AHCJ2010 (part due) and the lack of veggies

Due (pronounced du-ay) is Italian for two. It's also the name of the restaurant where we ate deep dish pizza the second night at AHCJ2010.

Two was also the day sessions started. And they were some of the best sessions I've ever attended at a conference. The first session's title wasn't all that attractive (Incorporating social determinants into your local health coverage), but it's content was solid. Much of the conversation was on food deserts - and what defined or did not define this term. I liked Mari Gallagher's comment (that I tweeted): "The food desert is also a verb - to desert, to abandon - Chicago has seen abandonment over the past 30 years. #ahcj2010"


The main gist of her part of the session was about how the USDA isn't keeping tabs on stores it allows to accept food stamps, such as liquor stores that also sell junk food.

The next speaker, Bianca Alexander of Conscious Planet Media, showed the segment that won her and her husband a third place AHCJ award in multimedia for "The Color of Health, Part 1: A Growing Solution to the Food Desert Crisis." What stuck out to me wasn't her narration, although it was wonderful, but the video and quotes from a few of the people she interviewed.

One woman's quote stuck out in particular: "We can buy fried chicken all the time, but we can’t get no vegetables and fruit."

A man showed his plate of chicken and fried potatoes (and probably another starch, but I don't remember), and commented that "I think if we had vegetables and fruit in our neighborhood, I think people would be more interested in eating right...If I had a place where I could get bananas and fruit and things of that nature, then that would be helpful to me."

These are foods I take for granted. Most days out of the week, I'd be happy living off of vegetables, fruits and various starches (and butter. Don't forget the butter). I am not a meat and potatoes kind of gal. I'd be a vegetarian except for bacon and really good steak (and Zaxby's fried house salad). My stomach and tongue craves green - and carrots. But there are so many who don't have that as an option.

The point of Bianca's video wasn't the lack of good food, however, it's what poor neighborhoods in an inner city (Chicago, I think) are doing about it. I like, particularly, seeing kids plant a garden - and the hope of one man as he plants another. It's hope that something can be done, not handouts, I think, that will get people moving and eating better foods. It's encouraging to see teens interested in growing their own vegetables.

Now that I'm thoroughly craving brussel sprouts and green beans, here's a not-so-green pizza - my first Chicago deep dish pizza. And, because I hate pepperoni, the guys were nice enough to order sausage - and pesto for the vegetarian crowd. Mmm (unfortunately, I discovered that the deep dish was more bread than cheese and toppings. I was a little bit disappointed. And, thus, I'm more of a NYC kinda thin-crust pizza gal myself).

And, for good measure, a photo of the group that ate at Pizzeria Due (everybody but me is in the shot - the hand belongs to Sonya).

AHCJ2010 (part uno)

Stepping off the plane into a new city is one of my most favorite things to do. It doesn't matter if it's Mexico City or Traverse City (Michigan), I'm all for going places. I once even jumped out of a plane in Waycross, Ga. (home of the Ware County High School Gators. Yeah. UGA allegiance and use of the mascot wanes the further you get into south Georgia).

Landing in Chicago for the first time was pretty cool. An added bonus was that it wasn't really windy - or too cold. We (Lori and I) arrived in Midway about 9 a.m. and, with no checked luggage, we made it out of the airport pretty quickly. Next was an adventure on Chicago's metra and then a really long walk from the stop to our hotel located in the mammoth McCormick Place. It was here that we entered another dimension of the world of health and medical journalism - through the Association of Health Care Journalists' conference.

Pat Thomas has tried to show us the world of possibilities this master's program can open up, but it's hard to see it until, well, you see it. And when AP medical reporters and Reuter's health director and an editor from Self are there, you see it. Not to mention a media briefing by Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius and CDC director Thomas Frieden.

That's Sebelius answering reporters' questions. I know, I know. She's kind of far away.

The conference just swung up from there, from meeting people who have made this kind of journalism their lives to nervously discussing my ideas for articles while pitching for the first time ever to editors as a maybe-someday-but-today-I'm-just-trying-it-out freelancer.

I fully intended to blog every day of the conference, but the bootleg Internet was beyond spotting back in the hotel each night, and, despite my love for the few of you, dear readers, I wasn't about to spend $10 a day for Internet. I am cheap.

So, in the next few days, I will recap what I've learned, and recall some of the time in Chicago through photos.

 But, before I go, a photo of the cutest schwag (or swag) that I ever have seen. Let it be known that I receive no money benefit from advertising HealthNewsReview.org through a photo of their owl. :)

The multimedia project

Today, I will attempt to embed a movie into my blog. It's not true video. It's a slideshow. But I hope you enjoy (provided this works. Usually I have to try new things a few times first before finally beating my computer into submission. Poor thing).



So, I gave up trying to embed it and instead got a YouTube account. I now officially have too many accounts. But maybe the YouTube html coding will work. Crossing my fingers!

It's there, but it's jumping off the edge of the column and cutting some off. What to do?

And, I've added it again. Cross fingers that audio will work!

Moodle/Ning OR First Responders?

I was faced with a hard decision Monday afternoon. I potentially had TWO decent story ideas for my looming-way-too-quickly feature article (and multimedia project - both are due this Wednesday at midnight), but I only had time and grades allotted to write one of them. And, in my indecision, I ended up at not one, but two, meetings.

I've done an article on Moodle and Ning (Moodle is an online learning site, and Ning is an online password-protected social networking site) - and how UGA faculty are using those sites and in-person meetings to train childcare providers who work with babies. I enjoyed that article a lot. Unfortunately, their next (and last) round of in-person meetings happen after my article is due. Grumble.

And then there was the unknown, the unwritten, the hardly-thought-of, the notes from a 2-hour phone interview with an energetic young lady who loves her volunteer work in Oglethorpe County.

That's Lisa. She's awesome.

Ah, gotta love indecision. Quite thankfully, one meeting left me looking for the exit. The other meeting was crazy. And awesome. And fun. And again made me miss community journalism.

First responders win. I think it's a good choice. It's a program that hasn't gotten much attention anywhere (google "first responder" and maybe add "Georgia" for good measure. You won't get much). I think part of the reason for lack of attention is that most first responder programs function in rural counties. Urban counties, like Clarke, don't need these volunteers because they have emergency personnel everywhere.

Now that I've made my decision, I've got another one. I need to pick 10-15 photos from the 45 I like (I took over 100 and narrowed it down from there). Decisions, decisions.

That's the old bell. Fortunately for people in Oglethorpe County, the EMS station has a new building - and a new bell. And first responders. Without them, a few less people would be walking around.