue Committee is a leading, non-sectarian non-profit organization providing emergency relief, protection, rehabilitation assistance, resettlement services, and advocacy for refugees and victims of oppression or violent conflict. IRC Salt Lake City staff ensure new refugees have food, shelter, and clothing, and work with refugees to help them gain self-sufficiency through English language classes, job training and placement services, and community participation activities.

SCOPE OF WORK:
The Nutrition Program intern will primarily provide direct support to the implementation component of the Program; some support will be given in the area of planning. Specific tasks include teaching group nutrition classes to recently resettled refugees, conducting grocery store orientations and updating grocery store resource lists. Additionally the intern will assist with planning and implementing a food drive that respects the cultural aspects of food of the clients we serve along with a multivitamin distribution system for clients.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS (VARIES WITH SPECIFIC PROGRAMS):
□ Provide direct support to the Nutrition Program
□ Teach group nutrition classes.
□ Conduct grocery store orientations and update the grocery store resource list.
□ Assist in creating and implementing the multivitamin distribution program
□ Run a food drive that respects the cultural aspects of food of our refugee clients.
□ Data collection (24 hour food recall, Food Frequency Questionnaire, knowledge pre/post test) and data entry.
□ Other tasks as assigned and/or determined


REQUIREMENTS:
□ Background in Public health, Health education, Health Promotion, Nutrition or other related fields
□ Experience working with refuges/diverse populations
□ Able to commit to a minimum of 20 hours per week
□ Strong teaching skills
□ Motivated, flexible and ability to work independently
□ Strong computer skill with proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and Outlook
□Demonstrated ability to communicate and work as a team member in a cross-cultural environment
□Must be able to prioritize and manage time effectively
□Driving and criminal background check

POSITION LOGISTICS:
□ Length of Service: 12 weeks
□ Compensation: This an unpaid internship
□ Hours: minimum of 20 hours per week
□ Supervisor: Hailey Nielson, Nutrition and Food Security Program Coordinator

International Rescue Committee
221 S 400 W
Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Tel 801.328.1091
Fax 801.328.1904
www.rescue.org


Nutrition Program Internship


BACKGROUND:
Founded in 1933, the International Rescue Committee is a leading, non-sectarian non-profit organization providing emergency relief, protection, rehabilitation assistance, resettlement services, and advocacy for refugees and victims of oppression or violent conflict. IRC Salt Lake City staff ensure new refugees have food, shelter, and clothing, and work with refugees to help them gain self-sufficiency through English language classes, job training and placement services, and community participation activities.

SCOPE OF WORK:
The Nutrition Program intern will primarily provide direct support to the implementation component of the Program; some support will be given in the area of planning. Specific tasks include teaching group nutrition classes to recently resettled refugees, conducting grocery store orientations and updating grocery store resource lists. Additionally the intern will assist with planning and implementing a food drive that respects the cultural aspects of food of the clients we serve along with a multivitamin distribution system for clients.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS (VARIES WITH SPECIFIC PROGRAMS):
□ Provide direct support to the Nutrition Program
□ Teach group nutrition classes.
□ Conduct grocery store orientations and update the grocery store resource list.
□ Assist in creating and implementing the multivitamin distribution program
□ Run a food drive that respects the cultural aspects of food of our refugee clients.
□ Data collection (24 hour food recall, Food Frequency Questionnaire, knowledge pre/post test) and data entry.
□ Other tasks as assigned and/or determined


REQUIREMENTS:
□ Background in Public health, Health education, Health Promotion, Nutrition or other related fields
□ Experience working with refuges/diverse populations
□ Able to commit to a minimum of 20 hours per week
□ Strong teaching skills
□ Motivated, flexible and ability to work independently
□ Strong computer skill with proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and Outlook
□Demonstrated ability to communicate and work as a team member in a cross-cultural environment
□Must be able to prioritize and manage time effectively
□Driving and criminal background check

POSITION LOGISTICS:
□ Length of Service: 12 weeks
□ Compensation: This an unpaid internship
□ Hours: minimum of 20 hours per week
□ Supervisor: Hailey Nielson, Nutrition and Food Security Program Coordinator

Reproductive Health 2012 Conference Scholarship

Greetings colleagues-

I am happy to post two scholarship programs for ARHP’s Reproductive Health 2012 conference. Please help spread the word about this great opportunity for US-based students and residents to attend Reproductive Health 2012 at no cost.

Scholarship recipients will receive paid registration and travel to Reproductive Health 2012 as well as a one-year membership to ARHP. The two scholarship programs are:
· Gary Stewart Scholarship for Research in Public Health for graduate students in public health programs
· Conference Ambassador Scholarship for students in clinical education programs (medical, nursing, PA, midwifery, or pharmacy) and residents
Detailed information and applications are available at www.ReproductiveHealth2012.org. Applications are due Monday, April 30.

Reproductive Health is the cornerstone conference in reproductive and sexual health hosted annually by the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP). The program content is developed by leading experts with a focus on practical education that can be directly applied to practice change. This clinical conference combines the latest research science with interactive, hands-on training. Reproductive Health is a key networking venue for providers, researchers, and students across disciplines and specialties. Reproductive Health 2012 will be held September 20-22 in New Orleans. For more information, visit www.ReproductiveHealth2012.org.

Thank you!

Delysha D'Mellow Henry, MPH
Program Manager
Association of Reproductive Health Professionals
1901 L Street, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20036
Office: (202) 621-1437
Fax: (202) 466-3826
E-mail: dhenry@arhp.org



Save the date for Reproductive Health 2012, September 20 - 22 in New Orleans, LA
Follow ARHP on Facebook to keep up with the latest news and continuing education opportunities

CDC Job

The Center for Global Health has just posted the Open Continuous Vacancy (OCV) Announcements for 2012. This is a listing of overseas positions that we hope to fill in between now and April 5, 2013 when the announcements are taken down. OCVs represent about 85% of our overseas openings and fall into the following categories:

· Epidemiologist
o HHS-CDC-OM-12-621505 (Internal)
o HHS-CDC-OD-12-621510 (External)

· Medical Officer
o HHS-CDC-OM-12-621500 (Internal)
o HHS-CDC-OD-12-639923 (External)

· Health Scientist (LAB)
o HHS-CDC-OM-12-621511 (Internal)
o HHS-CDC-OD-12-639919 (External)

· Public Health Advisor (M&O)
o HHS-CDC-OM-12-636834 (Internal)
o HHS-CDC-OD-12-639858 (External)

· Public Health Advisor (Tech)
o HHS-CDC-OM-12—640613 (Internal)
o HHS-CDC-OD-12-640773 (External)

A candidate only needs to fill out one application for each job series to be considered for multiple positions in multiple locations until April 5th 2013. Applicants who are not current federal employees or individuals with non-competitive eligibility must apply as external candidates; external announcements have the letters OD in them. Current federal employees who get hired under an external announcement will be hired as external candidates and will not have a position when they finish their service.

Feel free to share my contact information with anyone who has questions about the positions.

All the best,
Laura Eloyan, MBA
Global Recruitment Specialist
Center for Global Health
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
(404) 718-8864

CDC Health Scientist Positions Overseas

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We are looking for 3 data management heavy Health Scientists who speak French or Portuguese to serve in Angola, Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This is the link for the job announcement: http://tinyurl.com/82amcqa, and below is a description. Please contact me if you have any questions.
Laura Eloyan, MBA
Global Recruitment Specialist
Center for Global Health
Centers for Disease Control
(404) 718-8864

Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.
Follow us on Facebook & Twitter.

Job Title:Health Scientist (Bilingual)
Job Announcement Number:HHS-CDC-DE-12-629619
SALARY RANGE:
$71,674.00 to $93,175.00 / Per Year
This position is located in the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Center for Global Health (CGH), Global Immunization Division (GID), Vaccine Preventable Disease Eradication and Elimination Branch (VPDEEB), in Angola, Chad and Democratic Republic of Congo.

This announcement may be used to fill multiple positions in multiple locations.
Overseas Assignments: Overseas assignments are for two years and a rotational agreement must be signed. The assignment may be extended based on the needs of the agency.
· This position is eligible for special pay allowances (e.g., post differential, housing, relocation, etc.)
· Immunizations are required and will be administered by the CDC before relocating overseas.
· Security clearance is required for the selectee only and medical clearances are required for selectee and all family members before being posted overseas. In ability of selectee to secure the clearances for overseas duty within six (6) months will result in termination of appointment to the position.
· Citizens or permanent residents of the host country are not eligible to be considered.
· Additional information on living and traveling abroad may be found by clicking http://www.state.gov/
NOTE: This position is being advertised for a TERM appointment not-to-exceed 2 years. At management’s discretion, appointment may be extended an additional 2 years without competition.
KEY REQUIREMENTS
· U.S. Citizenship is required.
· Background investigation required.
· Medical clearances are required.
DUTIES:
Back to top
The incumbent will be serve as a Health Scientist (Bilingual) in the evaluation of public health issues or health hazards. Designs, oversees, implements, and conducts major scientific survey/studies or projects to identify and solve public health problems. Reviews and analyzes studies and projects assessing major and or sensitive public health issues in order to make recommendations for processes, procedures and/or policies related to public health programs, practices and research. Provides technical advice and assistance to national, state and local health agencies and to various other organizations. Prepares scientific and other articles and technical reports for publication. Makes presentations at international and national meetings. The incumbent must be able to speak and write French and/or Portuguese fluently.
QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED:
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Selective Placement Factor: Proficient in written and spoken French for the positions located in Chad and Democratic Republic of Congo. Proficient in written and spoken Portuguese for the position located in Angola.
Basic Qualification Requirements of a Health Scientist, GS-601:
Have at least a bachelor's degree with major study in an academic field related to the health sciences or allied sciences appropriate to the work of the position from an accredited college or university.
AND
Additional Qualification Requirements of a Health Scientist, GS-601-13:
Have one year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service, conducting evaluations of public health issues or health hazards concerning vaccine preventable disease eradication or closely related public health programs.


Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/.
Conditions of Employment:
1. Security and Background Requirements: If not previously completed, a background security investigation will be required for all appointees. Appointment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements may be grounds for appropriate personnel action. In addition, if hired, a background security reinvestigation or supplemental investigation may be required at a later time. Applicants are also advised that all information concerning qualifications is subject to investigation. False representation may be grounds for non-consideration, non-selection and/or appropriate disciplinary action.
2. E-Verify: If you are selected for this position, the documentation that you present for purposes of completing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Form I-9 will be verified through the DHS "E-Verify" System. Federal law requires DHS to use the E-Verify System to verify employment eligibility of all new hires, and as a condition of continued employment obligates the new hire to take affirmative steps to resolve any discrepancies identified by the system. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is an E-Verify Participant.
3. Direct Deposit: All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
4. All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.
5. Financial disclosure statement may be required.
6. One-year probationary period may be required.
7. Travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will be paid: May be paid
8. Bargaining Unit Position: No
9. Drug Screening Required: No
10. Recruitment Bonus may be authorized: No
11. Immunization is required.
HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED:
Once the application process is complete, a review of the resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility. Category rating procedures will be used to rate and rank candidates. The category assignment is a measure of the degree in which your background matches the competencies required for this position. Qualified candidates will be ranked into one of three categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified or Qualified.
The Category Rating Process does not add veterans' preference points but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category. Preference eligibles who meet the minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed in the highest quality category (except in the case of scientific or professional positions at the GS-9 level or higher). Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):
1. Knowledge of the principles, concepts, methods, and techniques of public health research.
2. Knowledge of the principles, methods, applications, to provide direction and guidance on critical and complex issues.
3. Ability to perform complex analytical studies and interpretation of results to coordinate the evaluation of programs and recommend improvements.
4. Skill in oral communication.
5. Skill in written communication.

Update from Stoker: Innovations in Public Health

Hi all, going through old blogger accounts on a Sunday afternoon discovered this is still active. Thought I would chime in with a little alumni return & report-

Since graduation I have worked with a group called Ashoka, we are a professional association and/or platform of entrepreneurs working on social issues. Here are a few of the interesting projects I have seen around our network recently:

Innovative rural health care model in India, an interesting combination of clean water, preventative and clinical care, health financing mechanisms, telemedicine and latest technologies in point-of-service diagnostics. The entrepreneur-in-residence driving the effort, Al Hammond, in a recent interview with Fast Company, video below



An effort to develop the young talent in the field of maternal health by hosting an open-source but referral based and judged competition leading to arranged mentorships with current leaders in the field.

Sakena Yacoobi written up in the Lancet, quite remarkable results in Afghanistan amidst all the turmoil.

Seeing the topics of obesity and chronic disease within the US as favorite topics here are two more people whose models I really admire, if you have the time I'd recommend both videos:
Jill Vialet, Playworks
Sanjeev Arora, Project Echo

Hope all is well in Provo, Go Cougars!

Worksite Programs to Control Overweight and Obesity

While working as a secretary for three years, I got sick of sitting down all the time and feeling like I wasn't doing anything. I walked the mile-plus to and from work as often as I could, but during the day I still felt like a slug. Not fun.

When I heard about these, I became really jealous and really wanted one for my office. It never happened.

Here's a short video explaining more:

The intervention that I looked at for obesity prevention is one for the workplace community.

This intervention uses "informational and educational strategies to increase knowledge about a healthy diet and physical activity," such as printed materials and lectures. Another aspect of the intervention is aimed to change behavior. They provide group counseling and skill-building opportunities. The last focus is on policy. The aim here is to make healthy foods more available and affordable in the cafeterias, as well as increase insurance benefits for healthy living, gym memberships, etc.

The interventions most commonly used included informational and behavioral components, with a few of them aiming for policy and environmental changes in the workplace.

All of the types of interventions showed positive results in behavior, weight, and BMI. It didn't seem to matter if the intervention focused on diet, exercise, or both, they were all effective.

Thinking back on my own experience while working, I always participated in the activity/dietary challenges that the organization provided for its workers, however I tended to stop as soon as (or shortly after) the required time was over. It seems that if we had had opportunities such as this one providing counseling and/or workshops to increase knowledge and influence behavior, I may have been more likely to actually make some lasting changes.

information about the intervention can be found here.

Interview with Lynda Blades

About a month ago I had the chance to talk to Lynda Blades, program manager for the Physical Activity, Nutrition and Obesity (PANO) program at the Utah Department of Health. She was very accommodating and we had a great conversation about the challenges and rewards of being in public health and health promotion.

She, herself, graduate from BYU and then attended the "school up north" to receive her MPH. Her career in public health has ranged from teaching healthy eating, aerobics and fitness classes at Hill Air Force Base to working against heart disease in clinical settings in Montana. Reflecting on her past experience working with individuals and small groups, she says her current position as the program director of a state, population-based program has challenges and benefits.

The challenges of working in a population-based program to prevent obesity is that it can be extremely political and slow-moving. Besides the slow pace of politics, the pace of change in population-based programs is also hindered by the rate of trickle down from structural changes to behavior change. According to Blades, it can take your whole career to see a significant change.

However, despite the challenges she enjoys knowing that her program can help create places not just attitudes. Population-based work also has the advantage of being not as didatic in approach: more encouraging than instructing.

PANO, with its motto "Making the Healthy Choice the Easy Choice", is mainly about creating partnerships between the health department and worksites, schools, healthcare organizations, and communities. Blades finds the progress they have made so far encouraging. Forming partnerships with local urban planning boards has been one of their recent accomplishments. She sees the program is becoming more widespread and mentioned the recent initiation of "worksite awards" as a victory. However, patience is required. She mentioned despite the changes it can sometimes feel difficult to feel that "you're making a dent." According to her, at those times it's important as a health educator to remember that what you're doing is going to make a difference.

Her advice to budding young health professionals? Get exposure to as many areas of public health as you can. Blades feels her work in a local health department, with an HMO, and now in a population-based effort has given her a good feeling for all things current in public health practice. She particularly mentioned the stark difference between working with a local health department and a state health department, and thinks students should try to get the benefit of both.

After talking to her I was impressed both by her professionalism and her commitment to her program, despite its challenges. PANO is in good hands.

PANO was on the brink of publication of the Utah Nutrition and Physical Activity Plan 2010-2020 when Lynda Blades and I had our conversation. I checked back the other day and saw it was out and online! Check it out at the PANO webiste! You may see changes coming to your Utah neighborhood soon.

CATCH Program to Reduce Child Obesity

For an obesity prevention class I reviewed the CATCH program to reduce child obesity in schools. It's program components are pretty neat and it's been shown to be effective in Texas in a little as four years. Read on to find out more about it!

CATCH (or the Coordinated Approach to Child Health) has as its main goal creating healthy children and healthy school environments. It does this through an integrated team of elementary school principals, elementary school teachers, PE teachers, food service supervisors, and (when implemented with an accompanying community-based initiative) community representatives.

The program includes family fun nights/events, teacher-led activity breaks in school, social marketing efforts, CATCH community "best practices" workshops, a host of other training and coordination meetings, and a menu of options which communities can choose to include as part of their personal CATCH implementation. Some of these activities include providing opportunities for students to have a taste healthful foods, implementation of school gardening programs, implementation of physical activity breaks during classroom hours and organization of after-school physical activity programs. Because each community gets to choose the options that are right for them, this allows the program to tailor itself to specific community needs.

This program can be compared to Shape Up America, Be Active Eat Well, and other school-based obesity prevention programs. CATCH relies heavily on the recommendations for school health programs from the Division of Adolescent and School Health.

CATCH has measured success by lowering BMI measures from student self-reported height and weight. CATCH schools also show improvements in dietary choices as measured by the CATCH SPAN questionnaire. These effects are much more prominent when the CATCH program is implemented with its community-based component. This program has been demonstrated effective mostly among low-income schools.

If I were a principal struggling with a burden of obesity, I might look to CATCH for some answers...

The Hill

A few weeks ago I was able to attend the Advocacy Summit in Washington DC with many of the other MPH students in my class. We had an amazing time touring the city and learning about advocacy. We had the privilege of hearing from many public health professionals about various health issues. One of the speakers was introduced as a man who had worked extensively on obesity prevention, specifically in policy related changes. I decided to follow up with this speaker whose name is Dr. Richard S. Hamburg. He is the director of government relations for Trust for America’s Health. Trust for America’s Health is a non-profit, non-partisan organization focused on prevention, protection and community.

Dr. Hamburg received a BA in Political Science and a Masters in Public Administration from the SUNY Albany. He worked for a state assemblyman from Queens from 1979-86 as his staff director at the Capitol in Albany. He then joined the American Heart Association as their director of government relations in NYC from 1986-88, and then joined the AHA’s national government relations office in 1988, where he stayed through 2004, ultimately as their national director of government relations. He joined Trust for America’s Health in 2005 as their director of government relations, and became deputy director late last year.

Dr. Hamburg and his colleagues are very focused on childhood obesity and are advocates for better nutrition and physical activity in schools. He feels that policy is an important part of the answer for solving the obesity epidemic in the United States. His passion is policy, but it is also one of his frustrations. His biggest challenge is focusing the attention of policymakers on the issue of obesity and educating them that it is not simply an issue of personal responsibility. He believes there are barriers to sound nutrition and physical activity that need to be removed by the private sector and government.

One of his biggest successes is the passage of the federal stimulus funding package in early 2009, containing $650 million for wellness and prevention funding to reduce tobacco use, promote physical activity and healthy living. He thinks this is a major step for the public health community. Successes like this give him hope that more efforts will be spent to fight obesity in the future.

Dr. Hamburg encouraged me as a public health student to stay current on the health issues not only where I live, but throughout the country. He also of course put in a plug for policy work and how essential that element is to public health. His work in policy is impressive to me because I was better able to see the effectiveness behind health policies in improving health behaviors. I thought it was interesting how he didn’t start out working in policy, but was lead there after witnessing the vast array of health problems in our country. I had an enjoyable experience learning more about policy and advocacy at the Advocacy Summit and also through learning more about Dr. Hamburg.

"Counting Calories"

I watched a 60 Minutes segment--Counting Calories--for class on the menu labeling efforts in New York. It aired in 2007 so it was a few years out of date, but presented interesting arguments both for and against menu board labeling in fast food chains.

For fast food labeling:

• Americans need to SOMEHOW be more aware of what they eat when they eat out! A study done by a Cornell professor showed that people consistently under-estimated (by half!) the amount of calories they were consuming at restaurants.

Against fast food labeling:

• The fast food chains shouldn't be singled out just because they already do nutritional analysis of their foods or simply because they're a big and unpopular target. If they're going to be singled out then it ought to be done on the basis of some more objective measure (eg: the number of calories people consume at their stores, etc.)

Practically speaking, the controversy surrounding the passage of this regulation is a definite sign that any time of labeling measure is going to be an uphill battle. Public health professionals interested in taking the food industry on ought to have well-thought out arguments.

The debate continues because menu labeling measures have now appeared in health care reform legislation. The question is, is menu labeling the answer?? Thoughts?

***Look up the video: its' narrated by Lesley Stahl, produced by CBS.

The 750 Pound Man

I was taking a bite of food when the film started. I immediately lost my appetite.

The story started with John Keitz, his wife Gina, and his mentally handicapped sister Jessie being kicked out of their home. Their landlord refused to renew their lease. The paramedics in that city had developed a system to get him out of the house and to the hospital using a whale harness and a specially designed ambulance.

He checked into a hospital in Ohio saying that he was finally going to lose weight. His reaction to the nurse when she brought in a salad? "I want a hamburger."

They had to use a huge sling to get an accurate weight. While they were rolling him onto the sling he had to be put on oxygen because even that much movement was too hard on him.

While working with the physical therapists, when they asked him if he was ready he said, "If you wait until I'm ready, I won't get better." At least he knew that much. He was going to have to be pushed out of his comfort zone. However shortly following that, it was reported to the head nurse that during the night he ate chips, popcorn, sun chips, and little debbie cupcakes. She had to go in and remove his stash. He tried to convince them that he knew how to manage his snacks.

Most people become obese because they don't know how to cope with difficulties.

When there's not a lot of muscle, there's not a lot of fat being burned, so it's necessary to start slowly, especially when the patient is bed-bound.

He got an infection that originated in his skin (he had a lot of skin problems due to his lack of movement, and the constant pressure on the skin), then moved to his blood stream. He died of septic shock - it killed his organs. Due to his condition, he wasn't able to fight off the infection.

He died at 39.

I think it's really sad when people are in that situation, but at the same time, I can't help but think of what precautions and steps they can take to catch things early and keep themselves from getting to that point.

A nice side story of the video talks about a guy who's in the same nursing home that John is in. Nathan is about 13 years younger than John's 39 years, and not nearly as heavy. He checked himself into the nursing home for the morbidly obese at 400-some pounds. I think it's great to show a story like that. Yes, he's morbidly obese, but he's still walking, and he knows it's a health problem. At the end of the video, he had lost 70-some pounds since checking himself in.

for more, go here.