Health-The Gift That Keeps on Giving

As we enter this holiday season, it is important to keep our focus on the things that really matter. While we would hope that every child gets everything on their wish list, the most important thing we can give them and ourselves is a healthy life. There is much talk now about universal health care, particularly for children, but health is not just about coverage. Grantmakers in Health released a report earlier in the year entitled, "Connecting the Dots: Developing a Hoistic Picture of Children's Health," that is a blueprint of what communities need to do to improve health but also insure better education, a stronger workforce for the future, and lower social service costs. When children can't go to school or focus when they get there because of a tooth ache, learning suffers. Tooth decay is the leading pediatric health care problem, yet far too many of our children don't see a dentist regularly. The list goes on. Read this report and make sure your community is connecting the dots.