On April 1, the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), of which Nemours is a founding member, announced the appointment of key leaders to confront the national problem of childhood obesity. In making the announcement, First Lady Michelle Obama, the PHA’s Honorary Chair, recognized the contributions of Nemours and the other five founding members.
In addition to Mrs. Obama, former Senate Majority Leader Dr. Bill Frist and Mayor of Newark, NJ, Corey Booker will serve as Honorary Vice Chairs. Dr. James Gavin III, CEO and chief medical officer of Healing Our Children, Inc., will serve as Chairman of the Partnership’s Board of Directors. Nemours' Office of Policy and Prevention provides advice to the PHA as it develops its strategic plan and blueprint for action, which includes working with private and non-profit organizations nationally to help accelerate community-based work, like the obesity prevention initiatives of Nemours in Delaware.
The non-partisan Partnership, in cooperation with First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative, will seek to mobilize public-private efforts around the goals of more physical activity in and out of school; more nutritious food in schools; better access to healthy foods in neighborhoods and communities; and providing families with information and the opportunity to make healthy choices.
Learn more about the new leaders for the Partnership for a Healthier America.
On an April 1 conference call, the First Lady welcomed the Partnership’s new leaders, emphasizing that it will take a diverse and committed team from across the country to achieve the ambitious goal of solving the childhood obesity problem within a generation. She thanked the “phenomenal” group of founding members of the Partnership, including Nemours, The California Endowment, Kaiser-Permanente, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Alliance for a Healthier Generation and the Brookings Institute.
Nemours President and CEO David Bailey, MD, MBA, said: "We are delighted to see the Partnership for a Healthier America moving forward. This high-level leadership is a testament to the importance of the effort to reduce childhood obesity and raise healthier generations of children. We at Nemours are proud to be a founding partner and look forward to helping the First Lady's Let's Move initiative make an impact on reversing the childhood obesity epidemic. Together with Nemours' mission of enhancing the health and well-being of all children – in our care, at home and in their communities – the Partnership will accelerate efforts to help children be the healthiest they can be."
For additional information on First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative and the Partnership for a Healthier America, please visit:
www.ahealthieramerica.org