This week, Sesame Workshop announced its newest initiative: Little Children, Big Challenges: Incarceration, which will provide educational resources for caregivers and children impacted by parental incarceration.

As I’ve talked to colleagues and friends about this project and its upcoming release, I’ve been surprised by the reactions. Their responses have ranged from, “Wow, how great that Sesame Street is tackling this issue!” to “Is that really what our world has come to, the Muppets’ parents are now in jail?”

Combined, these reactions summarize important points about this issue. Parental incarceration is a large and growing problem in our country, but it’s a topic that has not garnered much attention from either scientific or media communities, and many people’s initial reactions to the topic are generally negative.

David Fenley is a research assistant at the National Center for Food Protection and Defense (NCFPD) and student in the University of Minnesota’s Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs. This post first appeared on the NCFPD’s Blog. 

At the National Center for Food Protection and Defense we aim to anticipate food system disruptions before they become just that, disruptions.

While markets around the world react to the Chinese H7N9 bird flu scare and poultry is slaughtered by the tens of thousands in an attempt to contain its further spread, the United States might not have too much cause for concern.

The flu virus is not easily spread from person-to-person and the U.S. does not currently import Chinese poultry for human consumption. Pet food, on the other hand, is imported and has a history of harming our furry friends.

In the past decade, U.S. trade relations with China have improved immensely, but there are still many points of contention, poultry being one of them.

Childhood vaccinations are a cornerstone of modern public health. Routine vaccinations have significant health benefits for the person being vaccinated – benefits that may be extended to someone who’s either not protected via vaccination or natural immunity. This protection is referred to as “herd immunity.”

Herd immunity is similar in principle to how a herd of elephants protects their babies. When a herd of elephants encounters danger, the adults form a ring around the babies, facing outward towards the danger. They become a barrier between the danger and the defenseless babies. But for the practice to work, there must be enough adult elephants to circle the baby elephants. If not, then the protection scheme is in danger of breaking down. The same thing happens with herd immunity.

During the University of Minnesota’s spring break, March 15-23, a group of U of M pharmacy and nursing students will spend time in Haiti on a medical mission trip. Follow their experiences here on Health Talk all week, or check in on their progress at www.reachh.org where posts originally appear.

It was quite an eventful day at our clinic today!

We came a little later than yesterday due to a quick stop at the local pharmacy to pick up two medications. When we arrived, we had around 100 patients lined up at the door waiting for us!

We did the best we could to try and get as many patients in as possible but, sadly, we still had to turn away 50 patients and ask them to return tomorrow.

Here are the official statistics for the third day of clinic: We saw 112 patients, did one blood sugar test, administered two vaccines, treated three wounds, administered three prescription immunizations, discovered two positive cases of malaria, and filled 355 prescriptions!

Tomorrow is the last day of our clinic. Wish us all the best in having enough energy to help as many patients as we can!

Members of our REACHH healthcare team include: Ben, Cheryl, Stacy, Vanessa, Brenda, Camille, Kim, Phat, Kelly, Emily, Aaron, Jill, Rich and Christopher.

During the University of Minnesota’s spring break, March 15-23, a group of U of M pharmacy and nursing students will spend time in Haiti on a medical mission trip. Follow their experiences here on Health Talk all week, or check in on their progress at www.reachh.org where posts originally appear.

On the first day of clinic of 2013 and we were able to see 56 patients. There were a few wrinkles along the way…

Our three nursing students from Denver turned into eight (with five Iowans here for a malaria study) and we set up in a different area of the school than we had in our previous 2012 trip. We carried far more medications to the clinic and we had five new members of the team. But the important things stayed the same.

During the University of Minnesota’s spring break, March 15-23, a group of U of M pharmacy and nursing students will spend time in Haiti on a medical mission trip. Follow their experiences here on Health Talk all week, or check in on their progress at www.reachh.org where posts originally appear.

We are excited to continue in REACHHaiti’s mission to provide sustainable health care in Haiti by educating the community, improving hygiene, providing immunizations, and working towards building a permanent clinic in Chabin, Haiti.

With lots of planning and coordination, REACHHaiti was able to send its first group of students (pharmacy and nursing students) and pharmacists to Haiti during spring break of 2012. They were able to set up a temporary clinic in a school house for the week, and served patients with a wide range of medical needs.

This spring break, we will get a chance to revisit the rural town of Chabin, Haiti, and serve the local people with our team of pharmacy students, nurses, pharmacist, and physicians.

There is still a lot of planning to get done, however, it will be well worth the effort. We cannot wait to share our experiences with you guys.

Please check back soon to see updates from us in Haiti!!