Rural and Urban Health Differences, Take 2

Yesterday The Early Show on CBS had a report on health differences between urban, suburban and rural counties, based on the research of the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.  (You can read the article and watch the report here.)  The Institute compiles the County Health Rankings, an annual snapshot of health activities and outcomes [...]

September 9, 2011 · KJacobson · No Comments
Tags: , , , , ,  · Posted in: Grant Advice, Program Updates, Reports and Studies

Food Deserts and Insecurity

Last month First Lady Michelle Obama announced a program with retailers to expand access to healthy, affordable food in “food deserts;” rural or urban areas where healthy, affordable food is difficult to obtain.  This is often a result of food insecurity.  A federal Office of Rural Health Policy report defined this: “the food intake of [...]

August 29, 2011 · KJacobson · No Comments
Tags: , , , , , ,  · Posted in: Grant Advice, Reports and Studies

Rural and Urban Health Differences

A reporter in the Wall St. Journal last week asked the question, who is healthier, rural or urban residents?  (You can read a recap in The Rural Blog)  Despite the image many of us have of a healthy rural environment (Produce all around you!  Fresh air! Lots of opportunities for outdoor exercise!) urban and suburban residents [...]

July 20, 2011 · KJacobson · No Comments
Tags: , , , ,  · Posted in: Grant Advice, Reports and Studies

In Wisconsin, the Buy Local Movement Now Includes Hospitals

Two hospitals in western Wisconsin recently announced they’ve committed 15% of their food budget to locally produced food.  Sacred Heart (Eau Claire) and St. Joseph’s (Chippewa Falls) Hospitals will buy approximately $345,000 from local producers each year, including produce, beef, poultry, and cheese.  The Hospitals will purchase their food through the Producers & Buyers Co-op, [...]

December 10, 2010 · KJacobson · No Comments
Tags: , , ,  · Posted in: Reports and Studies

Office of Rural Health Community Grants, Part II: Improving a Community’s Diet

After my trip to River Falls, I spent some time in Durand meeting with members of the Pepin County Nutrition Coalition.  Coalition members include the Chippewa Valley Hospital, Pepin County Health Department, University of Wisconsin Extension and local schools.  We funded their proposal for Our Roots: Chippewa Valley Hospital Community Garden Project.  The partners intend [...]

October 29, 2010 · KJacobson · No Comments
Tags: , , , ,  · Posted in: Grant Advice, Program Updates, Training and Tools

Health Care Reform, Six Months On

Thursday is the six-month anniversary of Congress passing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), otherwise known as health reform, and we’re beginning to see many of its impacts.  As you can guess from the title of this blog, I post about rural matters.  I’ll be occasionally posting about ACA and how specifically it’s [...]

September 21, 2010 · KJacobson · No Comments
Tags: , ,  · Posted in: Reports and Studies

Fighting Obesity With Physical Activity Programs

May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month  and it’s an excellent opportunity to promote physical activity in your community.  As anyone interested in health issues (or anyone, period) knows, obesity is an increasing problem and tends to be even more of a problem in rural areas.  The opportunities for physical activity are generally more [...]

May 7, 2010 · KJacobson · 5 Comments
Tags: , , , , ,  · Posted in: Grant Advice, Reports and Studies

Nutrition, Wellness and Development

Well, it’s the last day of National Nutrition Month.  What, you didn’t know it was National Nutrition Month?  Apparently, you don’t read my blog on a regular basis!  I thought I’d put up one more post on the topic of nutrition.  While the goal of a healthy diet is to improve our health, nutrition can [...]

March 31, 2010 · KJacobson · One Comment
Tags: , , , , ,  · Posted in: Grant Advice, Reports and Studies, Training and Tools