[197] MTSU center on cutting edge of improving Tennessee's health ranking

FOR RELEASE: Dec. 11, 2012

EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081, gina.logue@mtsu.edu

MURFREESBORO — The director of MTSU’s Center for Health and Human Services says the latest state-by-state health ratings show Tennessee has made definite progress in some areas but continues to struggle in others.

Dr. Martha Jo Edwards says she is encouraged by Tennessee’s overall rank of 39, an increase of two positions, in the 2012 “America’s Health Rankings” released today by the United Health Foundation.

Edwards, who also holds the Adams Chair of Excellence in Health Care Services, notes that Tennessee is tops in the nation for a low percentage of binge drinking. The state also has higher per capita public health funding, 21^st in the country, than most states.

While the state ranks 48^th in sedentary lifestyle and 45^th in infant mortality, the center has been ahead of the curve in taking proactive steps to improve public awareness of healthy lifestyles that will lower these numbers.

“For three years, the center has funded community workshops in diabetes self-management,” says Edwards. “We address nutrition, diet and other factors in a six-week program.”

The “Yes I Can Diabetes Self-Management Program,” administered with the Primary Care & Hope Clinic in Murfreesboro, empowers residents diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes to manage their conditions.

On Nov. 30, in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Health, the center conducted a training workshop for professionals who teach parents in high-risk populations how to care for their babies.

Edwards says a surprising number of infant deaths in Tennessee occur due to parents’ failure to adhere to proper sleeping habits.

“The key is as easy as A-B-C,” says Edwards. “‘A’ stands for ‘alone.’ There should be nothing with the baby but a blanket. ‘B’ stands for ‘on their backs.’ Babies should not sleep on their sides or stomachs. ‘C’ stands for ‘crib,’ which is where the babies should be sleeping.”

The center also encourages women of child-bearing age to be good to their babies before they are born. Through a program funded by the March of Dimes, the center uses social media and on-campus gatherings to talk to young women about getting their bodies ready for healthy pregnancies.

In addition, the center is in the second year of a three-year grant to fund the “Tennessee Anti-Tobacco Advocacy Initiative,” a project to improve smoking cessation in adults and youth at the grass-roots level.

“By collaboration with state agencies, organizations and volunteers, we can change risky behaviors by getting the right information into people’s hands,” Edwards says.

The United Health Foundation was established by UnitedHealth Group in 1999 as a not-for-profit, private foundation dedicated to improving health and health care, according to www.unitedhealthfoundation.org.

For more information, contact Edwards at 615-898-2905 or martha.edwards@mtsu.edu. To see detailed information about Tennessee, go to http://www.americashealthrankings.org/Print/RankingsPreview/TN/2012.

                                                               --30—

MTSU is committed to developing a community devoted to learning, growth, and service. We hold these values dear, and there’s a simple phrase that conveys them:  “I am True Blue.” Learn more at www.mtsu.edu/trueblue. For MTSU news anytime, visit www.MTSUNews.com.