Activities and Events

December 2011

For over 15 years, the TKF Foundation has engaged with community-based partners to create safe, accessible spaces that feature nature and can be used as havens for quiet, contemplation in the midst of often noisy and hectic built environments. The over 130 Open Spaces Sacred Places that have resulted from the TKF Foundation’s work are mainly in the mid-Atlantic area, including Washington, D.C.; Baltimore, MD; and Annapolis, MD. TKF Foundation, wishing to expand the geographic diversity of Open Spaces Sacred Places and to better understand the impact that the spaces have on their visitors, has dedicated a major national awards initiative to support that intention. CRI has been awarded planning grants that will be used to prepare proposals for Open Spaces Sacred Places.

December 6, 2011 - Washington, D.C.

Christine Ferguson, J.D., Director of the Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance, led a panel discussion of the five trends in state legislative proposals and initiatives that focus on obesity and weight-related chronic disease. State trends are the subject of STOP’s third and final installment of the “Obesity and the States” bulletin, a periodic report on topics of interest to state leaders who are managing issues related to overweight, obesity, and chronic diseases in their states. CRI is partnered with George Washington University’s STOP Obesity Alliance and serves on the Steering Committee.

Read the state bulletins

November 30, 2011 - Tucson, AZ

At an all-college seminar, CRI Executive Director and Board Member Jennifer Cabe, M.A., and CRI Health Literacy and Research Director Andrew Pleasant, Ph.D., provided students, faculty, and visitors at the University of Arizona’s Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health (MEZCOPH) with an overview of CRI. They also discussed some of CRI’s partnerships and programs, including the CRI Life Enhancement Program and the Arts for Behavior Change Program in Lima, Peru. Jennifer and Andrew were introduced by CRI President Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., FACS, who is also a Distinguished Professor at MEZCOPH.

View the PowerPoint

November 16-19, 2011 - Washington, D.C.

CRI Executive Director and Board Member Jennifer Cabe, M.A., engaged with state legislators on the topics of wellness and prevention at the non-profit, non-partisan Women In Government’s Second Annual Healthcare Summit. CRI's Life Enhancement Program was featured in her presentation.

Read more 

November 2, 2011 - Washington, D.C.

CRI Health Literacy and Research Director Andrew Pleasant, Ph.D., presented “Using the Arts and Health Literacy to Improve Household Hygiene in a Shantytown in Lima, Peru” at the American Public Health Association annual meeting in Washington, D.C. Andrew described the Arts for Behavior Change (ABC) Program that combines music, dance, and theater with the best practices of health literacy to prevent diseases in poor communities near Lima. The presentation was co-authored by CRI Executive Director and Board Member Jennifer Cabe, M.A., and CRI Evaluation and Program Manager Maura Leon, Ph.D.

The School of Medicine at Hofstra North Shore-LIJ and the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System held a Health Literacy Conference, which was the first collaboration of its kind in the Long Island, NY, area. CRI President Richard H. Carmona, M.D. M.P.H., FACS, delivered the keynote address, drawing on his experience as a surgeon, medical school professor, registered nurse, hospital CEO, and U.S. Army medic to discuss the how health literacy, health disparities, and prevention are inextricably tied. The North Shore-LIJ Health System is the third largest non-profit, secular healthcare system in the nation.

October 25, 2011 -  San Francisco, CA

Surgeons possess unique skills that qualify us as leaders in challenging situations. This session titled "Surgeons as Leaders: Strategies for Managing the Transition between Clinical and Non-Clinical Roles" highlighted leadership roles played by surgeons in and outside surgery. CRI President Richard H. Carmona, M.D. M.P.H., FACS, discussed his non-traditional educational background and his experience as 17th U.S. Surgeon General. He now serves as vice chairman of Canyon Ranch, president of Canyon Ranch Institute, and Distinguished Professor at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.

October 20, 2011

STOP Obesity Alliance Director Christine Ferguson, J.D., was joined by national obesity experts to address how media and policymakers can support responsible, informed conversations about weight as a health issue. The webinar titled Pounds and Policy: Building a Healthier Nation with Effective Communication and Legislation was presented by the Alliance and the National Eating Disorders Association.

• Read the Pounds and Policy document

October 14, 2011 - San Antonio, TX

Participants at the 7^th Annual San Antonio Health Literacy Conference, “Emerging and Changing Roles in Health Communications,” heard CRI Health Literacy Director Andrew Pleasant, Ph.D, deliver a keynote that was designed to empower the participants to advance health literacy through programmatic and policy-focused efforts. Andrew discussed the National Action Plan on Health Literacy and gave examples of CRI programs that advance health literacy. He specifically highlighted Time to Talk CARDIO and Hora de Hablar CARDIO, the Canyon Ranch Institute Life Enhancement Program, and the Arts for Behavior Change (ABC) Program in Lima, Peru. He also explained the relationship of health literacy to prevention strategies that use the integrative health approach and can ultimately impact health systems are designed and managed. View the conference video (bottom of page).

September 16-17 - Washington, D.C.

There are approximately 12 million cancer survivors in the United States today, and that number is expected to grow to more than 18 million by 2020. In response to this fact, CRI partner LIVESTRONG convened the Essential Elements of Survivorship Care Meeting to make progress in building consensus in the survivorship community around how to design and deliver survivorship care. LIVESTRONG convened 150 cancer survivors, advocates, clinicians, researchers, public health practitioners, and other experts to identify the essential elements of survivorship care delivery. LIVESTRONG invited CRI Executive Director and Board Member Jennifer Cabe, M.A., to serve as a table facilitator for the two-day meeting in Washington, D.C. CRI President Richard H Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., FACS, serves on the Essential Elements Advisory Committee. The goal of the meeting was not to identify specific guidelines or standards for delivering care, but instead to build consensus on essential elements of survivorship care delivery that any effective cancer survivorship program must provide (directly or via referral) to post-treatment cancer survivors.