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UPMC Health Plan will be working with the partner agencies to developprogramming focused on healthy eating and active lifestyles for the youth ofWestern Pennsylvania. We Can! was designed so that local civic groups, parentgroups, churches, and others can implement activities in their communities. WeCan! reaches parents and caregivers in home and community settings witheducational materials and activities, including a new course for parents, awebsite (http://wecan.nhlbi.nih.gov), a parent handbook in both English andSpanish, several youth programs, and community events and projects.
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"The We Can! program empowers parents in Western Pennsylvania withinnovative resources to help their families maintain healthy lifestyles," saidDiane P. Holder, President of UPMC Health Plan. "We are proud to be part ofthis initiative to help youth in our region achieve better health."
The We Can! Pittsburgh program will be launched at the Children's Museumof Pittsburgh and will feature remarks by Mayor Luke Ravenstahl; Susan Shurin,deputy director, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute; Diane P. Holder,president, UPMC Health Plan; Jane Werner, executive director, Children'sMuseum of Pittsburgh; Roger Oxendale, president, Children's Hospital ofPittsburgh of UPMC; Dr. Kiran Bhat, physician, Children's CommunityPediatrics; and Idamarie Laquatra, Ph.D., R.D., director, global nutrition,H.J. Heinz Company. To celebrate the kickoff, children will participate in aspecial physical fitness activity.
"The National Institutes of Health developed We Can! to introduceresearch-based information and strategies to teach children how to adoptbehaviors that can help them maintain a healthy weight," notes Dr. SusanShurin, deputy director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute(NHLBI) at NIH. "We are pleased to announce that Pittsburgh has joined We Can!as our fifth We Can! City. Through the efforts of communities like Pittsburgh,we can make a difference."
As part of the We Can! City Program, NIH provides technical assistance onplanning and implementing We Can! in the participating cities, as well asscience-based programs for youth and parents, and strategies for implementingprograms, creating partnerships, and gaining public visibility. Each city haspledged to offer We Can! evidence-based obesity prevention programs to bothparents and youth in collaboration with community-based partners. In addition,each city will distribute We Can! tips and information to city employees. Todate, more than 450 community sites in 44 states have committed to use We Can!program materials and organize classes and events.
We Can! is a science-based, national education program developed by theNational Institutes of Health -- a component of the U.S. Department of Healthand Human Services -- to help children ages 8-13 stay at a healthy weight byimproving food choices, increasing physical activity, and reducing screentime. We Can! is unique among existing youth obesity-prevention initiatives inits focus on reaching parents and families as a primary group for influencingyoung people.
About UPMC Health Plan
UPMC Health Plan, the second-largest health insurer in WesternPennsylvania, is owned by the
