Friday Beat
June 16, 2017 Edition
The newsletter that takes a Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child approach.
Announcements
Title V Maternal Child Health (MCH) Block Grant Application
The draft fiscal year (FY) 2018 Title V MCH Block Grant Application has been posted for public comment on the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) website. The grant also includes the fiscal year (FY) 2016 Annual Report.Please send feedback on the draft application to y close of business on Wednesday, June 21, 2017.
Awards for Excellence in Texas School Health (AFE)
The AFE program recognizes local school health initiatives with four types of awards. Is your school or district planning to apply for an AFE 2017 Discovery Award or Vanguard Award? If so, that health project may also be eligible for the 2017 Award of Achievement in Obesity Prevention. There is not a separate application for this award; instead, applicants simply check the appropriate box on the Discovery or Vanguard Award application. If the project has shown success with adolescents in decreasing obesity through the promotion of nutrition and physical activity, then the project will be eligible for the Award of Achievement in Obesity Prevention. Three awards will be distributed at $1,000 each.
National Lightning Safety Awareness Week (NLSAW)—June 18-24, 2017
TheNational Lightning Safety Council’s website provides a topic and related resources for each day of LSAW.The Lightning Safety Outdoors hyperlink (Tuesday) connects readers to a National Weather Service (NWS) webpage that offers lightning safety guidance for a variety of outdoor activities.
Professional Development Opportunities
Healthier Texas Summit—November 6-7, 2017
The Healthier Texas Summit is an event for Texas’ thought leaders and health champions to share best practices and discuss current trends and innovations in population and community health.The Summit will be held in Austin.Early bird rates are available through July 2, with online registration extendingthrough October 29.
Funding Opportunities
Voices for Healthy Kids (VHK) Grants
Applications for theOpen RFA and Incubator Grantsare due by July 21, 2017, and must align with one or more of the VHK policy priorities (Policy Levers).The Call for Applications Webinar (recorded June 15) should be posted on the VHK website next week.This webinar will explore VHK’s new online grant management system.
Health Education
Webcast: Hearing Health across the Lifespan—June 20, 2017
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Public Health Grand Rounds presents It’s Loud Out There. The live webcast may be accessed at 12:00-1:00 p.m. CDT, or an archived version may be viewed later.Registration is not required for the live webcast; please refer to the CDC Grand RoundsContinuing Education webpage.
Free Access: Annual Review of Public Health
Earlier this year, the 2017 volume of the Annual Review of Public Health became available online as open access material for readers to reuse and share. All 37 back volumes (1980-2016) are also available to read. The Robert Woods Johnson Foundation made this possible to increase transparency and openness in research.
Physical Education Physical Activity
Adapted Physical Activity with the Family Dog
A Medical Xpressarticledescribes a case study in which a 10-year-old boy with cerebral palsy participated in an adapted physical activity intervention program with his family’s dog. For 8 weeks, the boy and dog met once a week for an hour of supervised physical activity. They also had homework assignments that included daily walks. At the end of the intervention, the boy’s sedentary behavior had decreased and his time spent on moderate to vigorous activities had increased dramatically. In addition, his quality of life, as assessed by both he and his parent, had improved in theemotional, social, and physicalhealth areas.
Nutrition Environment & Services
Summer Meals Texting Program
The No Kid Hungry Center for Best Practices offers a Summer Meals Texting Program that is in its fifth year of operation. Although the program received 55,000 texts in 2016 from throughout the country, many still do not know thisassistance exists. Users simply text “FOOD” or “COMIDA” to 877-877.The database will then request the user’s address before generating a list of nearby summer meal sites. To obtain a copy of these instructions, click on “2017 Texting Overview” on the right side of the No Kid Hungry webpage. This allows you to download the one-page 2017 Overview.
Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN)
This week the ICN replaced their online course system with a new eLearning Portalto provide a more innovative and mobile-friendly experience. Visit the Portal to register as a new user, read the Frequently Asked Questions, and enroll in courses!
Health Services
Resources for Managing Chronic Health Conditions
Last month the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) added new information to its Healthy Schools website that relates to acute and emergency care, care coordination, family engagement, and the management of chronic health conditions in schools.The Fact Sheet: The Role of the School Nurse explains the three main roles nurses often play in managing chronic conditions. There are separate webpages for the chronic conditions of asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, food allergies, and oral health.
Physical Environment
Webinar: Reducing Particle-Related Mortality—June 20, 2017
From 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. CDT, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will host Effectiveness and Cost of Reducing Particle-related Mortality With Particle Filtration in U.S. Homes and Commercial Buildings. Dr. William Fisk of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will discuss the findings of a recent study and its practical implications with respect to actions that building managers and consumers might consider to improve the health of building occupants.
Family Engagement
Tips for Being an Active Family
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers 10 tips for adding physical activity to a family’s busy schedule. The downloadable USDA tip sheet is available in English and Spanish. The goal is to ensure that children get 60 minutes of physical activity per day and adults get 2.5 hours per week. One of the tips involves treating the family to fun physical activities. For Father’s Day 2017, consider actively celebrating by going to a zoo, park, or lakeon a rewarding family outing.
Community Involvement
Webinar: Why Drownings Are a Leading Cause of Death among Children
At 3:00-4:00 p.m. CDT on June 21, 2017, the Children’s Safety Network will host this webinar. Both speakers will address risk and protective factors as well as why drownings remain a leading cause of injury death among children in the U.S.
Quote to Note
“If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.”
—Sir Isaac Newton, physicist, astronomer, and mathematician
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The articles and hyperlinks to external websites appearing in Friday Beat are intended to be informational and do not represent an endorsement by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). Other websites may not be accessible to people with disabilities. External email addresses may also be provided as a courtesy. If you choose to correspond, please be advised that DSHS policies may not apply. For information about any of the programs listed, contact the sponsoring organization directly. For comments or questions about Friday Beat, email the School Health Program at or call (512) 776-7279.
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