HEALTH PROMOTIONS Our KMS Alliance works hand in hand with a number of state and national programs: Through the Live and Then Give program of the AMA, physicians and their families can become better educated about organ and tissue donation. Our chairman is Glenda Schmidt (Salina). We collaborate with the Kansas Family Partnership, Inc. Committee; Kansas Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free, to educate the public about underage alcohol consumption. Our contact person is Michelle Voth (Topeka). Our domestic violence video, "Breaking the Cycle of Domestic Violence" is now available nationwide from Fanlight Productions. We have high hopes that increasing public awareness of the video's availability will result ultimately in greater dissemination of the important information about domestic violence that it provides. Carolyn Harrison (Wichita) is our contact person for the video. Our S.A.V.E. program is dedicated to Stop America's Violence Everywhere by making materials available to schools across the country that help teach children about how to respond to bullying and how to manage conflict resolution.We have made a commitment to America's Promise to distribute over a million of our "Hands are Not for Hitting" booklets to elementary school children. A resource you may choose to download and review is the AMA Alliance S.A.V.E. Guide. No matter what aspect of violence prevention your Alliance or community group plans to focus on, this manual contains information that can help in your quest to make your community a safer place. It contains statistics, general information about violence, suggested prevention programs and ways to gain community awareness. Health Literacy The AMA states that "Half of all adults - 90 million Americans - may struggle with understanding basic health care information, such as prescription instructions, test results and insurance forms. Known as "low health literacy", this limited understanding challenges people from all ages, races and income levels, contributes to poor health outcomes, and costs the health care system billions of dollars in added expenses every year." In 1998, the American Medical Association became the first national medical organization to make health literacy a top priority. In 2000, the AMA Foundation collaborated with AMA Science to launch its Health Literacy Campaign to raise awareness and distribute informational materials to health care professionals." Health Literacy Grants The AMA Foundation has created a new grant category for Health Literacy. The grants will be awarded to individual physicians, medical students, and organizations to conduct projects designed to further awareness of health literacy through a variety of projects and initiatives. These grants are highly competitive and require creative writing. Fund for Better Health Grants In 2002, the AMA Foundation launched the Fund for Better Health grant-making initiative to expand its role in advancing the quality of health care in America at the grassroots level. For its initial years, Fund for Better Health grants will support AMA-affiliated organizations - such as AMA Alliance chapters, state medical societies, member groups - that address the public health issues of health literacy, anti-tobacco, and violence prevention. These grants are for $1000. We expect that 25 grants in each of the categories will be awarded this year. Consider applying for one. The national website has detailed information about this specific grant application process. Project Banks Several counties and individual members want to be directly involved in service projects of some type. We have created a Kansas specific project bank that you can access and find detailed information about a variety of projects. It is our hope that you will find the KMSA Project Bank helpful when your county, or you, consider a special fundraiser or project. The AMAA Project Bank that contains more than 500 projects that have been conducted by state and county Alliances throughout the country from 1996-2000. Kail Denison is our Vice President for Health Promotions.