Posted June 2, 2016 by Leana Wen
In my practice as an emergency physician, I have seen 8-year-olds who weigh 150 pounds, teenagers diagnosed with adult-onset diabetes, and 25-year-olds with high blood pressure and heart problems. As the Health Commissioner for the City of Baltimore, I see these issues play out on a much larger scale every single day. I see [...]
Posted June 7, 2016 by Tiffany Pryor
As high school seniors graduate, many will begin to pack, gather information and mentally prepare for a major life transition. But there’s an important part of college life that many might overlook: Sexual assault has reached staggering proportions in this country, especially among high school and college students. Despite high-profile efforts to curb sexual assault among students, we have a long way to go before we’re truly proactive [...]
Posted June 6, 2016 by Clarissa Trevino
I am living in a hotel as we were recently in a fire. Thankfully, no one was hurt and I had homeowners insurance. Needless to say, I’ve learned a thing or two along the way. Fires in homes or burning anything man-made can be quite dangerous due to the leads, paints, and plastics we have [...]
Posted June 6, 2016 by Jessica Tyrney
My daughter Zoë is a 2-year-old toddler who is unfortunately fighting a battle against a unique brain tumor. Her fight started when she was just 15 months old and her doctors spoke one word... cancer! At the time our family lived in Honolulu, Hawaii where her father was stationed with the US Army. Because Zoë was/is [...]
Posted June 6, 2016 by Lecia Imbery
Earlier this week, a blog entry from my colleague Melissa Roark discussed a new report showing that affordable housing is out of reach for millions of renters across the US. And higher rents, especially when combined with flat wages and an economic recovery that hasn’t reached low-income families, means an increased need for rental assistance. Unfortunately, however, [...]
Posted June 3, 2016 by Kristin
On the #radio show this week, we cover favorite desserts and policy; fact checking Trump; raising the federal minimum wage for tipped workers up from $2.13 per hour; and how to get kids access to healthy foods in the summer. *Joanna Blotner, DC Paid Family Leave - @DCPaidLeave; Ashley Boyd, MomsRising - @MomsRising; Saru Jayaraman, Restaurant Opportunities Centers [...]
Posted June 3, 2016 by Karen Showalter
Soda taxes are taking off from coast to coast, and around the world, too. And while on the surface they *seem* like a great thing, are they actually working? And do they effectively tax the people who can afford it the least? Here's a short summary of what we know: 1. Where are they actually [...]
Posted June 3, 2016 by Gloria Pan
Take Action!TODAY is National Gun Violence Awareness Day, and MomsRising is joining the gun safety community in #WearingOrange to remember the countless lives lost and communities devastated by gun violence. Why orange? Because it’s the color of safety — what hunters wear to protect themselves from other shooters. Even though TODAY is National Gun Violence [...]