THIS ISSUE AVAILABLE ONLINE WITH EXPANDED INFORMATION AND PHOTOS AT:
http://www.hhs.gov/news/newsletter/weekly

IN THIS ISSUE:
1) HHS Celebrates its 50th Anniversary
2) Joint Press Conference for the Administration on Aging and the Alzheimer's Association
3) Improving Oral Health
4) Personal Health
5) Secretary Tommy G. Thompson's public schedule

HHS Celebrates its 50th Anniversary

The year 2003 is the 50th anniversary of our department.

In 1953, when President Eisenhower created the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare -- whose name was later changed to our current Department of Health and Human Services -- many of the medical advances that we take for granted today were yet to be developed. The specter of polio spread fear across our nation. Two years later, the Salk vaccine was licensed, and a nationwide vaccination effort was undertaken.

Today, we are within reach of worldwide eradication of polio -- an event that would have seemed impossible then.

In 1953, the NIH got a major new facility. It was the NIH Clinical Center. Today the Center is undergoing major expansion and modernization. And the potential for NIH research to improve our lives just keeps expanding -- particularly with the dawn of stem cell research.

In 1953, the Department had some "offspring" who have since grown up and gone out on their own: the Social Security Administration, the Department of Education and Howard University. And we added important new members to our family, especially Medicare and Medicaid. Since these programs were created in 1965, they have provided trillions of dollars for health care coverage of the elderly, the disabled, and low income Americans. Today, at age 36, it's time to modernize them and prepare for the retirement of the Baby Boom generation.

And finally: in 1953, the total Departmental budget -- including Social Security -- was seven billion dollars.

The President's budget for HHS in fiscal 2003 is $489 billion, almost a quarter of all federal spending.

Please join Secretary Thompson in celebrating this event on Wednesday April 30 at 10:30 a.m. in the Great Hall at 200 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, D.C. 20201.

There will be cake, ice cream and other refreshments provided by the HEW Credit Union, plus music and entertainment.

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Assistant Secretary for Aging Josephina G. Carbonell will join the Alzheimer's Association to announce findings on the importance of respite care for Alzheimer's caregivers and patients on Monday April 28. The report was funded by the Administration on Aging and may have a substantial impact on community-based initiatives designed to improve the quality of care for Alzheimer's patients and their families.

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U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona will speak at the National Oral Health Conference in Milwaukee on Tuesday, April 29 to health professionals about their role in improving the nation's oral health needs.

At the conference, Dr. Carmona will announce various measures that the Department of Health and Human Services is undertaking with the private sector to raise awareness about the problems that neglecting oral health can cause.

In 2002, adults lost more than 164 million work hours to dental disease or dental visits, with a cost of $70.1 billion to the U.S. economy.

For more information please contact HHS Press at (202)690-6343.

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Here is some information to disparage the myth that eating after 8 p.m. causes weight gain:

Fact: It doesn't matter what time of day you eat--it's how much you eat during the whole day and how much exercise you get that make you gain or lose weight.

No matter when you eat your meals, your body will store extra calories as fat. If you want to have a snack before bedtime, make sure that you first think about how many calories you have already eaten that day.

Try not to snack while doing other things like watching television, playing video games, or using the computer. If you eat meals and snacks in the kitchen or dining room, you are less likely to be distracted and more likely to be aware of what and how much you are eating. If you want to snack while watching TV, take a small amount of food with you--like a handful of pretzels or a couple of cookies--not the whole bag.

This information is provided by the National Institute of Health.

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• Tuesday April 29, 2003
• Global AIDS event at the White House

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Last updated April 25, 2003
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