Three Federal Agencies Join with Sesame Workshop to Launch National PSA Campaign Stressing Healthy Habits to Prevent H1N1 Flu Infection

The Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Education and Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, have teamed up to launch a new, national public service advertising campaign designed to encourage American children and families to practice healthy habits and to take steps to prevent the spread of the 2009 H1N1 flu virus. The PSAs featured in this campaign can be viewed on www.flu.gov.

During the spring, the Sesame Workshop produced four different versions of a television PSAsfeaturing Sesame Street's Elmo and Gordon explaining the importance of practicing healthy habits such as washing your hands, sneezing into the bend of your arm, and avoiding contact with your eyes, nose and mouth. They have now been reformatted to promote www.flu.gov, the federal government's one-stop website for all the latest information on the new H1N1 virus and the seasonal flu. The PSAs will be distributed nationwide and will be supported in airtime donated by television stations.

"We are thrilled to partner with Elmo, Gordon, and Sesame Workshop again to emphasize the steps kids and their parents can take to stay happy and healthy this school year," said Secretary Sebelius. "Younger children and their parents are some of the people most at risk from the new H1N1 flu virus and with schools starting back up again and the weather starting to get colder, we need to do everything we can to get these important messages about how to prevent the spread of the flu out there.

"The first day of National Preparedness Month is a great reminder that personal preparedness starts at home and these PSAs promote simple things we can all do to stay healthy and safe," said DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano."

"We want to keep our children safe, healthy, and learning. By practicing prevention, close monitoring and common sense, we can help prevent the spread of H1N1 and seasonal flu among children and young people this year" Secretary Duncan said. "Having Elmo and our friends at Seasame Street help get that message out there will be a tremendous help."

"Sesame Street's Elmo can be a powerful messenger in delivering simple, yet compelling messages that teach a child to wash their hands and cover their mouth this flu season," said Gary E. Knell, President and CEO, Sesame Workshop. "These vital prevention messages must be part of a larger flu strategy and Sesame Workshop is proud to be partnering with the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that parents and their young children receive the information they need to stay healthy."

In late May, Sesame Workshop first partnered with the Department of Health and Human Services on a new PSA campaign focused on the importance of providing parents, teachers and children with accurate information about how to practice healthy habits, highlighting proper hand washing and simple everyday actions that lead to staying healthy and keeping germs away. The PSAs are an extension of Sesame's Healthy Habits for Life initiative, which helps young children and their caregivers establish an early foundation of healthy habits.

On a global scale, Sesame Workshop was the first nonprofit to respond to the flu outbreak in Mexico, with the immediate creation of four PSAs featuring the beloved Muppets of Plaza Sésamo and several Mexican celebrities who donated their time to the cause. The flu prevention messaging has reached millions of children and their families both in Mexico and the United States.

The PSAs are part of an initiative to provide practical steps recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help prevent the spread of the flu virus and other infectious disease, including:

* Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
* Keep your distance from others if you are sick.
* When possible, stay home from work, school, and errands when you are sick, and don't send your children to childcare or school if they are sick.
* Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.
* Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after coughing and sneezing.
* Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.

The Department of Health and Human Services will be distributing the PSAs via satellite to television stations nationwide later this afternoon. Feed information will be sent out later today.

For more information on how to take steps to prevent the flu, visit www.flu.gov.

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Obama Administration Calls on Nation to Begin Planning and Preparing for Fall Flu Season & the New H1N1 Virus

The Obama Administration sent a strong message to the nation today that it is time to start planning and preparing for the fall flu season and the ongoing H1N1 flu outbreak and that the federal government is prepared to commit resources, training, and new tools to help state and
local governments and America's families get ready.

White House Homeland Security Advisor John Brennan, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan joined with delegations from 54 states, tribes and territories today at the H1N1 Influenza Preparedness Summit at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., to kick-off the government's nation-wide fall flu preparedness efforts.

"The President and the administration are actively engaged in mitigating the effects of the H1N1 flu virus and developing a national response framework and action plan that builds on the efforts and lessons learned from this spring's initial onset to prepare for the possibility of a
more serious fall outbreak of the virus," said White House Homeland Security Advisor Brennan in his address to summit participants.

"Over the course of coming weeks and months, we will move aggressively to prepare the nation for the possibility of a more severe outbreak of the H1N1 virus," said HHS Secretary Sebelius. "We ask the American people to become actively engaged with their own preparation and
prevention. It's a responsibility we all share."

"The federal government is working together with its federal, state, local and tribal partners to develop a nation-wide plan to combat the H1N1 flu that incorporates the lessons we learned this spring," said Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano. "The H1N1 Summit will allow us to continue this aggressive preparation for all possible H1N1 virus outbreak scenarios to ensure that we are doing everything possible to keep our country safe and healthy."

"Effectively dealing with a potential H1N1 outbreak requires all of us -- parents, educators, health providers, and local, state and federal governments -- working together on our emergency management plan," said Education Secretary Duncan. "Today's Flu Summit is an important step in that direction. Our primary goals at the Department of Education are the health and well being of students, faculty and staff, and ensuring that, in the event of any school closures, the learning process will continue."

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley moderated a Governors panel with participation via videolink from Governor Jim Douglas of Vermont, Governor Jim Doyle of Wisconsin, Governor Mark Parkinson of Kansas, Governor John Baldacci of Maine and Governor Jodi Rell of Connecticut.

"When responding to a national pandemic or a national recession, the basic principles of smart government remain the same -- to increase efficiency, openness, and transparency in everything we do. Today's summit illustrates our collective commitment to that goal," said Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley. "The experience in the spring taught us that while earlier pandemic flu planning efforts were effective, there are also areas for improvement. Effective response requires accurate and timely information that is as close to real time as possible. We share the commitment of the Obama Administration to constantly monitor, evaluate and improve these processes as we continue to lead the world in emergency preparedness."

Throughout the one-day summit, Administration officials laid out specific ways that states and local governments could start their planning and preparation efforts and announced new programs and resources to help state and local governments, the medical community and every day America prepare for H1N1 and the fall flu season.

First, HHS will make available preparedness grants worth a total of $350 million. These grants were funded by Congress in the latest supplemental appropriations bill and they will give state and local public health offices and health care systems valuable resources to step up their
preparedness efforts.

Second, the federal government will centralize communications about H1N1 and seasonal flu on the federal government's new Web site www.flu.gov. This one-stop comprehensive site brings together flu-related information from across HHS and other federal agencies. The expanded site builds on the pandemic planning information long presented on www.pandemicflu.gov, and incorporates information about the novel H1N1 flu as well as the seasonal flu.

Finally, HHS is launching a new PSA campaign contest to encourage more Americans to get involved in the nation's flu preparedness efforts by making a 15-second or 30-second PSA. Officials at the summit stressed the idea of "shared responsibility" when it comes to combating the flu and the goal of the new HHS PSA campaign contest is to tap into the nation's creativity to help educate Americans about how to plan for and prevent the spread of H1NI influenza. HHS will evaluate submissions and will present the best PSAs back to the public so everyone can vote on their favorite submission. The winning PSA will receive $2,500 in cash and will appear on national television. Contest details as well more information about the larger effort to plan and prepare for the flu season are available at www.flu.gov.

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Rep. Lewis Commends Kidney Care Partners' Health Care Campaign to Improve Survival Rates of First-Year Dialysis Patients in Georgia

/PRNewswire / -- Kidney Care Partners announced the launch of a voluntary quality improvement campaign pledging to reduce mortality among first-year dialysis patients - those at the greatest risk - in Georgia and across the country by 20 percent by the end of 2012.

The "Performance Excellence and Accountability in Kidney Care" or PEAK Campaign (www.kidneycarequality.org) to reduce mortality in the first year will focus on patient education and key clinical care activities to achieve its goal.

Led by Kidney Care Partners, with support from research partners at Brown University and Quality Partners of Rhode Island as well as experts in the kidney community, the PEAK Campaign will:

-- Equip health care providers with tools to help first-year dialysis
patients better transition;
-- Improve the health and survival of first-year dialysis patients;
-- Result in reduced hospitalizations, thus resulting in Medicare
savings.


The PEAK campaign has garnered support not only from a broad cross-section of the kidney community but also from policymakers. "This Congress is deeply committed to resolving the fundamental challenges of health care delivery in this country, but we cannot do it alone," said Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), sponsor of the Kidney Care Quality and Education Act of 2007, which included patient-centered education programs and linked reimbursement with quality care - provisions which were ultimately passed as part of the Medicare legislation of 2008. "We need organizations like KCP to target specific problem areas in the community and find ways to respond. Saving lives is the goal that motivates us all."

Kidney disease affects more than 26 million people nationwide. Approximately 400,000 Americans suffer from kidney failure and require dialysis or kidney transplantation to survive. Transplants are limited due to the shortage of donor organs, so most patients undergo dialysis for three to four hours, three times a week. The number of Americans with kidney disease is rising steadily due to risk factors including diabetes, hypertension, obesity and high blood pressure.

African Americans, Hispanics and other minority groups are most at-risk for developing kidney failure. And while African Americans make up just 12 percent of the general population, they account for 30 percent of people with kidney failure.

There were 3,790 new dialysis patients in 2007 in Georgia alone, a 15 percent increase since 2003, and a total of 14,086 patients on dialysis in 2007 in Georgia, a more than 20 percent increase since 2003, according to the Southeastern Kidney Council.

All too often, the onset of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is gradual and undetected, leaving patients especially vulnerable when the disease is recognized. Helping patients to understand their disease and to manage it appropriately is an essential ingredient to high quality care for newly diagnosed patients and a central component of the PEAK Campaign.

"The kidney care community has achieved considerable and measurable quality improvements in the last decade. The goal of the PEAK Campaign is to help us achieve comparable results in the next decade," said Kent Thiry, KCP Chair. "Our Campaign focuses on patients who are new to dialysis, because these patients are particularly vulnerable. One challenge is to help these patients understand and effectively manage their disease. We also will start a systematic community-wide process of identifying and sharing 'breakthrough' practices that will improve survival rates."

While the survival rate of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients has improved, mortality in the first year of dialysis has remained stable during the last decade. The kidney care community has recognized the need to improve the first-year mortality rate as compared to other industrialized nations.

With recommendations from our research partners, KCP will encourage providers to further improve outcomes for first-year dialysis patients in an effort to extend, even save, 10,000 lives.

"Dialysis providers already have robust quality improvement programs in place to ensure consistent delivery of high quality care. The kidney care community looks forward to undertaking this voluntary effort to take quality improvement to the next level," KCP's Thiry added.

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CDC Foundation Partners with Amgen, CDC to Reduce Infections Among Cancer Patients

/PRNewswire / -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Foundation, CDC and Amgen today announced the launch of a three-year campaign to reduce infections among cancer patients. The campaign will provide resources and educational tools to help patients, families and healthcare providers better prevent and manage treatment-related infections.

"Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy are at a higher risk for infections, which can impact their treatment success, lead to hospitalization and cause life-threatening complications," says Charles Stokes, president and CEO of the CDC Foundation. "This partnership between the CDC Foundation, CDC and Amgen brings together experts and resources from government and the private sector to address a critical health issue for cancer patients."

Each year, according to a 2005 study published in Cancer, 60,000 cancer patients in the United States are hospitalized for chemotherapy-related neutropenia - or low white blood cell count - which is a risk for serious infection, and a patient dies every two hours from this complication.

Healthcare professionals are highly concerned about the impact that infections have on treatment outcomes. According to a new Harris Interactive, Inc. survey of oncologists, infectious disease (ID) specialists and patients, 92 percent of oncologists say it is extremely to very important to prevent infections to achieve successful outcomes in chemotherapy patients.

Physicians are also concerned about emerging antibiotic resistance in this population, with 96 percent of ID specialists and 79 percent of oncologists reporting an increase in antibiotic-resistant infections in cancer patients over the past five years.

"We know that patients who acquire drug-resistant infections have more severe illness and higher risk of death," says Arjun Srinivasan, M.D., a medical epidemiologist in the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion at CDC. "Programs to improve infection control in cancer patients, whose immune systems may be compromised by chemotherapy, will aid in saving the lives of these high-risk patients."

The comprehensive education campaign will include curricula for healthcare professionals on infection control for cancer patients and appropriate antibiotic management to prevent resistance. It will also include an online education program for patients and caregivers.

"We believe joining forces with the CDC Foundation and CDC on this important public health initiative helps us achieve our mission to serve patients by bringing together experts in infectious disease and cancer to improve infection control and promote appropriate antibiotic stewardship for these high-risk patients," says Sean Harper, M.D., chief medical officer and head of Global Development at Amgen.

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It′s Time to Get Smart about the Use of Antibiotics

What do sinusitis, most sore throats, bronchitis, runny noses and the regular cold have in common? They are upper respiratory tract infections usually caused by viruses that can′t be cured with antibiotics. Yet, each year, health care providers in the U.S. prescribe tens of millions of antibiotics for viral infections.

To bring attention to this increasing problem, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will be observing the Get Smart About Antibiotics Week October 6-10, 2008. The campaign will highlight the coordinated efforts of the agency, states, non-profit partners, and for-profit partners to educate the public about antibiotic resistance and the importance of appropriate antibiotic use.

“Antibiotic overuse is a serious problem and a threat to everyone′s health,” says Dr. Lauri Hicks, medical director of CDC′s Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work program. Over-prescribing antibiotics, using a broad-spectrum therapy when a more specific drug would be better, starting and stopping medications, giving leftover medications to a friend who appears to have the same ailment you had, all contribute to the problem of antibiotic drug resistance, according to Hicks.

“As we enter this year′s cold and flu season, we ask parents to not insist on getting antibiotics when a health care provider says they are not needed,” says Hicks. “If you have a cold, or the flu, antibiotics won't work for you.”

According to Hicks antibiotics kill bacteria, not the viruses that cause colds or flu, most coughs and bronchitis, sore throats not caused by strep, and runny noses. Taking antibiotics when you don′t need them or not as prescribed increases your risk of getting an infection later that resists antibiotic treatment. If the health care provider’s recommendation is to wait- wait. People need to be patient and let the body do its work.

Hicks also asks health care providers to take the time to educate their patients about antibiotic resistance and the possibility of having serious side effects. For example, allergic reactions to antibiotics, such as rash and anaphylaxis, send thousands of patients to the emergency room each year, according to a recent study published in the Clinical Infectious Diseases Journal.

To help prevent illness, Hicks encourages people to wash their hands frequently, get the flu vaccine and avoid close contact with people who are sick.

The campaign will reach out to parents and health care providers through advertisements, fact sheets, brochures, posters, radio and print public service announcements, podcasts, and mainstream media interviews.

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