Kaiser Permanente Founding Member of Partnership for a Healthier America

WHEN:

Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 12 noon. (Eastern)

WHERE:

Available for phone interviews immediately following First Lady Michelle Obama's press event. Please call below contacts to reach spokespersons.

WHO:

Ray Baxter, PhD, senior vice president, Community Benefit, Research and Health Policy, Kaiser Permanente and Canary Girardeau, senior program associate, Summit Health Institute for Research and Education will discuss a successful local education program funded in part by Kaiser Permanente. The Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Collaborative at SHIRE, which has received grants from Kaiser Permanente since 2006, is having an overwhelmingly positive impact on health and nutrition concerns in Ward 8 in Washington, DC.

WHAT:

The SHIRE program is an example of what's needed to address childhood obesity in communities with high poverty and crime rates.

When SHIRE began its childhood obesity prevention work in Ward 8, it focused on childhood obesity as it involved children ages 0-5 and their families. SHIRE organized a small group of 30 community leaders – which convened as the Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Collaborative – and spent time listening to community members and jointly seeking potential solutions to childhood obesity issues and root causes. As a result, they have instituted programs to teach children healthy eating, how to make better food choices and the importance of exercise to good health.

WHY:

One-third of children are obese or overweight. Those rates are even higher for African American and Latino children. The status quo is not acceptable. In every community we serve, Kaiser Permanente works to fight obesity, reduce health disparities and make healthy food and physical activity a part of everyday life.

Contact:

Randi Kahn, Golin Harris

[email protected], 703-522-0280

Laura Dunn, Kaiser Permanente

[email protected], 510-414-9245