Southern ObesitySummit

National Conference onQuality Healthcare for

Culturally DiversePopulations

T-HiAPP

MSGRC

The Benefit Bank ofTexas

News from Texas Health InstituteAugust 2013

It is August, and time for lots of last minute summer vacationsbefore September! We are having to reschedule or restructurethe use of many of our meetings because of these vacations bymany of our partners. As staff return from their summervacations, --either refreshed and ready to go with a newperspective or happy to get back to work to rest-it is bringingnew energy and excitement to our work.

This month, we have our annual two day board retreat. We willupdate our board on current projects, explore newprojects/work, dream together and then ask each other forcommitment in many ways to the accomplishment of ourmission to improve the health of people and their communities.We have an awesome board, so this is always a special boardmeeting. I will be sharing some of the results of the retreat in thenext newsletter.

In the meantime, be safe and stay cool in this --Texas' hottest--month of the year!

Camille D. MillerPresident/CEOTexas Health Institute

Southern Obesity Summit

The Southern Obesity Summit (SOS) is a can't-miss event forthose involved with obesity prevention. The Summit will be heldon November 17-19, 2013 at the Omni Nashville Hotel inbeautiful Nashville, TN. With only four months to go, we areseeing an increase in attendee registration and we have extendedthe early bird registration rate of $400 till Friday, August 9th.

With a record number of 100+ excellent speaker proposalssubmitted, we are assured that every attendee will return totheir home state with effective strategies they can implement aswell as finding key networking connections across our 16 states.

To kick off our event, we will focus on success in Tennessee and

Click here to supportTHI's work in improving

the health of Texans!

Email StephanieOndrias to plan your next

conference or event byTHI's accredited Event

team.

Proud Partners:

have an excellent panel of speakers to lead our Town Hallsession:

Nashville Mayor Karl DeanKarl Dean is the sixth mayor of the Metropolitan Government ofNashville and Davidson County. He was elected on Sept. 11, 2007and was re-elected on Aug. 4, 2011. Mayor Dean's priorities areimproving schools, making neighborhoods safer and bringingmore and better jobs to Nashville. He also works to sustain andimprove Nashville's high quality of life through numerousinitiatives that promote health, sustainability and volunteerism.

Former Mayor Bill PurcellBill Purcell has spent more than 30 years in law, public service,and higher education. During his eight-year tenure as Mayor ofthe Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County,Tennessee (1999-2007), Purcell served on the StandingCommittee on Childhood Obesity Prevention at the Institute ofMedicine and Vice Chair of the IOM Committee which producedAccelerating Progress on Obesity Prevention , Solving theWeight of the Nation.

John J. Dreyzehner, MD, MPH, FACOEM- 12thCommissioner of the Tennessee Department of HealthJohn Dreyzehner joined Governor Bill Haslam's cabinetSeptember 19, 2011, as the 12th Commissioner of the TennesseeDepartment of Health having over 20 years of service in clinicaland public health leadership at the federal, state and local levels.

Camille Miller, MSSW- Texas Health InstitutePresident/CEOCamille Miller, while CEO of the Texas Health Institute for thepast 17 years, has co- chaired the statewide obesity preventioncoalition Live Smart Texas, fund raised and moderated the 6Summits THI has conducted to date and was one of the foundingmembers of the IOM recognized Partnership for a Healthy Texasthat advocates during Texas legislative sessions for obesityprevention legislation.

To register for SOS or for sponsorship opportunities, please visitwww.southernobesitysummit.orgor contact Michelle Araiza,Marketing and Events Coordinator atmaraiza@texashealthinstitute.org.

Texas Health in All Policies Project (T-HiAPP)

In January 2013 THI was awarded a one-year StrategicPartnerships Grant from the National Network of Public HealthInstitutes (nnPHI). In collaboration with Lauri Andress, PhD,JD, MPH of Bridging the Health Gap, THI initiated the TexasHealth in All Policies Project (T-HiAPP).

Health in All Policies (HiAP) is a strategy to assist leaders andpolicymakers in integrating considerations of health, well-being,and equity during the development, implementation, andevaluation of policies and services.

HiAP strategies are meant to ensure that policies and servicesfrom non health sectors have beneficial or neutral impacts onthe determinants of health.

As an example of a successful effort to integrate healthconsiderations into other policies, consider the majordeterminants for heart health and the ways in which heart healthhas been amenable to policies of other sectors.

The heart health determinants include - in addition to geneticfactors - the obtainability of affordable sources of food,transportation options that increase air quality, the availabilityof communities built to inspire physical activity, current landuse options that encourage community green space, and theavailability of tobacco related products.

This example of heart health and the determinants that influenceit demonstrate that healthy outcomes are affected by policies,legislation, and regulations, from many sectors that affect thesedeterminants and make healthy choices known, easy, andaffordable.

T-HiAPP was launched In April 2013 with a thirty memberAdvisory Board assembled from individuals across Texas. TheBoard included representatives from different sectors includingacademicians, government, and advocates for transportation,land use, urban and rural planning, healthcare, farming, publichealth, and the natural environment.

Six webinars were featured during which experts madepresentations to Advisory Board Members on topics such asCalifornia and Kansas' experience with HiAP; indicators forHiAP; tools that build in equity and health considerations in landuse and transportation planning. Presentations and materialsfrom the T-HiAPP meetings may be found by clicking here.

As T-HiAPP nears the end of the grant period THI, under Dr.Andress' guidance, is implementing a one day Summit onSeptember 19th in Austin, Texas.

Summit participants will engage in activities that focus onopportunities and strategies to incorporate the Health in All

Policies approach into the policy work of diverse sectors such assuch as education, jobs, income, and transportation. The Summitwill use the built environment as the issue to galvanize ideas andaction around HiAP.

The T-HiAPP Summit is free and open to interested parties.Space is limited and those who are seeking additionalinformation about attendance or registration should contactMichelle Araiza, Marketing and Events Coordinator atmaraiza@texashealthinstitute.org.

For more information on Texas Health In All Policies Projectplease contact Lauri Andress, Program Coordinator atlandress@bridgingthehealthgap.com.

The Benefit Bank of Texas

Do You Know?

In 2010, there were 4,672,780 food insecure people inTexas. (Map the Meal Gap 2012. Feeding America, 2012)Nearly one in five Texans, 4.6 million people (18.5%),lives in poverty. That's 2.6% higher than the nationalaverage. (US Census Bureau)Texas was ranked as the Number 1 Congressional District(29*) in food Hardship in 2010-2011. (FRAC. FoodHardship in America 2011) (*Texas District 29 of the USHouse of Representatives serves the eastern portion of theGreater Houston area.)More than 6 billion dollars of private and state fundsdesigned for hunger related programs in Texas wentunused in 2010. (TFBN. Hunger by the Numbers. August,2012)

Do You Know?The Benefit Bank of Texas is capable of making a significantdifference in connecting people to SNAP benefits, along with amyriad of other programs and worker supports, including CHIP,Medicaid, TANF, Veterans Education and Training, Income TaxReturns, Voter Registration, and FAFSA - financial assistance forcollege. We have over 160 sites already making a difference inpeople's lives.

Do You Know?The Benefit Bank of Texas has a variety of different types oforganizations that have found TBB-TX to be a perfect tool forhelping their clients. There are social service organizations,

neighborhood centers, libraries, university campuses, ISDs,hospitals, MHMR centers, crisis centers, churches, homelessshelters, and community resource centers and that is just toname of few.

Do You Know?The Benefit Bank of Texas is spreading across the state. Theprimary areas of implementation include Dallas-Fort Worth,greater Houston area, Central Texas, and the Panhandle. Wewelcome the opportunity to reach out beyond these areas. Do you know of an organization or are you a member of anorganization that would be a great candidate to become a BenefitBank of Texas site in your area? Please let us know and, ifpossible, provide us with a virtual introduction via email. Youwill be doing your part to move Texas out of poverty and givingall of us a chance to have braggin' rights we can be proud of!

Referrals, suggestions, or needing additional information, pleaseemail Lenora Doerfler, ldoerfler@texashealthinstitute.org. Welook forward to hearing from you.

The Benefit Bank of Texas

We are also please to showcase an article the San AngeloStandard Times published in their newspaper. SAN ANGELO, Texas - Around $7.5 billion in federal money forprograms ranging from food stamps to veterans benefits goesunclaimed in Texas by the people who qualify for it.The Benefit Bank of Texas is trying to make sure those dollarsget to the people who deserve them. Bank representatives metwith community leaders Tuesday morning to discuss bringingthe program to San Angelo.

The Benefit Bank of Texas, an affiliate of Texas Health Institute,is a Web-based service that aims to help needy people gainaccess to the federal and state benefits for which they areeligible. By filling out a single application, people can determineif they qualify for food assistance (SNAP), federal income taxreturns, health insurance for children (CHIP), veteran'seducation and training, help with college tuition (FAFSA), orhealth care assistance (Medicaid). "What's great about this: itdoesn't have to be solid brick and mortar - it's a laptop," saidCounty Treasurer Dianna Spieker. "We'll bring our stuff - let'ssee what you're eligible for that can get you over that hump." At

167 sites across the state, TBB-TX has assisted approximately2,300 families or individuals, connecting them with around$16.7 million in benefits, said Lenora Doerfler, TBB-TXregional coordinator.

"The magic in the Benefit Bank is we place sites where peoplelive, learn, work, play, and pray, at trusted sites where people arealready familiar with using," she said. Potential bank sitesrequire a computer with an Internet connection, a printer andfax machine, with staff available to volunteer as counselors. A$1,000 fee is required, paid annually to the Benefit Bank by theorganization hosting the site. Spieker came across the program atan indigent health care conference in San Marcos this summer.One or two banks in each county would be a good communitybenefit, she said.

"I would love to see at least 20 sites in San Angelo," Spieker said.A lot of people panic when they see forms such as FAFSA andfederal income, said Carol Hale, family self-sufficiencycoordinator with Housing Authority of San Angelo. Becoming aBenefit Bank site will make it simple to get people connected to awealth of services, she said. "In public housing as a whole, somany people come into our offices saying they are fixing to getkicked out," Hale said. "This will put them in touch with so manydifferent programs.

"In my particular program, family sub-sufficiency, we're tryingto get people off welfare and onto their own." The HousingAuthority of San Angelo intends to become a TBB-TX site tobenefit their clients, Hale said. "It's not humiliating for them tosit in an office and ask for assistance - they're already at thehousing office," she said. "Our counselors are aware of theirneeds. After filling out the application, they can walk out of theoffice and have everything underway in one step." © 2013 SanAngelo Standard Times. All rights reserved. This material maynot be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Referrals, suggestions, or needing additional information, pleaseemail Lenora Doerfler, ldoerfler@texashealthinstitute.org. Welook forward to hearing from you.

THI ACA-equity presentations for Grantmakers in Health and theAmerican Hospital Association

THI staff was asked to present findings and recommendationsbased on our ACA equity work before the Grantmakers in Health(GIH), the organization that represents foundations nationwide;and administrators and other personnel at the American HospitalAssociation's (AHA) Leadership Summit in San Diego, July 26.With related commentary and perspective from representativesof the WK Kellogg Foundation and Blue Shield Foundation ofCalifornia, The GIH webinar offered the opportunity tosummarize findings and suggest areas where national, statewide

and local/community-based foundations may want to invest inequity-related initiatives to support implementation of theAffordable Care Act. The AHA breakfast talk and discussionhighlighted the implications, challenges and opportunities arisingfrom the new law, suggesting to hospital systems how to bestdirect their resources and take advantage of new alliances to bewell positioned for launching of the exchanges and to respond tocapacity needs in 2014 and beyond. The presentations areposted on the THI website. To read the presentations please click on the link here. For more information about ACA equity presentations, pleasecontact Dr. Andrulis, Sr. Research Scientist, atdandrulis@texashealthinstitute.org.

THI's Dennis Andrulis, ACA & Health Equity Initiative inHuffington Post

Dennis Andrulis, Senior Research Scientist at the Texas HealthInstitute, was quoted in a recent article entitled, Black HealthRx: Finding A Cure For America's Health Disparities, whichappeared in The Huffington Post on July 23, 2013. Dr.Andrulis highlighted the importance and opportunities of theAffordable Care Act (ACA) in bridging longstanding healthdisparities, referencing THI's multi-year work on the ACA andHealth Equity. "On its face, the Affordable Care Act offers unprecedentedopportunities to realize or advance a vision of equity in thecountry," said Dr. Andrulis. "In reality, there is greatuncertainty and there's likely to be great unevenness in theimplementation of the law, which will lead to considerableshortcomings in terms of service and care of African-Americanpopulations," he said, naming 26 states that have been resistantto the law as a major cause for concern. The full article isavailable by clicking here. For more information about ACA and Health Equity, pleasecontact Dr. Andrulis, Sr. Research Scientist, atdandrulis@texashealthinstitute.org.

End User Assessment by NNPHI

Thank you for everyone who participated in the local policydatabase assessment. We received over 200 responses! Wedeeply appreciate the very substantive feedback we received aswell. It's professional feedback like yours that will help this be arobust tool. Additionally, the sample has a great representationof a variety of sectors and industries reflected in the assessment. About the Project Texas Health Institute (THI), Illinois Public Health Institute(IPHI), and Mississippi Public Health Institute (MSPHI) are

working on a national project funded by NNPHI, through acooperative agreement with the CDC, to identify the idealformat, tools, and potential users of a comprehensive localpolicy database or tracking system. We are investigating localpolicy databases of all types, but we are especially interested inlocal policy databases that address healthy communities.

For more information on the assessment, please contact ChelseaBrass, Program Manager at cbrass@texashealthinstitute.org.

Mountain States Genetics Regional Collaborative ProjectUpdate

Eighty active MSGRC members came together July 10-12 inDenver for MSGRC workgroup meetings and time to catch upwith each other. We enjoyed the away time at the hotel and thegood food, but most important was our time together to shareour personal stories, catch up on work events in our variousstates, and unwind over dinner. Every MSGRC workgroup met to discuss on-going activities andcontinue development of their evaluation plans. TheTelemedicine, Emergency Preparedness, and NewbornScreening workgroups continued to share information onprojects in their various states and made plans to continue workon their grant funded activities. The MSGRC Advisory Councilmet to review progress on the first year of this grant cycle anddiscuss evaluation activities for MSGRC and the NationalCoordinating Center for the Regional Collaboratives (NCC). The Medical Home workgroup held its second face-to-facemeeting. They reviewed progress on the newly funded ParentPartner project, which is training parents of children withspecial healthcare needs to work in primary care offices tosupport children and families with special needs. BradThompson is the director of this exciting new project. LauraPickler reported on her project, Improving Medical Homes andTransition Outcomes for Youth Served in IMD Clinics. In thisfinal year of funding, Dr. Pickler will complete data collectionand analysis of patients with genetic disorders or inborn errorsof metabolism who are transitioning to an adult model of care. Attheir request, workgroup members participated in a webinar onaspects of the Affordable Care Act, presented by Meg Comeauof the Catalyst Center. The Health Information Technology Workgroup held its firstmeeting, an open forum for all interested MSGRC members todiscuss priorities in health information technology for MSGRC.

The purpose and mission of this workgroup were discussed, andthen the group engaged in a discussion, facilitated by DonnaWilliams, of potential benefits and risks of informationtechnology for children and adults with special healthcare needs.From among numerous ideas shared by the group, MSGRC staffwill propose three goals for this workgroup, and thenworkgroup members will describe a scope of work for each goal.At a future meeting, workgroup members will prioritize thesegoals and identify timelines for work in the current year. The Hemoglobinopathy Interest Group discussed the highlyanticipated release of the National Heart Lung and BloodInstitute's (NHLBI's) Expert Panel Report on the Management ofSickle Cell Disease and possible strategies for disseminationthroughout the region. In addition to discussion on the newguidelines, work is underway is to identify the primary andspecialty providers known to State newborn screening programswho care for children with sickle cell disease. These pediatricproviders can in turn contribute information about where youthreceive care as they enter adulthood, so that contact can bemade with those adult practices. One goal of this process is tofacilitate dissemination of the NHLBI guidelines for themanagement of children and adults with sickle cell disease.Successful transition from the pediatric- to adult-oriented carewill be critical to sustain implementation of the new guidelinesacross the lifespan and can drive collaboration aroundrecommended health care goals. Now that this wonderful meeting is behind us, the MSGRCManagement Team will focus on recruiting a new projectmanager. We'll also continue to monitor our projects, andSharon Homan, our evaluator, will complete logic models andevaluation plans for each workgroup and project. This shouldkeep us busy for the rest of the summer! For more information about MSGRC, please contact DonnaWilliams, Program Cooridnator atdwilliams@texashealthinstitute.org.

The Rising Star Award at Texas Obesity Awareness Week

The Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living andLive Smart Texas are sponsoring the inaugural Rising StarAward during the 6th Annual Texas Obesity Awareness week. Aspart of the Texas Health Champion Award Ceremony, The Rising

Star Award will be presented to a young Texan (13-18 years ofage) who has demonstrated exceptional leadership in his or hercommunity in an effort to raise awareness and reduce theburden of the obesity epidemic. He or she will be honored at theTexas Health Champion Award Ceremony on September 12,2013, and featured on the Michael & Susan Dell Center forHealthy Living and Live Smart Texas websites.

The Rising Star Award winner will also receive a full scholarshipto attend the Southern Obesity Summit, November 19-21 inNashville, Tennessee. This will include travel, hotel, registrationand meals! This scholarship is generously sponsored by TexasHealth Institute. We are very excited that youth have beenincluded in this year's awards and feel this scholarship will givethe winner an opportunity to further share their experiences,network with other youth from across the south and getinvolved with the Texas leadership that are working on obesityprevention. There will be breakout sessions on Monday at SOSyouth are featuring in two of those sessions. They will be able totell how they are working to prevent obesity in theircommunity. One of the presenter spots will be held open for ourTexas Rising Star to present. Please click here to access the flyer to nominate a hardworking/deserving youth (13-18) for the Rising Star Award andfor sponsorship details. If you have any questions, please contactAmy Blum at Amy.M.Blum@uth.tmc.edu.

Texas Health Champion Award Announcement

The Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living and LiveSmart Texas are pleased to announce the 2013 Texas HealthChampion Award. As part of Texas Obesity Awareness Week, theTexas Health Champion Award is presented to an organization orindividual who has demonstrated exemplary achievement inreducing the burden and/or raising awareness of the obesityepidemic in Texas. Drum roll please..... Receiving the individual award is Doctor William (Bill)Squires, Professor at Texas Lutheran University and Chairmanof the Seguin ISD SHAC. If you don't know Bill, you can get ataste of what he has accomplished via the Seguin ISD SHACwebsite by clicking here. They are thrilled he has been namedthis year's Individual Awardee as he embodies the spirit,

fortitude and vision associated with the Texas Health ChampionAward. Secondly, the corporate award goes to H-E-B. As many know theextensive efforts H-E-B has made to foster the health ofindividuals and families across Texas. Take a look at the Healthyat HEB webpage for a deeper look into their health initiativesand community education programs. Kate Rogers andWinell Herron will be on-board to receive this award on behalfof H-E-B. For more information on the Texas Health Champion Award,please contact Amy Blum at Amy.M.Blum@uth.tmc.edu .

Employment opportunities

Harris County Office of Human Resources & RiskManagement

Family Court Services Evaluator- Candidates can viewthe posting and apply throughhttp://www.hctx.net/HRRM/.

Our mission is to provide leadership to improve the health of Texans and their

communities through education, research, and health policy development.

Editorial Board:

Camille D. Miller, Sherry Wilkie-Conway, Stephanie Ondrias, Sue Long

Editors:

Sherry Wilkie-Conway, Michelle Araiza

Texas Health Institute (THI) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization focused on

the development of health policy solutions to improve the lives of Texans and their

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