Healthy Wichita

We wish Ron the best of luck at his new position!

Whiting to leave business coalition on health care | Wichita Eagle Ron Whiting will leave his post next month as executive director of the Wichita Business Coalition on Health Care, the group announced Monday.

Are those who bike to work nuts? http://conta.cc/IVOR7F

May is Bike Wichita Month! http://conta.cc/KDgaZU

We've taken Healthy Wichita statewide! Be sure to check out WorkWell KS, funded by the Kansas Health Foundation and coordinated by the Wichita Business Coalition on Health Care, that provides leadership and resources for businesses and organizations to support work site health.

WorkWell KS | Engaging Leaders and Businesses in Kansas to Support Health and Healthy Worksites The health of a worksites employees effects the business in many ways. 70% of employers' cost arise from wage-replacement payments and lost productivity that result from absence or reduced job performance related to ill health. Good health is good business.

Way to go! Healthy Wichita and the Wichita Business Coalition on Health Care wish to congratulate the Wichita Business Journal's Healthiest Employers finalists, many whom are members of the Coalition and/or Healthy Wichita. Our members who are finalists include:
Hardman Benefit Plans
Kansas Health Foundation
Medical Society of Sedgwick County
Transitions Group Inc.
IMA Corp.
Meritrust Credit Union
Youthville
Bombardier Learjet
Cessna Aircraft Co.
Wesley Medical Center
Wichita Public Schools
Wichita State University

Healthiest Employers finalists announced - Wichita Business Journal Thirty Wichita-area companies are finalists for the Wichita Business Journal's Healthiest...

Don't go to the doctor? Really? http://conta.cc/sXrSkI

Kansas Board of Regents forms dental task force - Wichita Business Journal The Kansas Board of Regents has created a task force to study the state’s oral...

Wichita City Council and Sedgwick County Commission Declare November National Diabetes Awareness Month

In Kansas, there are roughly 180,000 adults diagnosed with diabetes. An additional 120,000 adult Kansans have undiagnosed diabetes. In Sedgwick County, 8.7 percent of adults have been diagnosed with diabetes.

Based on national estimates for diabetes-related medical expenditures and productivity losses, the estimated cost of diabetes in Kansas was more than $1.5 billion in 2007. For an average company in Kansas with 500 employees, the cost is $300,000!

Mayor Carl Brewer, the Wichita City Council, and the Sedgwick County Commission will be declaring November “National Diabetes Awareness Month” at the Wichita City Council meeting on Nov. 1 and Sedgwick County Commission meeting on Nov. 2.

Josh and Sara Jabara, parents of type 1 diabetic Jenna and Corporate Chairs of the 2012 Wichita Walk to Cure Diabetes, will accept both proclamations on behalf of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).

JDRF International is the worldwide leader in funding research to cure type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease that strikes children and adults suddenly and lasts a lifetime. JDRF is the leading funder and advocate of type 1 diabetes science.

Diabetes is a chronic, debilitating disease affecting every organ system. There are two major types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which a person’s pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone that enables people to get energy from food. Type 1 diabetes usually strikes in childhood, adolescence, or young adulthood, and lasts a lifetime. Just to survive, people with type 1 diabetes must take multiple injections of insulin daily or continually infuse insulin through a pump.

Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which a person’s body still produces insulin but is unable to use it effectively. Type 2 is usually diagnosed in adulthood and does not always require insulin injections. However, increased obesity has led to a recent rise in cases of type 2 diabetes in children and young adults.


JDRF’s mission has been constant since it was founded four decades ago: to find a cure for type 1 diabetes through the support of research. Until a cure is found, JDRF is also committed to working tirelessly to develop new and better treatments to improve the lives of people who have type 1 diabetes and keep them as healthy as possible.

Since its founding in 1970 by parents of children with type 1 diabetes, JDRF has awarded more than $1.5 billion to diabetes research, including more than $107 million last year. More than 80 percent of JDRF’s expenditures directly support research and research-related education. For more information, please visit www.jdrf.org.

JDRF: Type 1 Diabetes: Dedicated to Finding a Cure Type 1 diabetes research: Join us in our search for ways to prevent, better treat, and ultimately cure type 1 diabetes: Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International.

Will you 'Take the Survey'? We need to hear from the citizens of Wichita. Take the Pereception Survey so we can work on improving the health environment in Wichita. http://www.hwcwichita.org/2011Survey.html

2011 Survey Check out http://www.hwcwichita.org! We will promote physical activity and good nutrition for every generation living in the Greater Wichita area through people, programs and policies.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) is forming a support group for parents of type 1 diabetic children in the Wichita area.

The group’s first meeting will be Thursday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. at Watermark Books and Café, 4701 E. Douglas. The group will then meet on the first Thursday of the month at various locations throughout Wichita.

For more information and to find out how to get involved, please contact the JDRF Wichita office at (316) 644-5685.

Our health-care productivity problem, in one chart Health care is the only growing sector where productivity is on the decline. That’s great for employment but not for long-term health costs.

It's not too early to start planning for the 2012 Fight for the Air Climb! Form a team, raise money and win great prizes. The American Lung Association event is sponsored by The Coleman Co. and will be held on Saturday, April 21 at Cessna Stadium. For more information, call Abby Brungardt at (316) 558-3090.