In partnership with our member charities, Community Health Charities continues to offer National Health Day email updates to businesses throughout New England. This email is designed to promote and enhance the health and wellness of employees and their families.
To support any of the health charities we represent, be sure to ask about our charitable giving campaigns for the workplace to support your health charity(ies) of choice.
National Organ & Tissue Donor Awareness Month
Thanks to advances in medical science, many people can now receive a second chance at life through organ and tissue transplantation. Technology has made it possible for a person to receive a variety of donated organs including a kidney, liver, pancreas, lung(s), and/or heart. One tissue donation can change the lives of more than 50 people. Donated heart valves, bone, skin, and connective tissues can be used in procedures such as heart valve replacements, limb reconstruction following tumor surgery, hip and knee joint reconstruction and correcting the curvature of the spine. Living organ donations also impact the lives of those in need. Success rates of transplant surgery have improved remarkably but unfortunately, the availability of organs for transplant has not kept pace with the growing need. As of February 2008, more than 97,000 people are on waiting lists for transplants in the United States. More than 74,000 of them are waiting for kidneys. Every day, 17 people die while waiting for a transplant of a vital organ. To learn how you can help, go to www.kidney.org and www.kidneyfund.org. A Lunch & Learn topic related to organ donation is available. Please refer to topic 13 in your Lunch & Learn booklet.
Source: National Kidney Foundation and American Kidney Fund
Kick Butts Day, April 2
Kick Butts Day is the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids' annual celebration of youth advocacy, leadership, and activism. It is an opportunity for young people to show how they are driving the tobacco control movement toward success, how youth-led programs are getting more people involved, and how they are helping prevent more kids from starting to use tobacco. Each day about 1,000 kids become new regular, daily smokers. Almost 90 percent of adults who have ever been regular smokers began smoking by the time they were 18. Lung cancer, throat cancer, heart disease, stroke, and emphysema are just some of the life-threatening diseases linked with smoking. It is also associated with cancers of the mouth, larynx, esophagus, pancreas, cervix, kidney, stomach, and bladder. For more information on smoking cessation and lung disease, go to www.lungusa.org. The American Lung Association, American Cancer Society and American Heart Association are major partners of Kick Butts Day. For Lunch & Learn topics related to smoking, please refer to topics 19 and 32 in your Lunch & Learn booklet.
Sources: American Lung Association and Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids
World Autism Awareness Day, April 2
The celebration of World Autism Awareness Day is an important way to help the world better understand what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has called a national public health crisis whose cause and cure remain unknown. Autism is a complex brain disorder that inhibits a person's ability to communicate and develop social relationships. Autism is associated with rigid routines and repetitive behaviors, such as obsessively arranging objects or following very specific routines. Symptoms can range from very mild to quite severe. Autism is diagnosed in 1 out of 150 children in the United States and affects four times as many boys as girls. It is more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. Early intervention is critical to maximize the benefit of existing therapies. For more information on Autism, go to www.autismspeaks.org.
Source: Autism Speaks
Women's Eye Health and Safety Month
The goal of Women's Eye Health and Safety Month is to educate the public on the importance of eye care and urge women of all ages to adopt a regular regimen of professional eye care. Hormonal changes (especially during pregnancy), age, and smoking can affect one's sight. Cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and age related macular degeneration (AMD) are the four leading causes of blindness and all are more prevalent in women than men. In fact, women make up two-thirds of the more than 3.4 million Americans age 40 and older who are visually impaired. Unfortunately, because there is no cure for these diseases, early detection and treatment are the only way to preserve vision. Keeping a regular schedule of professional eye exams is important. A comprehensive eye exam includes dilation of the pupil which allows the eye doctor to look at the back of the eye where most serious eye problems can be detected early on and thus treatment is most successful. For more information on how to keep your eyes safe, go to www.preventblindness.org.
Source: Prevent Blindness America
Parkinson's Disease Awareness Month
In the United States, there are 1.5 million people living with Parkinson's disease. This April, join thousands of others in the Parkinson's community in advocating, educating, and bringing awareness to the existence and reality of Parkinson's disease. It is important to realize that not every one with Parkinson's disease develops all signs or symptoms of the disease. For example, some people experience tremor as the primary symptom, while others may not have tremor but do have balance problems. Also, for some people the disease progresses quickly and in others it does not. The most common primary symptoms are tremor, rigidity, slow movements, impaired balance, and coordination. The cause is probably a combination of genetic and environmental factors and varies from person to person. People over age 60 are at a higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease compared with the general population. A variety of medications are available to manage the symptoms of the disease with differing degrees of success. For more information on Parkinson's disease, go to www.apdaparkinson.org. A Lunch & Learn topic related to Parkinson's disease is available. Please refer to topic 45 in your Lunch & Learn booklet.
Source: American Parkinson Disease Association.
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