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November 25 is Public Health Thank You Day. Celebrated on the Monday before Thanksgiving, public health organizations take this time to recognize the people and organizations who work tirelessly to protect the health of all communities. Our public health workforce works tirelessly every day to protect us from disease, injury, and other health threats. They keep our drinking water clean, our communities healthy, and our children safe from harm. Ongoing and often complex public health challenges – both here and abroad – require evidence-based, innovative, and equitable solutions.
In Your Neighborhood . . .
Putting Her Talents to Work, Chris Niblett Serves Nine Health Districts
You can be forgiven if you didn’t know that Christina Niblett is part of the WPHD team. That’s because she is also part of the team at no less than eight other health districts – in fact every district between Danville and the Tennessee border! (That would be Pittsylvania-Danville, Central Virginia, Roanoke City, Alleghany, West Piedmont, New River, Mount Rogers, Cumberland Plateau, and Lenowisco – nine total.) As Human Resource Business Partner - Western Region, Chris . . . More about Chris Niblett in the Get to Know WPHD section.
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How to check restaurant inspections. Planning a holiday gathering at a local restaurant? Know before you go. Restaurant health inspection scores are online and easy to access. This website is the centralized place to view health inspection results conducted by Environmental Health Specialists across Virginia. Inspection results can be found numerous ways, from searching for an individual establishment, to seeing the most recent inspections conducted over a specific time period, and more. Each Health District within Virginia has its sub-site where you can find the inspection results, each of which can be found on the District Sites page. Here are results in the West Piedmont Health District.
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Looking for a smoke-free campus?
How do Virginia's colleges and universities stack up when it comes to curbing smoking and tobacco use on campus? The Virginia Department of Health issued a report card grading each school on tobacco use policies. Click here for an interactive map with grades and policies for each college or university in Virginia.
Mark your calendars for the Great American Smokeout on November 21 and start making your plan to quit smoking now: Great American Smokeout | American Cancer Society
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Americans Suffer from Strokes, Obesity, and Loneliness
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The American Stroke Association’s new guidelines on stroke prevention—the first in 10 years—recommend that doctors consider a new class of drugs that can drastically reduce weight, and screen for non-medical risk factors like economic stability and racism. AP
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Spike seen in US heart disease deaths related to obesity. Obesity-related deaths among U.S. adults with clogged heart arteries increased by 180% between 1999 and 2020, according to data released in advance of the American Heart Association scientific meeting.
In men, ischemic heart disease deaths associated with obesity rose from 2.1 per 100,000 people in 1999 to 7.2 per 100,000 in 2020, an increase of 243%, researchers found. In women, the rate increased by 131%, from 1.6 deaths per 100,000 people in 1999 to 3.7 per 100,000 in 2020.
The increases were particularly marked among middle-aged men, Black adults, residents of Midwestern states and non-metropolitan areas, researchers found…..Overall, the analysis of 21 years of data from a CDC database identified 226,267 obesity-related ischemic heart disease deaths during that period. – Reuters Health Rounds
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Promote Social Connectedness. According to CDC, about 1 in 3 adults in the United States report feeling lonely, and about 1 in 4 U.S. adults report not having social and emotional support. Loneliness and social isolation may be shaped by conditions in the environments where people are born, live, work, learn, worship and play. These conditions can affect the ability to connect socially and can lead to many negative health impacts. People with meaningful social connections see many health benefits. CDC has a list of suggestions for making social connections in our communities.
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America's COVID Hangover.
Drinking in the U.S. increased sharply during the pandemic and still hasn’t returned to pre-COVID-19 levels, according to an Annals of Internal Medicine study published recently.
- Americans who reported drinking heavily increased to 6.29% in 2022, up from 5.1% in 2018.
- 69.3% said they had consumed alcohol in the past year, up from 66.34% in 2018.
- 6.45% of women reported having drunk heavily, while the men’s reported rate was 6.12%.
The Quote: “People assumed this [drinking] was caused by acute stress, like what we saw with 9/11 and Katrina, and typically it goes back to normal after these stressful events are over,” said principal investigator Brian P. Lee. “But that’s not what we’re seeing.” The New York Times (gift article)
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Long COVID Reduces Chance of Full Recovery
Recent scientific studies shed new light on the experience of millions of long- COVID patients, suggesting the longer someone is sick, the lower their chances of making a full recovery.
The best window for recovery is in the first six months after getting COVID-19, with better odds for people whose initial illness was less severe, as well as those who are vaccinated, researchers in the United Kingdom and the US found. People whose symptoms last between six months and two years are less likely to fully recover. Many long COVID patients adjust to slim recovery odds as world moves on | Reuters
Stay Up to Date on Vaccines
The holidays are a time for people to gather. Vaccination is one of the best things you can do to help protect yourself and your family from serious diseases during these close interactions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has easy-to-read guides for children, teens and adults to stay up to date on recommended vaccines
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