New CDC Director’s Track Record On Public Health Initiatives Worries Some Advocates
Brenda Fitzgerald chose to partner with Coke in an effort to fight obesity, a move that raises some eyebrows. “We hope Dr. Fitzgerald, as head of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, avoids partnering with Coke on obesity for the same reason she would avoid partnering with the tobacco industry on lung cancer prevention,” said Jim O’Hara of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
The Washington Post:
New CDC Chief Partnered With Coke In State Obesity Program
As Georgia’s top public health official, Brenda Fitzgerald led the fight against childhood obesity in a state with one of the highest rates in the country. The program there, funded in part by the Coca-Cola Foundation, emphasizes exercise and makes little mention of the problems with sugary soft drinks — putting the effort at odds with research and the positions of many experts. (Sun, 7/12)
In other federal government news —
The Wall Street Journal:
Some Mentally Ill Federal Inmates Receive Little To No Treatment, Audit Finds
Federal prisons keep some mentally ill inmates in solitary confinement for at least 22 hours a day, sometimes for years, according to an audit released Wednesday by the in-house watchdog for the Justice Department. (Reinhard, 7/12)
Nashville Tennessean:
VA's Facility Planning An Obstacle To Modernize Its Care, Report Says
The Department of Veterans Affairs is using an outdated and shortsighted planning process for managing its facilities and it's an obstacle for the VA's effort to repurpose or rid itself of old buildings and plan for future of care. That is the finding of the Government Accountability Office, which issued an opinion Wednesday on the VA's two processes it uses to plan for managing facilities and how they are used to provide medical care for the nation's veterans. (Lowary, 7/12)
