By Lorraine Lathen Tobacco related disparities are no accident. Armed with targeted marketing strategies, cigarettes and a whole line of addictive OTPs (other tobacco products), the tobacco industry’s tactics intentionally cause a higher burden on some populations than on others. Smoking cigarettes leads to many health problems, including cancer, and many of us know one [...]

The Medical College of Wisconsin has begun to explore the development of a statewide community-based medical education program to address Wisconsin’s pending physician shortage. The Medical College’s Board of Trustees authorized the College’s administration to conduct feasibility analyses of placing community-based medical school components in one or more regions throughout Wisconsin. The project will be [...]

By Cheryl L. Dejewski Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness in the U.S., especially for African-Americans. In fact, black Americans have a 6-8 times higher risk of developing glaucoma than whites, and a recent study found that one in five black Americans age 75 and older has glaucoma. What exactly is glaucoma? It’s an [...]

By Lorraine Lathen During the holiday season, many of us look forward to giving something special to those we love and even to help out a stranger. We take time to find out what’s on our loved ones’ Christmas lists, and some of us go through great lengths—like camping outside of a store—to get those [...]

Milwaukee health insurance 27 percent more costly than Madison, and much lower quality Citizen Action of Wisconsin released its 6th Annual Wisconsin Health Insurance Cost Ranking report earlier this week on a state-wide media call. On the media call to comment on the report were Congressman Ron Kind, State Senator Jon Erpenbach, State Representative Jon [...]

Special to the NNPA from the Black AIDS Institute The 2011 theme for World AIDS Day is “Getting to Zero.” The Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS commends the Obama Administration on its leadership and investment in the domestic and global AIDS epidemics and for maintaining the previous administration’s commitment to prioritize global HIV/AIDS prevention, care [...]

Diabetes is being diagnosed in unprecedented numbers across all ages and races. This increased incidence means a corresponding increase in health complications related to the disease, including sight-robbing “diabetic retinopathy”—now the leading cause of blindness in Americans. And, if you are black, you have a three times greater risk of losing vision to diabetes than [...]

Milwaukee County executive Chris Abele, Mayor Tom Barrett, UWM Chancellor Mike Lovell, and EPA Region 5 administrator Dr. Susan Hedman joined other dignitaries in announcing the award of a nearly $300,000 Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) grant to the Westlawn CARE Partnership at the Silver Spring Neighborhood Center on November 10, 2011. The [...]

MADISON –State Representative Jason Fields (D-Milwaukee) announced today the expansion of the Skilled Training Opportunities Pilot Program (STOPP) to Green Bay. “This program will ensure that ex-offenders have the necessary skills to get and retain family supporting jobs,” stated Rep. Fields. “I am proud to work with Senator Dave Hansen to bring this program to [...]

By Wendell Hutson Special to the NNPA from the Chicago Crusader Keisha Abrams, a 43-yearold diabetic, has shopped at a South Side Walgreens for 20 years and now shops there even more since the drugstore chain sells fresh fruits and vegetables. “I spend just about as much time here (at Walgreens) as I do at [...]