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HHS WEEKLY REPORT
29 April - 4 May 2002

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

IN THIS ISSUE:
1) Secretary Thompson's public schedule for the week of April 21-27
2) Thompson to give Press Club speech; kick off Prevention Week
3) Nursing home quality - now available on the Internet
4) Olympic medallist and liver transplant recipient Chris Klug joins Thompson for donation kick-off
5) Sports superheroes to promote kids' exercise on Wednesday
6) Key to healthy living: 5 fruits and vegetables a day
7) Thompson receives distinguished service award from University of Wisconsin Law School
8) HHS Transplants win!

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Secretary's Schedule for the week of April 28 - May 4

Tuesday, April 30
12:30 pm - National Press Club Speech, "A Little Prevention Won't Kill You."

Wednesday, May 1
1:30 pm - Physical activity event, front of HHS Building

Thursday, May 2
11am - Testimony on bioterrorism before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Dirksen 192
1:30 pm - FDA Diabetes event, location TBD

Friday, May 3
TBD - Children's skin cancer awareness event, location TBD

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Thompson to give Press Club speech; kick off Prevention Week

Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson will kick off Prevention Week at 12:30pm on Tuesday, April 30th at the National Press Club. He will deliver remarks entitled, "A Little Prevention Won't Kill You," as part of the NPC's Newsmaker Luncheon Series. The club is located at 14th and F Streets, one block from Metro Center, on the 13th floor of the National Press Building. His remarks will be followed by a question-and-answer session.

Prevention Week will feature a series of events centered around the
common theme that preventive healthcare is a great way not only to save lives, but also to reduce spiraling health costs. The Secretary will sponsor several events around the themes of physical education (May 1st), diabetes prevention (on May 2nd), skin cancer in kids (May 3rd), and a "Walk the Mall" event on May 6th.

The public is invited to hear the Secretary's remarks at the National
Press Club. Advance reservations are $35 for the general public and may be made by calling Patricia Nelson at (202) 662-7501 or by e-mail.

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Nursing home quality - now available on the Internet

“It’s easier for people to find information about their local restaurant than it is about their local nursing home - with this new initiative that’s going to change,” Secretary Thompson said in announcing a new pilot project.

The Nursing Home Quality Initiative has begun in six states and is scheduled to expand to all fifty states over the next few months. The pilot program is designed to provide more information about nursing homes to consumers. This will be accomplished by rating the nursing homes with a set of nine easy-to-understand and measure criteria.

Secretary Thompson was joined by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Tom Scully to announce the Wednesday rollout.

Secretary Thompson added, “The more people know, the better decisions they can make. And the more businesses know, the better job they can do providing the highest quality service possible.”

You can find out more about the NHQI Pilot State Initiative here.

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Olympic medallist and liver transplant recipient Chris Klug joins Thompson for donation kick-off

Olympic Bronze medallist and liver transplant recipient Chris Klug joined Secretary Thompson on Monday to launch National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week (NOTDAW). Klug won his snowboarding bronze at the Salt Lake City Olympics in the Men's Parallel Giant Slalom just 18 months after receiving his new liver.

"Chris is a testament to what people can accomplish after receiving an organ transplant," Secretary Thompson said.

NOTDAW also marks the first anniversary of Secretary Thompson's "Gift of Life" Donation Initiative. A year that saw organ donation increase 7% oveall and nearly 14% among minorities.

"More people are giving the gift of life, helping thousands of americans live longer and healthier," Thompson added. "But we need to do more to help those waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant. Now is the time to make a commitment to become an organ donor and to let your family and loved ones know it."

Secretary Thompson launched the "Gift of Life" Donation Initiative in April 2001 to increase awareness among Americans about the urgent need for organ, tissue, marrow and blood donors. At Monday's event, he announced a new initiative that will make it easier for HHS employees to inidicate they want to be organ donors, including new identification cards that indicate the employees decision to donate.

More information on organ donation can be found at Sports superheroes to promote kids' exercise on Wednesday

Nationally recognized sports heroes Herschel Walker, Martina Navratilova and Dominique Dawes as well will join Secretary Thompson to promote exercise among DC-area schoolchildren. Sporting goods manufacturers and the organization P.E.4LIFE will also be on hand to celebrate "Physical Activity Day".

"Physical Activity Day" is designed to encourage more Americans - especially children - to be physically active.

During HHS’s "Physical Activity Day," Walker, Navratilova, and Dawes will join local schoolchildren to demonstrate fun, easy, and inexpensive activities that families and communities can use to encourage more physical activity.

Secretary Thompson will also announce new findings the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding the economic impact of obesity in young people and urge the development of public-private partnerships to create innovative ways to encourage Americans to be physically active.

Nearly 8 million young people in America are considered overweight or obese and engaged in unhealthful lifestyles that are shown to continue into adulthodd. Among adults obesity contributes to more than 300,000 deaths each year.

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Key to healthy living: 5 fruits and vegetables a day

Calling fruits and vegetables the "original fast food," Secretary Thompson on Thursday joined Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman to announce the expanded National 5 A Day for Better Health program, an unprecedented public/private partnership to encourage consumers to eat five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

"The simple act of eating five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day reduces the risk for cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, hypertension and other chronic diseases," Secretary Thompson said. "We welcome our new 5 A Day Program partners and their commitment to bringing this important disease prevention message to all Americans."

The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture will expand its role in the partnership, and through its programs such as the National School Lunch Program and the Women, Infants and Children Program, the USDA has the ability to reach millions of Americans with healthy eating tips.

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Thompson receives distinguished service award from University of Wisconsin Law School

The University of Wisconsin Law School has named Secretary Thompson the recipient of its 2002 "Distinguished Service Award." Thompson was selected to receive the award for his service to the nation in the events following the terrorist attacks on September 11th and in his chairmanship of the Amtrak Board.

Thompson, an alumnus of the UW Law School, was given the award at an April 27 dinner held in the School's Quarles and Brady Reading Room, where he spent time studying as a young law student.

"To receive the Distinguished Service Award from my alma mater, here in the very room where so many years ago I spent countless hours studying to become a lawyer, is something special," said the Secretary.

Thompson gave high praise to employees of the Department for their work after September 11th, noting that "untold numbers of men and women in my department - emergency personnel, public health officers, physicians, researchers, pharmacists, counselors, so many others - were the backbone of America's response in those early days after the attacks."

In describing his work with Amtrak, Thompson cited President Lincoln, observing that "it's a point of some pride to me that Abraham Lincoln was not only a lawyer but a railroad attorney, and a very successful one, at that. If only he had been from Wisconsin instead of that other state to the south!"

Thompson was accompanied to the dinner by his wife, Mrs. Sue Ann Thompson, and Ladd Wiley, deputy general counsel of the Department and a fellow UW Law School alum.

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HHS Transplants win!

The HHS softball team, the Transplants, won their first game of the season 16-15 on a walk-off single by Craig Stevens. After trailing the White House throughout, the Transplants scored the winning run in the bottom of the 6th inning. The game was shortened due to darkness.

Kevin Keane (1-0) earned the win on the mound to improve his record to 4-1 lifetime in the league.

The HHS Transplants (1-0) are in their second year of competition in the Bush-Cheney Softball League (BCSL). Last season, after a disappointing start in the regular season, the Transplants won three playoff games before losing the Championship Game in extra innings to the SEC.

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