When community and neighborhood design projects come in over budget, it is a common, unhealthy practice to cut funds for important infrastructure items like sidewalks, leading to the design of towns and neighborhoods in ways that offer no destinations within walking distance. According to Dee Merriam, a Community Planner with the National Center for Environmental Health, smarter design and a return to walkable communities represent valuable tools in the fight against obesity. People who walk for just 15 minutes twice a day, five days a week can lose 10 pounds in a year, cut down on body weight by up to 7 percent and cut their risk of diabetes by 58 percent.

Click here to learn more about why developing walkable communities lead to healthier lifestyles.

To learn more about LPHI’s work related to planning for active environments, click here.

As part of a new program to increase fresh fruit and vegetable consumption, health care providers in Massachusetts and Maine are now offering vouchers worth $1 per day to members of low income families.  Read more.

The benefits of regular physical activity are hard to ignore. Exercise can help prevent chronic health conditions, give you more energy and even help you live a longer, happier life. These benefits can be yours no matter what your age. Click here to learn about seven specific ways that exercise can improve your life.

Thanks to a $2 million grant from the GE Foundation, the philanthropic organization of GE, school-based health centers in New Orleans will be able to continue providing valuable healthcare services. Grant funds awarded to School Health Connection, a program of the Louisiana Public Health Institute, will help provide comprehensive preventive, primary care and primary mental health services for enrolled school students. Read the full article.

It’s back to school time, which means school supplies, clothes and getting kids get the shots they need before starting school. Immunizations protect kids from a variety of ailments, and the risks of vaccinations are very small compared with the health risks associated with the diseases they prevent. Each child who isn’t vaccinated gives those germs a chance to spread to other children. If all kids get their shots, we can put an end to deadly childhood diseases. To find out which shots your child needs, visit Healthfinder.gov. For resources in Louisiana, visit Shots for Tots.com

The US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) now has tip sheets for handling the mental health burdens of the oil spill in six different languages: English, Cambodian, Haitian/Creole, Lao, Spanish, and Vietnamese. The tip sheets provide resources for talking to children, managing stress and grief, and recognizing signs of alcohol and substance abuse in others. Read more.

If you are looking for more resources about helping friends and family cope with mental health issues - especially those between the ages of 18-25 - SAMHSA has launched an initiative called “What a Difference a Friend Makes.” The initiative’s website offers information about mental illness and guidance for helping friends through difficult times. Visit the site.

The Baton Rouge Area Foundation has been selected to manage a $100 million relief program, funded by BP, to help oil rig workers who face financial hardship from the present federal ban on deepwater drilling. Applications will be accepted from September 1 through September 30. These grant funds are only available to those individuals who worked on one of the 33 deepwater rigs affected by the moratorium. To help advance the application process, applicants should gather information in advance including a letter from their employers confirming they worked on one of the 33 deepwater rigs affected by the moratorium when it was imposed on May 6. Workers also need verification of their income from an official source like an employer or the IRS. Read the full press release.

You can do the following to help improve access to primary care and mental health services for New Orleans residents who are uninsured:

1) Prepare a letter of support based on this template and tailor it to a message consistent with your organization’s vision and mission. Please submit all letters of support by Wednesday, August 10th. Email or fax letters of support to Maria Ludwick at mludwick@lphi.org or (504) 301-9801.

2) Circulate this information to other groups or individuals who may be willing to write a letter as well.

A copy of the federal Waiver request and letters of support will be posted on the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Waiver website located here.

For more information, contact Maria Ludwick at mludwick@lphi.org or (504) 301-9846. To find a quality community health clinic in the New Orleans metro area, visit www.GNOcommunity.org or call (504) 872-0750.

You may be used to the traditional way of eating Lima beans as a side or over rice, but this nutritious legume can stand on its own and serve as a complement to many delicious recipes.  While Lima beans can be bought fresh during the summer and fall, they are are always available canned, dried or frozen. However you can get them, they make for a great addition to a any menu of healthy food options. Check out these 5 delicious recipes that cast Lima beans in a new light.

The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) is developing a proposal to request a waiver that seeks to secure new funding to sustain and build upon the existing primary care and outpatient mental health services in community-based health clinics that are supported in part by the federal Primary Care Access and Stabilization Grant (PCASG) ending in September 2010. A public meeting to engage the community in the proposal process will be held Tuesday, August 3, 2010 from 6:00pm-7:00pm at the ASHE Cultural Arts Center at 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd, New Orleans. Click here to view the Concept Paper and other waiver related documents. A hard copy of the Concept Paper is available for viewing at the New Orleans Health Department in New Orleans City Hall, 1300 Perdido Street, room 8E18. To find a quality community health clinic in the New Orleans metro area, visit www.GNOcommunity.org or call (504) 872-0750.