Archive for September, 2011
Growing Your Small Business – Doing Business With the Department of Health and Human Services
In 1953 the Department of Health, Education and Welfare became a cabinet level department in the United States. In 1979 the Department of Education Organization Act split HEW into the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services. HHS is responsible for the health, safety and well-being of residents of the United States. This mandate also extends internationally for cross-border health and safety issues.
HHS administers over 300 programs with a budget of over $737 billion. HHS mission includes a wide range of human issues, including substance abuse, Medicare and Medicaid, childrens health, health disparities, disease prevention and health promotion. It is the largest grant-making department within the Federal Government.
In 1979 the Department of Health and Human Services established the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization to develop and implement outreach to the small business community. The Office performs its mission through small business fairs, procurement conferences, trade group seminars, conventions and forums.
The Office of Small Business Development, also called OSDBU, is host to Vendor Outreach Sessions that happen twice monthly. The purpose of these sessions is to introduce and educate vendors on the small business program and to provide them information so that they can effectively market their products and services to HHS.
The Department of Health and Human Services is the only executive agency where Small Business Specialists report to the OSDBU Director. These Small Business Specialists are located within the eleven agencies of HHS.
Every day, these Specialists work with Contracting and Program Office staff, so as to determine the best acquisition strategy; they also work to make their approach unified so that when vendors deal with Health And Human Services, this unity will benefit them.
Currently, HHS does not provide grants or loans to help small businesses get going, but it is in fact the largest organization to make grants within the federal government. It has over 300 grant programs today, and it handles mission-specific topics, which are in turn delegated among the various HHS operating agencies. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance profiles all Federal grant programs; these provide financial assistance and include HHS programs. In addition, specific points of contact for obtaining applications or additional information are also provided.
Vendors who are interested in doing business with Health And Human Services do not have to have any special certification, but instead, the Small Business Administration provides certification to firms under the Business Development Program, the Historically Underutilized Business Zone Program, and the Small Disadvantaged Business Program. Businesses that are Women-Owned, Veteran Owned, Service Disabled Veteran Owned, or Small Businesses are generally managed with self-certification. Self-certification is not challenged unless or until an interested party or competitor provides protest to it. In addition, an HHS Contracting Officer may request that the SBA provide a size determination.
Mental Health
What is it to have good mental health? At a basic level, mental health could be described as the absence of mental illness; however, the whole issue surrounding mental health and mental illness is highly complex and therefore what constitutes mental health is not easy to define. On saying that, we can describe mental health by referring to what might happen when we are not in good mental health, when we are suffering from some form of mental illness.
Here in the UK it is estimated that a quarter of the population will experience some kind of mental illness at some point in their lives. Mental illness can affect any one of us; it is indiscriminate of age, gender, and status. It can strike at any time, sometimes with warning and sometimes without. So how can you recognise if you are suffering from a mental illness?
How to recognise mental illness
Mental illness can manifest itself in many different ways and no two people will be affected in the same way to the same degree. Someone suffering from a mental illness may be mildly inconvenienced by their symptoms in their daily lives and yet others can be severely debilitated to the extent that they are unable to care for themselves or integrate into society at any level.
Recognising when someone is suffering from mental illness is important in order to get the right help but it can be difficult when the symptoms are mild or vague or when the individual themselves deny that anything is wrong. Basically, someone can be said to be suffering from a mental illness when they are experiencing alterations in their moods, in their behaviour and in how they think and feel about themselves and the world around them, or a combination of all of these, to such an extent that they become distressed or have an impaired ability to function normally on a day to day basis.
Some of the more commonly known ways that mental illness can affect our lives is in the form of depression, anxiety, compulsive disorders, phobias, panic disorders, bipolar or manic depression, schizophrenia and dementia. Even within these terms there are variations and subgroups and different degrees of severity. Mental illness on the whole is anything but straightforward; it is often misunderstood by family and friends and can be misdiagnosed if a full medical assessment is not made. It can be isolating for the individual, particularly as they may not understand what is happening to them and why they are behaving in a particular way.
What causes mental illness?
There is no single known cause of mental illness but instead combinations of factors appear to have an influence including psychological, biological and environmental conditions.
Mental illness appears to be more common in certain groups of people indicating that some circumstances can act as a trigger, for example, those living in poverty and poorer living conditions, those who are suffering from long term physical illnesses or disabilities, those from ethnic minorities and those in prison or other institutions. People who are addicted to substances or are dependent on alcohol are more likely to suffer from mental illness than those who are not and different types of mental illness seem to be more common to men or women.
Life changing events can also trigger a period of mental illness such as redundancy, bereavement and divorce and there is also a genetic aspect to it as those with a history of mental illness in their families have an increased risk of developing a mental illness themselves. Recent research has also highlighted that a lack of Omega 3 fatty acids in the diet can increase the risk of developing certain types of mental illness.
Clearly, there are many influences involved so it isn’t possible to identify who is going to develop a mental illness and who is not and each and every one of us could find ourselves suffering from some form of mental illness at any point throughout the course of our lives.
Getting help
The good news is that regardless of the type of mental illness, there is help available but the biggest step to recovery is first of all recognising that there is a problem in the first place. Many people feel that to admit to not coping or that they might be suffering from some form of mental illness is a sign of weakness or failure, and fear of stigmatisation, lack of understanding and knowledge, and of course denial, can effectively prevent many people from seeking help. However, it is essential that help is sought because mental illness doesn’t just go away and without help, the symptoms can persist for months or years causing a great deal of unnecessary suffering and distress for the individual.
The first point of contact is your doctor who will be able to make an initial assessment and advise you on the options available for treatment and guide you towards any other support groups or therapies that might be available. With the right help from the medical profession and with support from family and friends, most forms of mental illness can be beaten completely and normal life can resume once again. Even in the most severe cases, with a proper diagnosis and appropriate treatment, it is possible to dramatically reduce the severity of symptoms and make a real improvement to quality of life.
Two Weeks – Diet!
Everyday people are looking for new get thin quick diets. They see the commercials and hear about these new diets that promise results in very short periods of time. The real question on everyone’s mind is, do they really work?
I have investigated a few popular fad diets to find out for myself. The information below might help you to decide if any of these are right for you!
In Just Two Weeks, Diet – South Beach – This diet has 3 basic phases that you have to follow in order to maintain weight loss and healthy eating habits. The first phase lasts around 2 weeks and is designed to eliminate cravings for sugary food. After you’ve completed the first phase you will go on to the next phase, which introduces more carbs, etc. Finally, you will begin the third phase and you can now eat more of the basic food groups minus the sugars and bad fats. (the occasional indulgence is okay)
In Just Two Weeks, Diet – Special K – According to the Special K diet, you can lose up to 6 pounds in two weeks if you follow the plan. You should substitute a bowl of Special K cereal or a Special K bar for breakfast and lunch, and then eat dinner as you normally do. If you do this for 2 weeks you should be able to shed a couple pounds.
In Just Two Weeks, Diet – Slim-Fast – Slim-fast has been around for a while now, but how many people are really benefiting from it? According to this diet, you should replace your normal breakfast with a Slim-fast shake or bar. You have something small for lunch along with another shake or bar. For dinner you should eat approximately 500 calories, your plate should consist of half veggies, quarter lean meat, and a quarter of starch (preferably whole-grain.) You are also allowed one snack that may be something small such as an apple or a slim-fast bar. Exercise is encouraged with this diet.
These are just a few of the many diets that people have tried and will continue to try in order to lose weight. Seems like everyone has a hard time keeping up with these diets and most of the time you get sick of the same old food every day.