Lack of sufficient data is major challenge to improving maternal and infant health in Nebraska. Partnership for a Healthy Lincoln President, Dr. Bob Rauner, testified before the Nebraska Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee this fall on LR433 to examine the availability and access to data regarding maternal health and infant health care in Nebraska.

The Nebraska Department of Education awarded Partnership for a Healthy Lincoln an $80,000 grant to continue their work in the Community Learning Centers teaching kids about good nutrition and the science of growing with their Harvest of the Month program featuring fresh healthy produce from local farms.

Nebraska's infant mortality rate is worsening compared to the rest of the country. Partnership for a Healthy Lincoln's president, Dr. Bob Rauner, says this is the reason why Nebraska really needs to focus on it.

It’s virus time. Kids are back in school – a great petri dish for cooking up viruses to take home to the rest of the family. Then parents take it to work, and families spread it to extended family. This year's flu and COVID vaccines, formulated to combat the latest strains, have proved effective in Australia, where they were released earlier, which bodes well for the U.S.

Nebraska Extension and Community Crops are two of the organizations in Lincoln that are making it easier for people to access and grow fresh produce in our community.

Partnership for a Healthy Lincoln received a Patrick Leahy Farm to School grant to expand their preschool nutrition education program. The popular and successful program lets kids taste test and develop a life-long appreciation for fresh produce from local farmers while they learn about nutrition.

Studies find that living near or spending time in parks and green spaces is increasingly beneficial to our overall well-being. Over the past 6 years, Partnership for a Healthy Lincoln has collaborated with Lincoln Parks and Recreation, and community sponsors to harness the power of parks to improve neighborhood health in 3 Lincoln neighborhoods. The most recent project, completed in 2023, is in University Places' UPCO Park where new free outdoor fitness stations were installed.

CHE announced grant awards to 14 recipients, including one to help fund Partnership for a Healthy Lincoln's efforts to improve access to prenatal care for women of low income.

Being outdoors lifts your mood, especially for children. Read about the great family friendly no and low cost ways to have fun and be active outdoors in Lincoln this month.

Breastfeeding means healthier moms and babies but it can be hard, especially if you are a new mom of color or new to America. Having an advocate who looks like you, understands your culture, and speaks your language can make all the difference. Community Breastfeeding Educators have helped 100's of women, but now their program is in danger.

After 13 years in the same format, Partnership for a Healthy Lincoln (PHL) is putting their annual outreach festival, Streets Alive! on hiatus while they reimagine and refresh it. People can continue to find support resources and creative ideas on the PHL website to help improve the health, safety, and vitality of their neighborhoods.

Getting prenatal care as early as possible substantially lowers the risk of birth defects as well as infant and maternal death. Nebraska's rates are not good. Partnership for a Healthy Nebraska, UNMC, Creighton Medical School, and others have created a strategy with concrete steps to improve access and education.

Heart disease is still the #1 killer of men and women. The American Heart Association - Nebraska has contributed to the health of Nebraskans in several ways including grants for heart research to the Uni. of Nebraska (Lincoln and Omaha) and UNMC. Find some practical tips in to stay heart healthy in the latest Health & the City column.

Health & Haircuts, a Dec. 14 event offered a hot meal, warm winter outerwear, health connections, and haircuts. Matt Talbot Kitchen & Outreach, Bluestem Health, Fishers Beauty and Barber, and Hometown Haircare joined Partnership for a Healthy Lincoln to bring a little warmth and goodwill to nearly 130 people struggling with food and housing insecurity.

"Nebraska's infant mortality numbers are mediocre at best for the country. And much worse than most of the developed world. There's other states that do much better than us," said Partnership for a Healthy Lincoln President Dr. Bob Rauner. State data is hard to access and outdated say doctors.

It's a gift giving season, but these moms are helping other moms and families all year round with the health and life saving gift of breast milk for infants in need, thanks to the Clyde Malone Community Center's Milkshare program and milk van.

Partnership for a Healthy Lincoln President, Bob Rauner, spoke at the Executive Club about the lack of transparency in healthcare costs, insuring patients get the best healthcare possible, and the importance of vaccination.

Holiday gatherings can be happier and safer by guarding against the unwanted "guests" - flu and COVID.

RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) is getting a lot of attention this year. What's the risk for adults, children, and infants and how does the risk compare to flu and COVID? Find out in the latest Health & the City column in the Lincoln Journal Star.

For the second year in a row, the 2023 Streets Alive celebration took place Sunday afternoon in the north Lincoln neighborhoods that surround UPCO Park to Huntington Elementary School. This year, a total of 104 participants lined the closed off streets and visited each stop that had an activity related to community resources or a way to stay healthy. Several activities showed families different ways they could exercise and play at no cost.

Partnership for a Healthy Lincoln's annual health, wellness, and fitness outreach festival will be back in the University Place neighborhood on Sunday, Sept. 24 from 1 - 4:30 PM. Two miles of traffic-free fitness, music, art, fresh local produce, and free health resources.

Four Lincoln barbers and one stylist provide more than fresh cuts and styles. They reach out to their community to save lives.

State officials have removed tracking data for COVID-19 in wastewater just as cases have started to rise. State public heath experts are disappointed. “It’s important data for the medical community because it’s the most accurate community gauge of a possible COVID surge,” Dr. Bob Rauner said.

August is National Breastfeeding Month. Breastfeeding means healthier moms and babies, but it's not always easy. All breastfeeding moms need support, but women of color face additional barriers. Several non-profits have come together to provide culturally sensitive support.

The American Psychological Assn. recently issued a health advisory about teens and social media use. Overuse of screens, whether it's on social media, watching TV, or mindlessly scrolling the internet can translate to depression and displace healthier activities like exercise. But there's help in this month's Health & the City column.

Doesn't it just feel good to get outside? Researchers at Brigham Young University found that getting outside and soaking up a little sunshine was associated with better mental health. In fact, sunshine has more impact on mood than rainfall, temperature or any other environmental factor. Find lots of low-and-no-cost fun and active outside things to do in Lincoln in this most recent Health & the City.

May is National Bike Month and Lincoln is a bike friendly city. The health benefits of biking for kids and adults are numerous, and opportunities abound in Lincoln over the month. Even if you don't own a bike or don't know how to bike, there is help and options are available.

Partnership for a Healthy Lincoln collaborates with the Lincoln Community Learning Centers and AmeriCorps to help kids to learn about good nutrition through taste tests of fresh local produce - some for the first time.

COVID infections will be with us forever, just as the flu virus that wreaked havoc in 1918 and 1919 continues to circulate today. “That’s never going to go away,” says Dr. Bob Rauner. But for people who are fully up to date on boosters and get the antiviral Paxlovid if they do catch it, he said, the virus shouldn’t present a significant problem. For those who aren’t vaccinated and boosted, and for those who are particularly vulnerable, however, it still poses a risk.

Colon cancer, a leading cause of cancer-related deaths, is occurring more often now in younger people. Childhood obesity has increased during the pandemic. March is both National Nutrition Month and Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. How are they related? The answer is prevention. Good nutrition can help reduce the risk of some cancers as well as fight childhood obesity. Getting screened and eating right are 2 elements of an effective prevention strategy.

Dr. Bob Rauner, President of Partnership for a Healthy Lincoln and Partnership for a Healthy Nebraska, is part of a group that aims to reduce infant mortality in Nebraska. Factors with the greatest odds of resulting in infant mortality revolved around a lack of prenatal care.

We aren't giving our hearts enough love - heart disease was still the number one killer of men and women last year. Even baby steps can help - and aren't so overwhelming that we give up on them. Experts provide some tips about how to get started.

Dr. Renuga Vivekanandan, chief of infectious disease at CHI Creighton University Medical Center says the good news is that the newest Omicron variant does not seem to be causing more hospitalizations. However, Vivekanandan said the thing people need to realize is that COVID-19 has not gone away and isn't likely to any time soon, "so we just need to continue to be vigilant (and) vaccinate." She said the disease is still resulting in 3,000-4,000 deaths a week nationwide.

“If you’re up to date on your vaccines, most people don’t have much to worry about,” said Dr. Bob Rauner, President of Partnership for a Healthy Lincoln. Rauner, who still wears a mask when he’s in an airport or at a health care facility, said older people and those at higher risk because of a medical condition should get the antiviral drug Paxlovid if they contract the virus, even if they are up to date on their shots. COVID-19, however, remains a deadly disease for some. Nebraska over the past four months has reported an average of 13 new deaths a week. The total death toll for the three-year pandemic is 4,734.

Are you busy caring for everyone else and have no time to think about what you need? Here are some ideas from health experts that can help you resolve to be a healthier, less stressed, more connected you in the New Year.

With COVID, flu, RSV, and the recent midterm elections, getting together with family and friends over the holidays can be tricky. Health and conflict experts give advice on how to safely and peaceably navigate the holidays.

90%+ of diagnosed cases of diabetes are type 2 - a largely preventable disease. Diabetes can lead to heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney failure, foot and leg amputations, and death. Several local nonprofits are helping those in the community to prevent or manage type 2 with breastfeeding, healthy food access, healthy eating and fitness programs.

It isn't just what you say when it comes to combating vaccine hesitancy, it's who's delivering the message. Partnership for a Healthy Lincoln partnered with trusted voices in Lincoln's Black and Hispanic communities to make a difference.

COVID-19 levels in both Nebraska and the United States continue to fall to their lowest levels in months,
but health officials say the current trends should not cause people to let down their guard on vaccinations.
Getting the latest vaccination booster between now and Halloween could be the best way for people to protect themselves and their families over the upcoming holidays.

As September marks National Childhood Obesity Month, our country continues to grapple with an issue exacerbated by the aftereffects of overeating during pandemic isolation. Local health officials, including Dr. Bob Rauner look at the issue in Nebraska.

Health officials are warning that flu season may be more severe than usual. It's extremely important get both the flu and new COVID bivalent booster this fall - especially to protect older family members at holiday time.

The annual “Streets Alive!” outdoor movement festival, which celebrates active living and healthy lifestyles, will be in University Place for the first time Sunday, Sept. 25, from 1-4:30 p.m. A free mobile festival, “Streets Alive!” moves to a new neighborhood every two years. The festival stretches over two traffic-free miles and showcases Lincoln’s established neighborhoods.

Dr. Bob Rauner, Partnership for a Healthy Lincoln, and other Nebr. public health experts talk about understanding the data around COVID in the Lincoln Journal Star "The data transparency needs to be out there, he said. "You can't provide good governance without good data." His data-based videos have racked up close to 1M views.

With some good weather left, we’ve still got opportunities to enjoy the outdoors and improve our mental and physical health while we’re at it. It can be as simple as finding active ways to everyday places.

COVID case numbers on are the decline this week but the drop in cases could be more reflective of the lack of testing than an actual decline in positive tests, as the number of people testing positive in reported tests has stayed quite high. While most Lincoln adults have been vaccinated, had COVID-19 or both, less than 40% of elementary school-aged kids in Lancaster county have been fully vaccinated.

National Breastfeeding Month is a reminder of the benefits of breastfeeding for BOTH moms and babies. Just as important is geting vaccinated against COVID for those planning to become pregnant, while pregnant, and whe n breastfeeding. Unvaxxed pregnant women are at higher risk of severe illness from COVID than non-pregnant women.

Older adults can make a difference by working with the Community Learning Centers through the AmeriCorps program as a wellness club leader. The clubs, sponsored by Partnership for a Healthy Lincoln, helps kids to learn about healthy food choices, agriculture-based education and physical activity – teaching them skills that can help them be healthy into adulthood.

The pandemic has put the mental health of children in crisis say experts. One way to protect their mental health? Over 100 studies say physical activity is a major lifeline. Check out what they say in our latest Health & the City column. Check out what they say in the latest Health & the City column.

The Streets Alive! Community Development Project, the renovation of the F St. Tunnel in the South Salt Creek neighborhood, lets neighbors and school kids safely pass under train tracks that run through the neighborhood. Partners and sponsors came together with neighborhood residents to celebrate.

June is National Outdoors Month. Getting outdoors, even playing in the dirt, is good for your health, say recent studies.