nutrition | The Lund Report

Merkley Pushes for Potatoes in WIC Program Over Nutritionists’ Concerns

The Senate Appropriations Committee has voted to require that the WIC program add potatoes to its vegetable package. The vote overrules scientific studies that show poor women and children already eat more potatoes than they need but not enough fruits and other vegetables.

U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley has joined an effort by senators from potato-producing states to force the U.S. Department of Agriculture to add the white potato to the list of approved vegetables for its Women, Infants and Children food voucher program.

By:

Christopher David Gray

Curry County Focuses on Low Birth Weight Babies

A program run jointly by the Curry County Health Department and AllCare Health Plans, Inc., will work with pregnant women on substance abuse counseling and nutritional assistance

July 27, 2012 -- The Curry County Public Health Department is trying to make a difference in improving the health of newborn babies. Statewide, of the 45,596 babies born, approximately 6.3 percent had a low birth weight. Although those numbers were considerably lower in Curry County -- only seven out of the 180 babies born that year had a low birth weight – Jan Kaplan, director of Curry County Public Health, believes that figure is still too high. “We want to keep those trends where they are, but it can always be improved.”

By:

W. Scott Jorgensen

Nutrition Program for Seniors Goes Without Additional Funding

Demand for the program doubles the number of food vouchers available

March 7, 2012—The recently resolved $300 million deficit in Oregon’s budget meant tough cuts. But the ongoing recession means an ongoing need for funding social programs. One of the programs that fell between those proverbial rock and hard spots this legislative session was the Senior Farm Direct Nutrition Program, which helps low-income seniors purchase fresh fruit and vegetables.

By:

Amanda Waldroupe

Maternal Nutrition and Fetal Development Focus of OHSU’s New Research Center

Dr. Kent Thornburg, whose research focuses on the developmental origins of disease, will take the helm of the Bob and Charlee Moore Institute for Nutrition and Wellness

February 1, 2012 -- Dr. Kent Thornburg, who teaches in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University and is known worldwide for his research into the developmental origins of disease – has been named interim director of the Bob and Charlee Moore Institute for Nutrition and Wellness, a new research and education center.

By:

Christen McCurdy

Debt restructuring, Plans for Nutritional Center Take Center Stage at OHSU

At its board meeting last Friday, a plan was approved to restructure its variable rate debt to a more stable structure

December 6, 2011 – Oregon Health & Science University intends to restructure approximately $210 million of its variable rate debt, and replace old auction rate debt with a more stable funding structure following Friday’s board meeting.

Chief Financial officer Lawrence Furnstahl had urged the board to take advantage of favorable conditions -- annual fees for credit will drop by two-thirds, from 1.80 percent to less than .60 percent for a three-year commitment, saving the university approximately $2 million a year.

By:

Christen McCurdy