Ready to spend some time outside, now that the weather is warming up? Learn how to keep your kids sun safe.

Most of us Midwesterners have been bundled up all winter. A day at the park or zoo can provide kids the kind of intermittent sun exposure that leads to sunburn.

The amount of sunburn your children get now, before they turn 18, increases their risk for skin cancer, particularly melanoma.

Did you know that only onesevere sunburn in childhood can more than double the chances of skin cancer developing in adulthood?  With every sunburn comes a decrease in the skin’s natural ability to protect itself and an exponentially higher likelihood that skin disease will occur later in life.

Keep your kids burn-free this spring:

1. Make sure your sun safety practices are age appropriate.
2. Choose the right sunscreen.
3. Find the right sunglasses.
4. Pick the safest time and the place.
5. Skip the tanning bed!

You can help our Indy community be sun smart too.

• Teach your kids a fun sun safety game to play with their friends!
• Help your child’s school be sunwise. Learn about guidelines for school programs that strive to prevent skin cancer.
• Babies, with their delicate skin, are particularly vulnerable sun exposure. Each year, HealthNet Health Promotions offers Baby Be Sun Smart, a sun education program for mothers of newborns. This year, we will be distributing sun safety kits to HealthNet moms of babies between 0-3 months at well-baby visits. Moms receive a bilingual sun safety education flyer, a hand-made baby bonnet, and a small bottle of sunscreen.

Want to help a mom who can’t afford sunscreen for her baby? A donation of $75 to HealthNet Health Promotions will provide sunscreen for 75 sun safety kits.  Thanks for making a difference in our community!

The relationship between parent and child can be the primary source of health in a young person’s life — and a powerful motivator for adults to build more health into their own lives. That’s why we’ve chosen “Helping Families Thrive” for this month’s theme.

For more than 44 years, HealthNet’s caregivers have helped families throughout Indianapolis and central Indiana thrive by building healthier lifestyle habits. We know that small steps lead to big changes. With a balanced approach, even the busiest families can discover ways to eat healthier, live well and feel better.

Throughout October, we’ll offer resources, tips and tools to support parents and families in their efforts to practice the art and science of healthy living. From kid-friendly nutrition, safety and exercise tips, to educational play ideas, to how to give moms-to-be and babies a healthy start, to nurturing strong parent-child relationships, our doctors, therapists, social workers, midwives, nurses and outreach staff have lots of practical tips to share!
 
We invite you to join the growing community of parents and kids who are working and playing their way toward a healthier tomorrow!

How you can directly help…

If you remember nothing else, please let it be that HealthNet very much needs your help! In order to expand our reach, we need support from people like you who crave to help their community.

If you like what you read in October, we are asking that you please consider forwarding these messages, links, tweets and Facebook posts to friends, family members, and work colleagues. By providing a little education and an easy way to get involved, we believe we can bring new awareness to our cause — especially with your encouragement!

Well…..it is that time of the year….already! August is here and the kids are heading back to school.

It is hard to believe, because it feels like summer just started. But, as I checked my Facebook page this last week, several of my friends who are teachers are preparing to go back to work, others are posting pictures of their little ones’ first day of kindergarten, and (while I hate to admit it) some of my friends are getting ready to send their oldest off to college!

As I drove into work this morning, I began to reflect upon this time of year and what it means to me. For me, fall and the beginning of a school year, brings back wonderful memories of wearing my new “back-to-school” outfit, reuniting with old friends and the anticipation of making new ones, new teachers, new beginnings, new classes….it always felt like a “fresh start.” This time of year also takes me back to my college days and the feelings of freedom and independence – like the world was in my hands and the hopes and dreams for my future were endless.

I began thinking about HealthNet’s five school-based clinics and what our staff and providers must be thinking this time of year. How are the children we serve feeling? Are they up-to-date on their immunizations? Do they need help with taking their asthma medication? Many of the children that HealthNet’s school-based clinics serve do not have the same luxuries that I did as a child. Many come from broken homes or no home at all and many are suffering from medical and social needs.

Our staff is there to help these children begin the school year healthy….because being healthy is the foundation to learning and every child deserves to have hopes and dreams for their future.

Last year, our school-based clinics helped more than 3,000 students receive health care and health education services. As you prepare to go back to work as a teacher….or send your little one off to kindergarten….or drop your oldest off at college, please take a moment to consider making a donation to HealthNet’s school-based clinics.

A gift of $25 helps provide a change of clothing to a child who gets sick at school, and a $50 gift would provide students with a personal hygiene kit that is filled with items they may not have at home.

We are dedicated to ensuring that health becomes a bridge, not a barrier to learning. Help us build that bridge!

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What hopes and dreams are your kids looking forward to this school year? Share your comments! 

The past few weeks, we have been asking health center patients, community supporters, and YOU (our online community) to sign a petition supporting community health center expansion and continued funding for Medicaid.

(You can believe our reaction when seeing this article now, can’t you?)

If you want to get a good take on the who, what, when, where, why and how of community health centers, then the article titled – “Community Health Centers: The Challenge of Growing to Meet the Need for Primary Care in Medically Underserved Communities” is a great start.

The two most important findings (both on page 8.) reported in this article are…

•  “Patients receiving a majority of their ambulatory care in CHC settings had 25 percent lower ambulatory care expenditures, and 24 percent lower total annual medical expenditures, compared with patients who receive most of their care in other primary care settings.
• “Economic analyses indicate that, in terms of the employment and the economic activity they generate, health centers produce an 8:1 return on investment”

The second article, titled – “Medicaid and Community Health Centers: the Relationship between Coverage for Adults and Primary Care Capacity in Medically Underserved Communities” – compares the status of community health centers in states with expanded Medicaid coverage to health centers in states with limited coverage.

Three takeaways from this article?

•  “Health centers in expansion states had more patient care sites and saw more patients than health centers in more limited states.”
• “Health centers in expansion states received more total revenue and a greater proportion of revenue from Medicaid than health centers in more limited states.”
• “Health centers in expansion states employ more medical staff, across almost all specialties, than health centers in more limited states.”

But, we can’t just leave you with that.  You could’ve had read that yourself. (and we really appreciate the studies done by those at George Washington University).

From the studies done, health centers ARE cost-effective.  Health centers do save individuals money because of the preventative and wide array of care they receive.  Health centers do have a great economic impact on the neighborhoods where they are located.

Our new People's Health & Dental Center when it was under construction.

But, health centers are more than that.  Health centers are run BY the community.  In case you didn’t read the first article yet, in order to be a Federally Qualified Health Center, you need 51% of your board to be made up of patients from your health center.  In most cases, the entire reason a community health center is built is because community groups see a need in their OWN neighborhood.

So, not only do health centers save the country money, generate money for the community and individuals, but they also take on the personality of the community and are there for the residents in any situation that occurs in their life.

Help to save community health centers.  Sign our petition asking our legislators to not only prevent cuts in funding but increase the appropriated funds for community health centers as well as prevent ANY cuts in Medicaid, the key to strengthening the capacity and operations of community health centers.

(and don’t forget to ask your friends and family to join you in signing! Share this on your Facebook and Twitter pages)