HealthInsight Encourages Flu Shots as Season Swings Into High Gear
National Influenza Vaccination Week is Dec. 4-10
With flu activity increasing and family and friends planning gatherings for the holidays, now is a great time to get a flu vaccine. This season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends only flu shots (not the nasal spray vaccine) for everyone 6 months of age and older.
While seasonal flu activity varies, flu activity usually peaks between December and February, though activity can last as late as May. As long as the flu virus is circulating, it’s appropriate to receive the vaccination for protection. Even if you have already gotten sick with flu this season, it is still a good idea to get a flu shot. The flu vaccine protects against three or four different flu viruses (depending on which flu vaccine you get).
“Flu seasons can be difficult to predict. The severity of flu and peak activity vary from season to season. Getting an annual influenza vaccination is the best way to protect yourself and your family against flu,” said Perrin Anderl, project manager at HealthInsight Utah. “It’s not too late to get a flu vaccine to protect yourself and your loved ones this flu season.”
Find a place near you to get a flu vaccine with the HealthMap Vaccine Finder at http://vaccine.healthmap.org.
Support National Influenza Vaccination Week
Dec. 4-10, 2016, is National Influenza Vaccination Week (or NIVW). The CDC Established NIVW in 2005 to highlight the importance of continuing flu vaccination through the holiday season and beyond. A goal of NIVW is to remind people that even though the holiday season has arrived, it’s not too late to get their flu vaccine.
HealthInsight: Improving Immunization Rates for Older Adults
HealthInsight is partnering with more than 1,000 physicians and practitioners, 100 home health agencies and 60 critical access hospitals in Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and Utah to improve influenza, pneumonia and shingles vaccinations for Medicare patients and those with both Medicare and Medicaid insurance. For more information, visit http://healthinsight.org/improving-immunization-rates.
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Local Salt Lake City Animal Welfare Group Selected as Grant Recipient of Petco Foundation’s Holiday Wishes Campaign
$5,000 awarded to the Humane Society of Utah to celebrate their lifesaving work
WHAT: The Petco Foundation’s Holiday Wishes campaign, in partnership with Petco, is awarding $5,000 to the Humane Society of Utah.
The Humane Society of Utah was selected as a winner from more than 5,000 stories that were submitted by animal adopters across the country, which celebrated how their adopted pets have changed and enriched their lives. The Petco Foundation selected more than 50 organizations from the pool of 5,000 submissions as winners. The 54 animal welfare organizations referenced in the stories as the adopting organizations will receive a total of $750,000 in grants to celebrate their lifesaving work.
The Humane Society of Utah was nominated by Guinnevere Shuster where she shared how the adoption of her 18-month-old bully mix, Tubs, inspired her to take a risk and follow her heart. The photogenic dog convinced Guinnevere to change careers.
WHO: The Humane Society of Utah will be presented with a check from representatives of the Petco Foundation.
WHEN: Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016, 11 a.m. MST
WHERE: Petco, 1165 East Wilmington
Salt Lake City, UT 84106
RSVP: To RSVP for press credentials; please contact
Alexis Madrigal (Alexis.Madrigal@edelman.com)
VISUALS:
· Local animal welfare organization receiving check
· Adopted animals and their pet parents
· Interview opportunities with representatives from the Humane Society of Utah and Petco Foundation spokespeople
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An unforgettable winter experience will return to Midway, Utah this season, bringing millions of tourism dollars with it. Utah-based Ice Castles has already started construction on their Midway winter wonderland and is on target to open December 26, if temperatures stay seasonal.
Tens of thousands of people visit Ice Castles Midway location each winter, resulting in an economic impact of approximately $3 million. More than half of the people who visit the winter attraction will travel more than 50 miles to do so.
The Utah-based company creates magical winter experiences unlike any other. Artisans spend 4,000 hours combined dripping and shaping icicles while embedding them with color-changing LED lights to create life-size fairytale playgrounds.
The breathtaking works of art have become a must-see winter attraction and social media sensation drawing more than a million people over the last five years to the company’s five locations in North America.
Since 2011, travelers from all over the globe have flocked to Ice Castles’ locations to walk through the interactive castles. The castles feature ice-carved tunnels, fountains, slides, frozen thrones, and towers that reach astonishing heights. LED lights frozen inside 25 million pounds of ice twinkle to music, adding a magical ambiance to the already awe-inspiring structures.
The acre-sized ice castle in Midway, Utah is one of five Ice Castles locations this year. Others will open in Wisconsin Dells, WI; Edmonton, Canada; Stillwater, Minnesota; and Lincoln, New Hampshire.
These magical winter wonderlands are becoming top travel destinations for the fairytale-enthused, millennials and families around the world.
We would love for you to cover this incredible experience. Hi-res images are available upon request. Ice Castles’ owner/founder Brent Christensen is available for interviews on his magical invention. You and/or your film or photography crew are also welcome to come to the site while it’s being constructed or after it opens to see it for yourself and capture your own impression.
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SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, USA, December 7, 2016 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Several Intermountain Healthcare hospitals in Utah were recognized by the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association. The organizations recognize hospitals that are using up-to-date, evidence-based treatment protocols through their Get With The Guidelines quality improvement program. The goal of using the protocols is seen in better patient outcomes.
Intermountain hospitals were recognized for meeting those performance measures. Intermountain has a major focus on using evidence-based care through all clinical areas.
“The Intermountain Stroke Programs focus on all aspects of quality stroke care across the continuum from the Emergency Room to Rehab to Stroke Prevention. Our ultimate goal is to achieve the best patient outcomes and to reduce disability,” said Robert Hoesch, MD, PhD, Medical Director Intermountain Healthcare’s Neurosciences Operation.
“Being recognized by the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association is a great honor because it confirms that our stroke programs have prioritized the highest quality stroke care and are performing on par with or better than other Stroke Programs nationwide, all with the overarching goal of reducing disability in stroke patients.”
The hospitals recognized cover the entire geographic area of Utah from North to South. American Fork Hospital and Utah Valley Hospital in Utah County, Dixie Regional Medical Center in Washington County, Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake County, and McKay-Dee Hospital in Weber County.
Intermountain Healthcare is a Utah-based, not-for-profit system of 22 hospitals, 185 clinics, a Medical Group with some 1,500 employed physicians, a health plans division called SelectHealth, and other health services. Ten Intermountain Cancer Centers are located in Utah in Logan, Ogden, Salt Lake City, Riverton, Murray, American Fork, Provo, Cedar City, and St. George. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible®, Intermountain is widely recognized as a leader in clinical quality improvement and in efficient healthcare delivery. For more information about Intermountain, visit intermountainhealthcare.org
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We are looking for a dynamic Marketing & Event Coordinator to support our team and growing program.
Marketing & Event Coordinator Job Description
IMPORTANT APPLICANT DEADLINE & DATES
December 19, 2016
Deadline to receive cover letter and resume.
January 2, 2017
Applicants that advance to the interview
process will be contacted via email/telephone.
January 9-13, 2017
Interviews will take place.
Please send cover letter and resume to: heidi@girlsontherunutah.org
Girls on the Run Utah
Heidi Moreton, Executive Director
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USDA Expands Farm Loans for Native Americans Farming and Ranching on Tribal Land
Department Awards First Loan Under Highly Fractionated Indian Land Program
LAS VEGAS, Dec. 6, 2016 – Agriculture Under Secretary Michael T. Scuse today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved and obligated the first loan under the Highly Fractionated Indian Land Loan program (HFIL). The program, made possible by the 2014 Farm Bill, provides revolving loan funds to qualified intermediary lenders, allowing qualified tribes and individuals the ability to purchase tribal farmland that has multiple owners. Scuse made the announcement during the Intertribal Agriculture Council Membership meeting in Las Vegas, Nev.
“This program was created to address a longstanding barrier to agricultural financing in Indian Country,” said Scuse. “Working with intermediary lenders, the program allows USDA to help increase the availability of farm loans to Native Americans who want to start or expand a farming or ranching operation on Indian lands.”
The first recipient, the Native American Community Development Corporation Financial Services, Inc. (NACDCFS) of Browning, Mont., will lend funds directly to tribal members through a $10 million intermediary HFIL loan from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). NACDCFS addresses critical needs in Native American communities related to the growth of family assets, supports economic development, and enhances the quality of life for communities and residents located on or near Montana’s seven Indian reservations. NACDCFS provides one-on-one technical assistance to Native American entrepreneurs and agricultural producers. NACDCFS is a 501(c) (3), certified Native Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), through the U.S. Department of Treasury.
Under the 1887 Dawes Act, Indian reservation land was divided and allotted to individual tribal members such that with the passing of each generation, title ownership was divided and parceled among heirs, while the land was not. As a result, land once owned by a single person could today be owned by hundreds or thousands of individuals, resulting in what is known as “highly fractionated Indian land.” In many instances, landowners are unknown or cannot be located, which complicates the coordination of ownership or prevents the use of the property altogether. There are more than 245,000 owners of three million fractionated land interests, spanning approximately 150 Indian reservations.
Under HFIL, tribes and tribal members can submit an application directly to an intermediary lender. To participate, intermediary lenders first must be approved by USDA. The lenders may be private and tribal nonprofit corporations, public agencies, Indian tribes or lenders subject to federal or state regulation (such as a credit union or other financial institution). FSA will lend to the intermediary, which will relend to the applicant. The intermediary lender also will administer the loan for the applicant.
For more information on the program, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/farmloans or contact the local FSA county office. To find the local FSA office, visit http://offices.usda.gov.
Over the past eight years, USDA has taken big, bold steps to forge a new era for civil rights and ensure all Americans who come to USDA for help are treated fairly, with dignity and respect. Through coordinated outreach and consistent engagement, USDA is forming new partnerships in diverse communities and regaining trust where it was once lost. Learn more about our progress during the Obama Administration to increase access to opportunity for all Americans, and to create a more equal and inclusive USDA in Chapter 9 of our yearlong results project: The People’s Department: A New Era for Civil Rights at USDA.
