New Years Resolutions

So as today is the last in 2010! So what does this mean to you...

1) One more year till 2012 when the earth will end?

2) The year you start working out more and eating more healthy?

3) Stop smoking?

Whatever your thoughts are on a new year beginning, I encourage you to take time to reflect on the past year and where you've seen your life grow. I have been doing a lot of this and have accomplished so much at the same time learning a lot from decisions I've made. In addition, I am one of hose that wants to start working out more and eating healthier, which will be realized in the next couple weeks hopefully!

A story that got me thinking of all this was in Huffingtonpost.com about anti-smoking adds that New York City was going to enforce be placed at business. The signs were struck down by a 1965 law that states that the federal government has to deal with cigarette labeling and advertising. The law also stated that no state law could impose a requirement or prohibition with respect to advertising or promotion of cigarettes. I was shocked that in 2010, almost 2011, that we are still debating and arguing over the health effects of smoking. It irritates me to see so many still smoking, with so much help to quit, but this may fall on the part of health promotion of public health agencies and the need for diverse was to market prevention programs to a wide variety of individuals.

In all, I hope you have a safe and healthy New Years and see you in 2011~

Ryan

Food Safety Bill and Public Health!

As I was catching up on headlines today I came across another example of public health: Food Safety and Prevention. There was a new bill passed by the Senate and finally the House that is waiting the signature of President Obama.

The bill focuses a lot on prevention and gives the federal government new powers to inspect processing plants, order recalls and impose stricter standards for imported foods. The bill would also requires larger farms and food manufacturers to prepare detailed food safety plans and tell the Food and Drug Administration how they are working to keep their food safe at different stages of production.

This story reminded me a lot of when I was an intern at Rock Island County Health Department and there was the suspected tomato Salmonella outbreak, which ended up being Jalapenos Peppers. There was a lot of investigation after the fact and not a lot of prevention before or steps put in place to catch the origin of the outbreak quickly. I hope this new food safety bill will implement better practices and learn from past experiences, because I am definitely a firm believer that history does repeat itself in some form or shape. Here are a couple highlights from the new bill, what do you think?:

• Allow the FDA to order a recall of tainted foods. Currently the agency can only negotiate with businesses to order voluntary recalls;
• Require the FDA to create new produce safety regulations for producers of the highest risk fruits and vegetables;
• Increase inspections of domestic and foreign food facilities, directing the most resources to those operations with the highest risk profiles. The riskiest domestic facilities would be inspected every three years;
• Require farms and processors to keep records to help the government trace recalled foods;
• Require grocery stores to proactively alert consumers about recalls.

However, the bill would not apply to meat, poultry or processed eggs, which are regulated by the Agriculture Department. Those foods have long been subject to much more rigorous inspections and oversight than FDA-regulated foods.

Ironically though, where I read this story and pulled the bullet list of highlights from the bill had the egg picture I have in the blog. The estimates from the CDC below were quoted at the end of the story and I thought they were a nice reminder of how serious this issue still is in the United States,

Ryan

New estimates released by the federal Centers for Disease Control this month say that about 48 million people – or about one in six Americans – are sickened, 128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die each year from foodborne illnesses.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/21/food-safety-bill_n_799963.html

Holiday Break! WINTER! Calmness...

So it's been awhile since I have last written, but reassured I am still alive and well. Going for a dual degree and just being in the College of Public Health will keep you busy. I wrapped up finals last week on Wednesday and just about passed out that night, which was much needed. If you couldn't tell by my last post, I got some new glasses and wore them pretty much from that date throughout finals.

I was able to see my Mentor for the last time on Thursday night for a ugly sweater bar crawl and just a little relaxation and fun before everyone headed home for the holidays. I ended up staying through Saturday to finish up a couple work/club assignments and email that I had pushed off until finals were over with. Sometimes I wish I had a BlackBerry but then I see some of my friends who you sometimes want to say they have "Crack Berries" because they are so addicted to checking them! It is kind of funny but seriously thinking about it, I think I like just waiting till I get to my laptop or a computer to check Facebook, Twitter and email. Sometimes you just need a little calmness in life and for me, that means not having a smartphone, which is fine by me.

I would definitely suggest if you are busy during the year with school, work , family to make sure you take time for yourself. We all need to find time for ourselves and I propose to you that you take an hour, close the door and just enjoy the moment of calmness, even if it's at night before bed. It will help sort your thoughts, especially if your deciding what to do with the next step in your life.

Hope you take a little time for yourself today!

Ryan

PS - The picture is one I got off of Bing.com...one of my favorite websites to get a great picture while studying :) Enjoy!

Finals, Celebration and Snow :)

So the final end of the semester is finally upon us. I feel like they should just call the last couple weeks "Finals Period" because most professors have their projects/papers due the week before finals and then their exams during the actual "Finals week".

Celebration

Amongst all the stresses and rushing around to get things accomplished, there is much to celebrate, like those MPH graduates! I attended a celebration ceremony put for the MPH graduates for December 2010. They were from a wide variety of disciplines, including the department I fall under, Health Management and Policy. My mentor Alexis, pictured above with me, graduated with a dual degree MHA/MPH in Policy. She will start her fellowship at Geisinger Health System this summer! I am so proud of her and it was exciting to hear again all the experiences she had here at Iowa. There was also a Practicum Poster Session, where MPH graduates and those completing their Practicum course, could showcase a public health experience they had over the past several months. Practicum projects ranged from tracking Novel H1N1 influenza abroad to implementing a occupational and health curriculum for health professionals in the field.

Snow

So as I sit here on a Saturday night to tired to study anymore for finals next week, I am admiring the snow falling outside while watch "Devil Wears Prada" to get myself motivated again for tomorrow. Even though I enjoy learning the material in my classes, there is always the distractions of playing in the snow, watching movies and going to the last christmas parties that are always on the mind ;)

Enjoy the weekend and stay warm!

Ryan

Friday Freak Out!

There comes a time each year where finances get a little tight, and it can seem like you will never pull through and ask questions like "how am I going to pay for this now, or next semester?" I had one of these moments today and it was not fun. As the day went on and after a couple stressful moments looking at my bank statements, university bill, and holiday expenses...I was able to calm myself down and reacquainted with reality.

Sometimes you just have to sit back and look at the whole picture, so as I go into final exams, projects and reports I sit back and look at all from a distance pecking away bit by bit till it all gets done, because the reward will be great know I had worked the best that I could to accomplish it all.

So for a belated Thanksgiving, I want to thank my friends and family for always reminding me that everything will be alright and that life isn't always easy and that down moments are just opportunity to learn.

Ryan

World AIDS Day

If you already didn't know, it is World AIDS day, which is a huge public health mission.

HISTORY

World AIDS Day was first conceived in August 1987 by James W. Bunn and Thomas Netter, two public information officers for the Global Programme on AIDS at the Wold Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. Bunn and Netter took their idea to Dr. Jonathan Mann, Director of the Global Programme on AIDS (now known as UNAIDS). Dr. Mann liked the concept, approved it, and agreed with the recommendation that the first observance of World AIDS Day should be 1 December, 1988.

UNITED STATES

World AIDS Day, observed December 1 each year, is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. It is common to hold memorials to honor persons who have died from HIV/AIDS on this day. Government and health officials also observe the event, often with speeches or forums on the AIDS topics. Since 1995, the President of the United States has made an official proclamation on World AIDS Day. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_AIDS_Day)

WORLD AIDS CAMPAIGN

In addition the World AIDS Campaign's mission on this day and everyday is to ensure that governments and policy makers meet the HIV targets they set, the commitments they made, and mobilize the necessary resources for a world where people do not die of AIDS and opportunistic infections like TB. At the heart of the global commitment is the publicly stated ambition of Universal Access by 2010 - enabling everyone to have non-discriminatory and non-judgemental access to adequate HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. (http://www.worldaidscampaign.org/en/WAC2)

IOWA

On Iowa's campus there is blood drive going on to recognize World AIDS day and to remember that those that are not infected by a disease and can give blood, should.

World AIDS Day Blood Drive

Sponsored by the World Health Initiative

Wednesday, December 1st

11AM - 3PM in the Lucas-Dodge Room at the IMU or all week at the DeGowin Blood Center (right near the CPH hallway!)

Make an appointment at: http://www.givesblood.org/give/get_started.php?orgID=136

or Walk-ins are welcome at both locations!

I hope you have learned a little about World AIDS Day and the global pull to combat it. The topic of AIDS is quite personal to me because of my Uncle Don who died of AIDS and my boyfriend Cody who works for the local county health department helping improve access to HIV testing and outreach.

Ryan

Cyber Monday and Homework!

Hello All,

So as I am sitting trying to get all my projects finished up here for the semester, I find myself lost in the Cyber Monday distraction that is pulling me away now for an hour of looking up things I can't afford and just shopping for fun! In the mix of everything, I found a funny video of nature at its best to help end my distraction and get me back on track.

Enjoy :)

Ryan