Iowa Department of Public Health Newsletter, June 12, 2014

DES MOINES, Iowa, June 12 -- The Iowa Department of Public Health issued the following newsletter:

Gerd Clabaugh

Director, Iowa Department of Public Health

June 12, 2014

Public Health Accreditation Discussions

The Public Health Advisory Council and Public Health Evaluation Committee established by the Public Health Modernization Act met jointly last month to discuss the future direction of Public Health Modernization in Iowa. There are two recommendations resulting from the discussions which IDPH will be vetting over the summer with local public health partners:

* Recommendation 1 - Endorse the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) standards as the framework for the quality improvement of public health in Iowa.

* Recommendation 2 - Discontinue the concept of a state based accreditation system and develop a transition plan for the Iowa Public Health Standards.

Joy Harris will present information about the recommendations to environmental health partners on their quarterly conference call with the Bureau of Environmental Health Services this coming Monday, June 16. Local public health administrators will have opportunity to comment during the July regional Bureau of Local Public Health Services meetings. The department will also be seeking feedback in writing and is considering the possibility of conducting focus groups on the topic. Please stay tuned for additional information.

2014 End of Session Update

The second and final session of the 85th General Assembly came to a close on May 3. The Governor completed his actions on the 142 enrolled bills sent to him by the Legislature on May 30. The Legislative Council will meet on June 25. The Council's Studies Committee will establish legislative interim councils for the 2014 Interim in

Quick Reads addition to those that may have been established in enacted legislation. Please see the attached document for a summary of bills introduced this session that are related to public health.

Impacts of ACA

IDPH Office of Health Care Transformation staff is working with NORC at the University of Chicago on a study regarding the impacts of the ACA on Iowa's public health programs. This study is being conducted on behalf of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) in HHS. The study examines how various provisions of the ACA, such as expanded insurance coverage and enhanced access to clinical preventive services, may impact HHS-funded public health programs that are implemented at the state and local levels. NORC is coming to Iowa next week and will be meeting with different groups of stakeholders in Iowa.

Iowa Youth Survey

As of May 21, 2014, just over 300 Iowa school districts and non-public schools had registered to participate in the 2014 Iowa Youth Survey (IYS). For context, 276 districts and non-public schools completed the 2012 IYS. The IYS is conducted every two years by the IDPH Division of Behavioral Health. IDPH collaborates with the Iowa Department of Education, the Iowa Department of Human Rights Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning, and the Iowa Department of Human Services in conducting the IYS. To see data from previous surveys and learn about upcoming versions, visit www.iowayouthsurvey.iowa.gov/. The deadline to sign up for participation has been extended until August. For more information, contact Patrick McGovern at (515) 281-5444.

Text4baby

IDPH has officially been designated as an outreach partner for Text4baby, and is working to become the state lead for this project in Iowa. This will allow for zip code level enrollment data and promotional materials that can be distributed statewide. Text4baby is the first mobile information service designed to promote maternal and child health through text messaging. The free service is supported and promoted by a public-private partnership through which women who text BABY (or BEBE for Spanish) to 511411 receive three free text messages a week, timed to their due date or their baby's birth date, through pregnancy and up until the baby's first birthday. The messages address topics such as labor signs and symptoms, prenatal care, urgent alerts, developmental milestones, immunizations, nutrition, birth defect prevention, safe sleep, safety, and more.

Congrats and kudos

A manuscript co-authored by Binnie LeHew, of the IDPH Office of Disability, Injury & Violence Prevention, and faculty from the University of Iowa Injury Prevention Research Center has been accepted for publication in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The manuscript was written in 2013 after IDPH published The Cost of Sexual Violence in Iowa in March 2012. In addition, Binnie has been elected President-elect for the Safe States Alliance, a national association for injury and violence prevention practitioners. Her term will begin in October 2014.

Sarah Mauch of the IDPH Bureau of Family Health graduated from her year-long fellowship with the Maternal and Child Health Public Health Leadership Institute on May 16th, 2014.

Healthy Iowans: Iowa's Health Improvement Plan 2012-2016, 2014 Revisions, is now posted to the IDPH web site. About 100 staff members from 65 agencies took an active role in keeping the plan up-to-date by reviewing, revising, and tracking progress.

Stay informed, share your story

To get Quick Reads directly in your inbox, please send a blank e-mail to join-quick_reads@lists.ia.gov. To contribute a news item or smart practice, please write to Polly Carver-Kimm at Polly.Carver-Kimm@idph.iowa.gov.

To everyone in public health and all our partners, keep up the great work!

-- Gerd

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