HHS unveils prevention initiative

[w8liftinglady]

http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20110616/NEWS/306169960?AllowView=VW8xUmo5Q21TcWJOb1gzb0tNN3RLZ0h0MWg5SVgra3NZRzROR3l0WWRMZmJVdndIRWxiNUtpQzMyWmV0NW5vWUpicWg=


HHS on Thursday unveiled its first National Prevention and Health Promotion Strategy, developed to "help increase the number of Americans who are healthy at every stage of life," according to the department.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Advertisement | View Media Kit

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Authorized under last year's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the initiative is based on the view that good health comes not just from good medical care but also from things such as clean air and water, safe outdoor spaces for physical activity, safe worksites, healthy food and violence-free environments.

The strategy has four main areas of focus: building healthy and safe community environments, expanding quality preventive services in clinical and community settings, helping people make healthy choices and eliminating health disparities.

"The National Prevention Strategy, called for under the Affordable Care Act, will help us transform our healthcare system away from a focus on sickness and disease to a focus on prevention and wellness," HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a news release. "We know that prevention helps people live long and productive lives and can help combat rising healthcare costs."

The National Prevention, Health Promotion and Public Health Council, which comprises 17 federal agencies, created the plan after consulting with the public and the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion and Integrative and Public Health.

[Maine_Nurse]

1. I'm a nurse--I want to believe...

but the 44 year-old in me worries that anything created by 17 separate federal agencies has got to be severely convoluted, bloated, unfocused, and generally messed up.