The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), with input from local health departments across the country, has provided recommendations to the Obama Presidential Transition Team concerning health policy and health reform goals, including a public health component for the fiscal stimulus package.  Other NACCHO advocacy reports and updates can be accessed here.

Kane County's "Vital Signs"
The Kane County Health Department recently released "Vital Signs," a progress report on its Community Health Action Plan, which was developed last year. "Vital Signs" lists the Health Department's five top health priorities for Kane county residents and its progress toward reaching 2010, 2015 and 2030 goals and fulfilling its mission statement-"that (by 2030), Kane residents are the healthiest in Illinois!" Click here to read the press release and here to access the Vital Signs report.

Dr. Terry Mason, Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, made headlines in January for promoting the forth year of his Restart4Health program. After what Dr. Mason dubs "the season of gluttony" -- Thanksgiving through Christmas -- he uses the turn of the new year to devote an entire month to not eating anything that " walks, runs, hops, flies, swims, crawls or slithers.... has eyes... or had a momma and a daddy." He started the initiative about four years ago as a personal challenge and encourages others to commit a month to meatless eating to get back on the path to healthy eating. Dr. Mason says he is not on a crusade against meat nor is he trying to encourage the world to become vegetarian. Rather, he is suggesting that people take a month "off" to restart their bodies. As a result, he hopes they gain the impetus to permanently change their lifestyles and gain healthy eating habits.

The draft standards for voluntary state, local and territorial health department accreditation have now been released for public comment and vetting. The Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) is the organization developing and implementing a voluntary national accreditation program for state, local, tribal and territorial public health departments. To ensure that the accreditation program is built on the best standards possible, public health professionals are encouraged to provide feedback on the standards, which are available on the PHAB web site. The draft standards and measures will be available for public review and comment from February through April 2009, and the standards will be revised based on the feedback PHAB receives.