Health + Wellness

Food Congress about building better, healthier communities

By Soapbox

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March 29, 2011

While Americans continue to talk about the unhealthy side effects of conventional food systems, hundreds of people in Cincinnati are working to create a homegrown alternative in their communities.Some of them are farmers and ecological food advocates who bring healthy, sustainably produced food to consumers. Others hope to bring fresh food to people in urban areas who don't have access to it at all, regardless of how it was grown. Though they often share common goals, many of these entities and individuals are too busy to even know the other exists.In a continued effort to bring the different cogs of Cincinnati's food network together, the Food Congress is hosting its third annual conference this Saturday. There, dozens of Cincinnati food advocates, farmers, processors and distributors will gather to talk about the economic costs and benefits of building a regional food economy here, and serving the under served in the process. "The food congress provides the opportunity for different organizations to capitalize on one another's efforts," the event's organizer Clare Norwood said. "It is networking but it's also info sharing, because most organizations are often too busy to focus on what everyone else is doing."Norwood said she hopes the conference will be able to provide food policy recommendations for City Council that are backed by evidence of the social and economic benefits that different food initiatives could bring to neighborhoods.This year's conference will explore the costs and benefits of urban agriculture, the potential for a local value-added food processing industry, and opportunities to expand the region's composting industry as well. It will also present major endeavors recently launched to bring healthy food to people in Cincinnati's low-income corridors who have little or no access to it. National food justice expert Mari Gallagher will present a food balance study, commissioned by the Hamilton County Health Department and the Nutrition Council, that compares levels of food access in Cincinnati's different neighborhoods. Tiffany McDowell, a programs director from the Center for Closing the Health Gap, will talk about a partnership her organization has undertaken with the National Food Trust aimed at solving food access problems in Cincinnati's urban neighborhoods.Representatives from Marvin's Organic Gardens and the US EPA will participate on a panel about composting. The owners of Green B.E.A.N Delivery and Sustain Brands will discuss food distribution models and value-added food processing. And farmers from Carriage House Farms, Wooden Shoe Gardens and Permaganic will talk about supporting local food producers.The conference is $10 to attend, which helps to pay for lunch provided by Picnic and Pantry. It will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Community Design Center at the Niehoff Urban Studio in Corryville, an arm of UC's DAAP program.Find more information here.Writer: Henry Sweets

Latest in Health + Wellness

True Body stretches work across globe

By Newsroom

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Arts + Culture

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March 29, 2011

Stacy Sims radiates energy and grace when she moves. And as founder and director of the non-profit True Body Project, she moves a lot.In its five years of existence, the TBP has produced a literary journal, a documentary film and five theatrical works, one in Los Angeles, one in New York and three in the TBP's home base, Cincinnati. There are no paid staff members; Sims' computer is her office."When I started out I had a strong belief in the notion that freedom comes in movement," says Sims, who turned 50 this year. Through movement, emotional self-examination and critical thinking about the body and body images, she has created a flexible curriculum that can be melded to fit a wide range of needs.TBP started as an intensive six-week summer session of ArtWorks, where 13 teen girls studied body, body image, gender and media as it relates to body. The project has morphed into day-long workshops, in-house workshops at children's hospital's psychiatric wards and even a week-long workshop with sex-trafficking survivors in Cambodia. Each project grows organically from partnerships with other non-profits, arts groups and individuals. All revolve around the theme of consciously connecting mind and body, influenced in no small part by Sims' background as founder and former owner of Pendleton Pilates. "We create a whole sense of self," she says.Sims' journey to Cambodia earlier this year helped kick off her year of dance—her personal way of celebrating her half-century mark and, she says, walking the talk. "I'm engaging in my own true body curriculum," she says. In XX, she worked with leaders from Transitions Global, an organization that works to help survivors of sex trafficking recapture the basic human rights of freedom and hope. The result was an inspiring beginning to a new year of growth for the TBP, which survives for the most part thanks to donations from "beautiful" supporters, Sims says. "We've really done an extraordinary amount of work on good will and good intentions, not a lot of money and infrastructure," Sims says. "It always blows me away."Do Good:• Find your authentic self. Join in the TBP at a morning workshop, Wed., April 6, from 9-11 a.m.• Find out about Transitions Global. Enjoy an evening of conversation with Sims and Transitions Global founder James Pond Thursday, April 14, at Lululemon. • Join the movement. Support the True Body Project.By Elissa YanceyPhoto courtesy of Stacy Sims

English true to service roots, at work and in song

By Newsroom

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Arts + Culture

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March 29, 2011

When she was on her honeymoon in Paris, Melissa English made a pit stop for work, with her new husband's approval, of course. She had barely officially joined the staff of Ohio Citizen Action as the Southern Ohio campaign director, though she'd been involved with the advocacy non-profit for more than a decade. The OCA's ongoing Good Neighbor Campaign, an effort to work with business to improve the quality of life of the people in its community, was focused on a manganese refinery in Marietta, Ohio, Eramet. Eramet's international home base just happened to be in Paris. English, 42, laughs when she remembers the May 2007 day when she delivered documentation to Eramet. It only took about an hour out of the honeymoon, she says, and the resulting picture her husband took of her standing in front of Eramet's HQ serves as a reminder of how much her work and life goals align."I have an orientation for service that will never change," says English, who also sings in Magnolia Mountain, a roots music band working on its third album.Whether she's crooning original songs at the front of Magnolia Mountain at the CEAs, decrying the practice of mountaintop removal coal mining or presenting to community groups, the tall, dark-haired English brings her quick wit along. "I discovered my ham gene very early," she says. At OCA, she works with three other full-time staff members and a shifting number of canvasers that cover counties in Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky. They are the well-informed advocates who travel door-to-door, explaining specific campaign issues and asking for support in the form of funds or letters written to business and government leaders. "It's a very collaborative environment," she says. "We get feedback at the door every day."OCA's campaign in Marietta has led to new relationships between the community and the nearby plant. So far, the company has kept to agreements to make improvements to its facility that improve air quality and limit the release of nauseating fumes. "When you can see that the work you have done is making it easier for people to breathe, it's a real thing," she says.A stickler for evidence and accuracy, English is hard at work educating canvasers and the community about OCA's new campaign to promote recycling over an expansion of the Rumpke Landfill. Do Good: • Get some music. Order your copy of the compilation CD, Music for the Mountains, featuring work by Magnolia Mountain, The Tillers, Rabbit Hash String Band and many others. • Join the Action. Contribute to Ohio Citizen Action online. • Like Ohio Citizen Action. Keep up with the latest OCA news via Facebook. By Elissa Yancey Photo courtesy Ohio Citizen Action

Popular driver network offers freedom, independence to seniors

By Newsroom

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Diversity

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March 29, 2011

Nancy Schuster saw the painful confrontation first-hand. She watched her parents try to convince her grandmother to hand over her car keys. But in the end, it took an intervention by her family doctor to drive the point home. "She wouldn't listen to any of us," says Schuster, 46. "It gave me a much better appreciation for the challenges that are out there."When she learned of an opening to direct the new Independent Transportation Network of Greater Cincinnati, a program developed last year by the Deaconess Association's Foundation, she saw an important opportunity.The statistics are scary for every driver and any child with senior parents holding on tightly to their car keys as a path to freedom, independence and control of their lives. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that drivers 85 and over are nine times more likely to die behind the wheel as their counterparts aged 25 through 69.The ITN Greater Cincinnati serves seniors and people with visual impairments who live and travel within the I-275 loop. The process is as simple as it is powerful: riders join the network for a $75 annual fee, then pay a pick-up fee and a per-mileage rate to cover their transportation needs, which range from trips to the doctor to the grocery to the beauty parlor. The average cost for a round-trip service is about $10, depending on distance. "We offer all of our members door through door, arm through arm service," Schuster says.She is also a volunteer driver, and regularly takes a rider to the Sycamore Senior Center. While most trips are practical necessities, some are pure fun. One volunteer driver took a regular rider to a night out at Eddie Merlot's; December brought many Christmas shopping trips.Bonds develop quickly between drivers and riders. "It happens naturally," Schuster says. "Even when you are driving someone once or twice, you still form those relationships. We've become part of their families."Before the end of 2010, ITN Greater Cincinnati had given more than 1,000 rides with just a dozen drivers and fewer than 100 member riders. This year, demand has grown each month. "We've driven more than 30,000 miles," Schuster says. Volunteer drivers get more than good will in return for their efforts. They get automatic membership in the network, which they can donate to anyone they like. In one of the program's most innovative strategies, drivers can choose to be reimbursed directly for their mileage or bank their credits in their own Transportation Social Security Accounts. They can also give them to a friend or loved one, or to a rider in need. "You are doing a charitable act, but it's so much more," Schuster says.As the demand for rides continues to increase alongside gas prices, Schuster says the ITN Greater Cincinnati plans to be able to offer scholarships for low-income riders by this summer. Do Good: • Be a rider. Click to learn more about how to donate your services. • Make a donation. Click and make a tax-deductible donation to help seniors ride with pride. • Give a gift. Know someone who could benefit from ITN Greater Cincinnati's services? Gift a membership or sponsor regular visits to the mall. By Elissa Yancey Photo courtesy of ITN Greater Cincinnati

Bexion Pharmaceuticals awarded $500K SBIR state grant for cancer research

By Newsroom

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Health + Wellness

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March 29, 2011

Bexion Pharmaceutical's work to treat a deadly form of brain cancer has earned a $500,000 boost from the state of Kentucky.The Covington-based biotechnology company has been awarded a state Small Business Innovation Research matching grant for its ongoing research into a cure for glioblastoma multiforme, an invasive brain tumor that can't be effectively treated now. The grant offers a partial match to a $1.5 million, Phase 2 SBIR grant that the National Cancer Institute Awarded Bexion late last year."By Kentucky matching that grant it allows us to expedite the process, so that we can move to clinical trials a lot faster," said VP of Business Development Margaret van Gilse. "We are working on developing the drug that will ultimately be used in the Phase I clinical trial." Bexion expects human clinical trials will start late this year or early 2012, van Gisle said. "In order to cultivate breakthrough technologies, life science companies need early stage funding. In Kentucky, we are doing everything we can to support this important cluster of our local economy with sources such as the Northern Kentucky ezone as well as with state and local support," said Northern Kentucky Tri-ED Chairman, Steve Pendery. "Northern Kentucky is certainly open for business in the life sciences corridor."Bexion Pharmaceuticals is a startup focused on finding cures and treatments for a wide range of cancers. Currently they are working with technology licensed from Cincinnati Children's Hospital. The company has three primary focuses: oncology therapeutics, oncology diagnostics and nucleic acid (DNA and RNA) delivery. Bexion is located at bioLOGIC Corp, a global life science investment and management company with a Covington office."Bexion Pharmaceuticals was awarded the highest matching grant possible from the state program due to the potential for commercialization of the drug treatment therapies the company is developing," said Gene Fuqua, acting commissioner of the Cabinet's Department of Commercialization and Innovation. Writer: Feoshia HendersonSource: Northern Kentucky Tri-EDYou can follow Feoshia on Twitter @feoshiawrites

Procter & Gamble to form consumer-health venture with Teva

By Newsroom

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Cincy In The News

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March 29, 2011

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA) and Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) agreed to combine their consumer-health businesses outside North America in a joint venture that aims to capture more of the $200 billion market for over-the-counter medicines. Read the full story here.

Bike, Mobility and Visitors Center gets Chicago based operator

By Soapbox

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Development News

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March 22, 2011

Cincinnati residents have one more reason to park their cars and enjoy the developing outdoor-friendly spaces along the Ohio River. This month, the Cincinnati Park Board announced that Chicago-based Bike and Park will operate the new Bike, Mobility and Visitors Center in Cincinnati Riverfront Park, an urban recreational area over ten years in the making.In 1998, the Park Board created a master plan for a new park to be incorporated into the urban design plan for the riverfront. With the acceptance of that master plan, work began to find funding - federal, state, and local - to support the project and develop a park that would meet the needs of the Cincinnati community. Later plans for The Banks fully supported the Park Board's riverfront park as both a destination and a neighborhood park for future tenants and visitors. "As the plan evolved, we wanted to include a bike center as this seemed an ideal use for the park," recalls Steve Schuckman, Superintendent of Planning and Design for Cincinnati Parks. With the park located on the Ohio to Erie and Ohio River trail systems, the bike center would be well-positioned to serve recreational cycling. The Park Board envisioned a place that rented bikes to families and visitors and also offered storage space and services for commuters cycling to work. The McDonald's Cycle Center in Chicago's Millennium Park was a good model for what planners envisioned in Cincinnati. Located downtown, it encourages a greater acceptance of cycling to work among the business community by offering convenient services for commuters. Cincinnati Riverfront Park's Bike, Mobility and Visitor Center will offer many of the same services when it opens in the fall of 2011. Tucked beneath the Walnut Street steps of a new garage, the Bike Center will have showers, lockers, bike repair and supplies and secure storage space for around 150 bicycles. Most of that storage space will be available for bicycle commuters. 'Rental bikes typically get displayed outside, so we don't plan to take much of the commuter racks," says Josh Squire, owner of Bike and Park. "We will not sell new bikes at the facility; we want to work with local bike shops. We will offer guided bike and Segway tours along the riverfront and also through some neighborhoods."Like the McDonald's Cycle Center, which Bike and Park also staffs and operates, Squire plans for the riverfront Bike Center to be self-sustaining and generating revenue for the park from rentals, tours, and memberships. And the facilities aren't just for cyclists. "Whether you're commuting downtown or running at lunch, you can use those showers," clarifies Schuckman. "Trying to make the city more sustainable [and healthy] is what the parks are all about." Writer: Becky Johnson

NKU launches online Doctor of Nursing program this fall

By Newsroom

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Health + Wellness

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March 22, 2011

Nurses looking to increase their skills will soon have a chance to take classes online through Northern Kentucky University.NKU is launching a Doctor of Nursing Practice starting this fall. The program, developed by university faculty, responded to a forecast shortage of doctors and nurses nationwide as baby boomers age."The DNP at NKU will provide the opportunity for program graduates to demonstrate scientific knowledge and practice expertise to assure quality patient outcomes," said Denise Robinson, regents professor and dean of NKU's College of Health Professions. "This high level of skill is needed to address the complexity of healthcare needs in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and globally. These nursing experts will be tomorrow's healthcare leaders."The practiced-focused, part-time program is designed for masters-level nurses to design, implement, manage and evaluate health care delivery systems and patients."The Doctor of Nursing Practice is an important solution to these growing healthcare needs and demands. Nurses will always practice nursing and physicians will practice medicine. Within that context, medicine and nursing are morphing into a new paradigm to respond to the type of care needed at this time in history," said Dr. Marilyn Schleyer, chair of the NKU Department of Advanced Nursing Studies.The 36-credit-hour, eight semester program will be online only, and the fall class will take up to 18 students. It will also have one to two synchronized audio and visual faculty/student interactions each semester at the faculty's discretion. For more information about the application process, contact Educational Outreach at edoutreach@nku.edu or call (859) 392-2400.Writer: Feoshia HendersonSource: NKU CommunicationsYou can follow Feoshia on Twitter @feoshiawrites

Young patients find hope in therapy dog’s devotion

By Elissa Yancey

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Education + Learning

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March 15, 2011

When Larry Bennett isn't busy chairing UC's Fire Science and Emergency Management program, he has discovered another kind of "rescue" work that helps fire victims in a very personal way.Twice a month, Bennett takes his Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Bruce, to Shriners Burn Hospital for Children in Clifton, where patients and staff alike find joy in the gentle and loving companionship of a pet. "Some children are in wheelchairs, some are confined to beds that are rolled out of their rooms and some are walking," Bennett says. "They get to pet and hug the dogs. The children often share stories about their own pets."As a volunteer for Therapy Pets of Greater Cincinnati, Bennett takes his work with young patients to heart. He has even developed stickers with Bruce's smiling face that he leaves behind for patients and nurses who gladly keep a piece of their special visit close to their hearts.Founded in 2004, Therapy Pets of Greater Cincinnati trains volunteers and screens pets to visit acute, rehabilitation and palliative healthcare facilities, group homes and schools throughout the region. More than 200 volunteers regularly take their dogs, cats and birds to share unconditional love with those who need it most. Therapy pets visit people and patients of all ages as part of informal Animal-Assisted Activities or work toward specific goals with Animal-Assisted Therapy. Some dogs are specially trained to be part of the Reading Education and Assistance with Dogs (READ) program in schools and libraries. At Shriners and nursing facilities, in hospitals and schools, a friendly pet walking the halls can lighten even the darkest moments. But therapy with pets is about more than feeling good in the moment. Scientific researchincludes both anecdotal evidence and full-scale studies that show pet therapy works. For example, it can lengthen children's attention spans, increase their physical activities and even improve their communication skills. For Bennett and other therapy pet owners, though, the therapeutic benefits flow both ways. Do Good:• Be part of the team. Find out how you and your pet can become approved pet therapy teams.• Get inspired. Brighten your day by reading testimonials from pet therapy teams. • Check with the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County to find out about the next Pages and Paws program.By Elissa Yancey

Experimentation vital for quality healthcare improvement

By Newsroom

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Cincy In The News

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March 8, 2011

Cincinnati's Dr. Robert Graham, of the Health Improvement Collaborative of Greater Cincinnati, is among the Aligning Forces communities that have opened their medical home experiment to the scrutiny of public reports. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation recently named Dr. Graham national program director of Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q), the cornerstone of its multi-year, $300 million commitment to improve the quality and equality of health care nationwide. Read the full story here.