New York: Whitney M. Young Jr. Expands HIV Program
New York-based Whitney M. Young Jr. Health Services recently received a combined $3 million in federal, state and private sector funding to provide primary medical care, medical case management, outreach and testing for HIV among high-risk racial and ethnic minorities living in underserved communities. The center will use $2.5 million to develop an outreach program designed to boost treatment for HIV-positive substance abusers, $150,000 to launch a pilot program to implement routine HIV testing in primary care settings, and $50,000 to design a self-management program to help HIV-positive patients adhere to prescribed drug regimes.

Virginia: Anti-smoking Bills Pass in Senate, Move on to House
Last week, the Virginia Senate approved four bills that will ban smoking in public places. The first bill will ban smoking in most public spaces and a second measure will ban smoking in restaurants and bars statewide with the exception of areas that are not enclosed. The remaining two bills would afford localities the power to ban smoking in restaurants communitywide.

Florida: Push is on to Cut Obesity Among Black Americans
Health and community leaders in Orlando, Fla., are stepping up efforts to combat obesity among African-Americans. Community efforts include extension of the school day by one hour to accommodate physical education for students, adoption of a 12-week health intervention program to educate students and their families about healthy lifestyles, and opening affordable gyms to offer free workouts. Residents are also participating in the "50 Million Pound Challenge" to help African-Americans nationwide lose weight .

Alabama: State Aims for Healthier Public Schools
Thirteen Alabama school systems are implementing obesity prevention programs that will teach fourth and fifth grade students to eat healthier foods and be more active. Roughly 660 public school teachers this year will undergo training to incorporate physical activity and wellness lessons during class time.

Vermont: Bill Would Reduce Cost for Mammogram Testing
This week, Sen. John Campbell will introduce a measure that would require health insurance providers to cover mammograms with only a $25 co-payment. A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that women are less likely to get mammograms if they have to pay part of the cost.

State Medicaid Coverage for Tobacco-Dependence Treatments---United States 2006
This recent report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention underscores the need to increase Medicaid coverage of tobacco-dependence treatments. The report indicates that approximately 35 percent of Medicaid recipients are smokers and an estimated 14 percent of Medicaid costs are attributable to tobacco use. The report also points out that tobacco-dependence treatments are highly cost-effective.

States Turn Challenges Into Opportunities, Advancing Cervical Cancer Prevention Efforts
This state-by-state comparison report released by Women in Government shows that states are making progress in the fight against cervical cancer, but still face barriers in terms of racial and socio-economic disparities in cervical cancer incidence, mortality, and a lack of access to care. According to the report, that 37 states received good ratings and 14 states and Washington, D.C. received fair ratings on their efforts to prevent cervical cancer.

Diabetes-Related Health Costs Soared to $174 Billion in 2007
According to this recent report by the American Diabetes Association, diabetes cost the United States $174 billion in 2007 in direct medical care costs and lost productivity. Much of the diabetes-related expenses stem from the treatment of complications caused by diabetes, while spending for routine preventive care to treat the condition is relatively low. The report also provides state-by state estimates of the cost of diabetes.

CDC Awards $24 Million for IT-Driven Pandemic Preparedness Projects
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will award $24 million in grants for projects that use health information technology to help communities prepare for and respond to pandemic flu. The grantees will undertake demonstration projects to create an electronic laboratory data exchange to support influenza surveillance, to integrate state-based immunization systems to track pandemic countermeasures, and to develop a statewide electronic mortality reporting system.

Average Annual Health Care Use and Expense for Shingles Among U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, 2003-2005
This brief from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality estimates that in 2003, 2004 and 2005, 1.1 million persons per year had shingles or its complications and .9 million sought medical treatment. Treatment for shingles cost $525 per person. The estimates are based on data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.

The American Lung Association's State of Tobacco Control 2007
This annual report card by the American Lung Association grades each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico on their tobacco control policies on smoke-free air, cigarette tax, tobacco prevention spending and youth access to tobacco products. According to the report card, 21 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have passed comprehensive smoke-free air laws. Twenty five states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have cigarette tax rates of $1 or higher, and nine of those 25 states are at or above $2 per pack.

Ready or Not? Protecting the Public's Health from Disease, Disaster and Bioterrorism, 2007
Trust for America's Health released its fifth annual report detailing how prepared states are to handle a public health crisis. The report analyzed every state's and the District of Columbia's emergency preparedness plans and assigned letter grades. It concluded that while significant progress has been made, there are still vital areas of the nation's emergency preparedness planning that require attention.

Other Resources

National President's Challenge
The National President's Challenge is a new fitness program that begins March 20. It encourages individuals ages 6 and older to register on the President's Challenge web site, be active at least five days a week, and log that activity on their personal activity tracker.

CSG Annual Meeting Resolutions
The Council of State Governments monitors a host of issues that impact state governments. These issues are often brought before CSG's task force members at the spring and annual meeting through policy resolutions. At CSG's recent Annual Meeting in Oklahoma City, the Health Task Force considered and passed four policy resolutions. They addressed public health and climate change, smoking cessation, cervical cancer education programs and patient-centered medical homes. Please click on the link above to view the complete text of each resolution.

CDC Launches Redesigned Spanish Web site 'CDC en Espanol'
This Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Spanish-language Web site, CDC en Espanol, provides accurate, up-to-date information in Spanish on health issues of special interest to Hispanic communities, including information on a wide range of health promotion and disease prevention topics.

Expedited Partner Therapy -- State Information Web site
Legal status and barriers by state to providing medications to persons infected with certain STDs to be administered to their sexual partners.