Today is National Child Health Day!  From maintaining a healthy environment and high safety standards to providing immunizations and quality health care, children rely on our vigilance and support. Each year, 30 million children require emergency care due to acute illness and injury. We can all take important steps to help prevent these accidents and to improve the health and safety of young Americans. 

Help ASC support National Child Health Day by bringing out your little one's tonight for our newest kid-friendly program:  Shaun T's Fit Kids Club!!!

Additional information: 
Maternal and Child Health Bureau
http://www.mchb.hrsa.gov/childhealthday/

Contact info:
Maternal and Child Health Bureau
Parklawn Building, Room 18-05
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD 20857
Phone: (301) 443-2170

May is National Hepatitis Awareness Month. Hepatitis A, B, and C are the most common  types of viral hepatitis in the United States. Motivating individuals to take  responsibility for their own health care and to avoid risky behaviors that expose them to hepatitis viruses that lead to serious liver damage is a difficult task. It depends a great deal on having knowledge and understanding of  basic functions of the liver, what vital role it plays in their health and well  being, and how it can be compromised by drugs, alcohol, environmental pollutants  and hepatitis viruses.

The Hepatitis Foundation International (HFI) is dedicated to the eradication of viral hepatitis, a disease affecting over 500 million people around the world.  The Foundation seeks to raise awareness of this enormous worldwide problem and to motivate people to support this important – and winnable – battle.

Additional information:                                                                  
http://www.hepfi.org

Contact info:
Hepatitis Foundation International
504 Blick Drive
Silver Spring,  MD 20904
Phone:(800) 891-0707

May is National High Blood Pressure Education Month. The National High Blood Pressure Education Program of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute strongly encourages that community groups, civic and faith-based organizations, hospital outreach programs, public health departments, and workplaces take action and renew activities to prevent and control high blood pressure. Taking action now can prevent strokes, heart attacks, heart failure, kidney disease and  blindness.

Additional information:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/

Contact info:
National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
P.O. Box 30105
Bethesda, MD 20824
Phone: (301) 592-8573

The month of May has been proclaimed National Arthritis Month. As with any signified day or month, the goal is increased awareness and appropriate action.

The Arthritis Foundation is the only nationwide, nonprofit health organization helping people take greater control of arthritis by leading efforts to prevent, control and cure arthritis and related disease -- the nation's number one cause of disability. Understanding arthritis can benefit both those people with arthritis, as well as individuals who are not afflicted with the disease.


Additional information:
http://www.arthritis.org


Contact info:
Arthritis Foundation
1330 W. Peachtree Street
PR Dept., Suite 100
Atlanta, GA 30309 
Phone: (800) 283-7800

Most Americans are not aware of their risk for osteoporosis or the steps they can take to prevent, diagnose and treat the disease.  50% of women and 25% of men over the age of 50 are at risk for osteoporosis-related fractures.  This campaign to raise awareness of personal risk through education focuses on action steps related to prevention and treatment of this disease.

Additional information:
http://www.nof.org

Contact info:
National Osteoporosis Foundation
1232 22nd St. NW
Washington, DC 20037 
Phone: (202) 223-2226

May is National Stroke Awareness Month, a month dedicated to educating people about stroke risk and prevention, and encouraging people to adopt a healthy lifestyle all year round.  Recognition of the warning signs for stroke and immediate calls for emergency medical care are critical first steps toward obtaining appropriate emergency treatment that might prevent death and disability. The five major warning signs of stroke are 1) sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding; 2) sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body; 3) sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes; 4) sudden trouble walking, dizziness, or loss of balance or coordination; and 5) sudden, severe headache with no known cause. Education campaigns such as this increase public awareness of the early signs of stroke. 
 
Additional information:
http://www.stroke.org

 Contact info:
National Stroke Association
9707 East Easter Lane
Englewood, CO                                                    
Phone: (800) STROKES

As many as one-in-three adults experience problems sleeping.  Most of these problems are due to either our sleep habits or our sleep environment. Each year, the Better Sleep Council sponsors Better Sleep Month in May to raise awareness of the importance of sleep to good health and quality of life, and to increase knowledge about the steps people can take to improve their sleep.


Additional information: 
                                                                                             
Better Sleep Council
501 Wythe Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Phone: (703) 683-8371
                                                                                     
http://www.bettersleep.org

Finding it hard to squeeze in a workout each day?  Consider the idea of exercising at lunch and join the rest of the nation today for National Walk @ Lunch Day!  

Walking can provide you a number of healthy benefits and this day was created to raise awareness for the importance of regular physical activity thru walking.  By simply getting 30 minutes of exercise in multiple days of the week, you will see decreases in your levels of risk for cardiovascular disease, hypertension and type 2 diabetes.  You will also see increases in your bone, joint and muscles and reductions in your stress levels.

Encourage your co-workers and family to get outdoors today and Walk @ Lunch for a healthier America and a healthier you!

March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation http://www.walkamerica.org

Contact info:
March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation
1275 Mamoroneck Ave.
White Plains, NY 10605

Phone: (914) 428-7100

Additional information:
Premature babies so small their tiny lungs have to fight for every breath—it's more common than one would expect for an advanced nation like the United States. Every day, premature birth programs funded by the March of Dimes make strides for healthier babies. WalkAmerica—the walk that saves babies—is held at different times in communities throughout the country (contact your local March of Dimes chapter for information). The majority of the walks take place in April and/or May, but more than 200 events will still happen from July through November.