Prevention Institute Executive Director Larry Cohen and California State Controller John Chiang highlight the importance of community prevention as a means of building the physical and fiscal health of Californians, in an op-ed published this morning in the San Jose Mercury News. Governor Schwarzenegger has just announced major cuts in healthcare spending across the state, but according to Controller Chiang and Larry Cohen, cuts are not the only solution:
Pension and health care reform is not a one-stop service. Real reform and a robust retirement for millions of Californians demands foresight, flexibility and smart investments. The fiscally responsible approach is to support and promote policies that keep people healthier now, in order to reduce the demand for medical care throughout their lives. That approach is called prevention.
Public health approach to preventing violence in the news
Media coverage for a public health approach to preventing violence is also on the uptick. When Attorney General Holder toured the offices of Youth Uprising this week, the Contra Costa Times covered it, and included a quote from Prevention Institute on the importance of a public health approach, and mentioned the just-released Urban Agenda for Preventing Violence.
Also this week, the Dayton Daily News wrote an article on the "UNITY model to preventing violence" which included an in-depth overview of the work of Prevention Institute's UNITY initiative, alongside Project Director Rachel Davis's call for a multi-sector approach.