News - Archives
Affiliated with Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, IL
Medical Advisor: Dr. Jennifer Kim, Department of
Allergy
Meetings: 2nd Monday of Every Other Month, 6pm-8pm
Meeting schedule
Please contact Eleanor Garrow-Majka through our
contact us page, to confirm the date and location of
meetings. 6pm-8pm:
Monday, August 14, 2006
Monday, October 9, 2006
Monday, December 11, 2006
Monday, February 12, 2007
Monday, April 9, 2007
Monday, June 11, 2007
Monday, August 13, 2007
Monday, October 8, 2007
Monday, December 10, 2007 |
Past
Events
Serious Food Allergies On Rise, Study Shows - June 16, 2008 [MS
Word]
Dominique Tougne, Bistro 110 Executive Chef, speaks on the
seriousness of food allergies with Chicago's NBC News Anchor, Nesita
Kwan. Also interviewed is
Dr. Jennifer Kim from Children's Memorial Hospital Department of
Allergy and Immunology and POCHA of Will County's Medical Advisor,
along with Jennifer Batson, POCHA of Will County member. Click here
to view the video clip! Great Job!
Click here to view the video clip
Living with Food Allergies More Than Watching What You Eat
- May 2008 - [MS Word]
Chris and Michele Abbott, members of POCHA of Will County, were
interviewed by the Morris Herald to discuss what it is like to have
a child who suffers from life-threatening food allergies and what
needs to be done to keep our children safe.
Online Food Allergy Survey through The Food Allergy Project- May
2008
The study is designed to learn more about how parents and kids deal
with the challenges inherent in living with food allergies and
managing the risk for unintentional allergy exposures (for example,
parenting issues, parent worries/concerns, and child emotions and
behavior). Their hope is that the information you provide can be
used to reduce the risk of unintentional exposures during childhood
and adolescence. The survey will ask you to answer a number of
questions, and should take about 20-30 minutes to complete. It is
completely anonymous and can be accessed by clicking the above link.
Please share this link with your support group members.
The results of the survey will be completed and available to share
in the late summer/early fall and should provide quite interesting.
Should you have questions about the survey, please feel free to
contact Natalie Williams.
WGN 720 News Series: Food for Thought - May 2008
WGN's Andrea Darlas Looks at the Growing Problem of Food Allergies
among Children (WGN-AM) - Thirty years ago, food allergies were
rare. Today, nearly 5,000,000 children in the United States suffer
from life-threatening food allergies. In fact, the number of
children with peanut allergies alone has doubled in five years, and
the numbers continue to grow. WGN's Andrea Darlas takes a look at
this growing trend in our 720 News Series: "Food for Thought."
Trace Adkins Wins Best Male Video at the 2008 CMT Music Awards - May
2008
Thanks to the fans who voted in the 2008 CMT Music Awards, Trace
Adkins won Male Video of the Year for his video “I Got My Game On.”
Winning the award also means giving back to FAAN, as CMT One Country
is donating $5,000 to the charity of each winner’s choice, and Trace
chose FAAN! “I’ve never felt the support from the fans like I’m
feeling it this year. This is voted on by the fans, so I really
appreciate it,” says Trace Adkins.
Trace Adkins and FAAN - April 2008
Trace Adkins was a semi-finalist on “The Celebrity Apprentice”.
Although he didn’t win, he made a huge contribution to raising food
allergy awareness with FAAN being his designated charity. Through
his appearance on Apprentice, he has brought the message to millions
of people that food allergies are serious and that families living
with food allergies must be vigilant at all times. Trace’s “I Got My
Game On” music video has been nominated for two CMT Music Awards:
Male Video of the Year and Comedy Video of the Year. These awards
are decided by public vote, and the winners in each category get
$2,500 for the charity of their choice.
House Passes Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act - April
2008
On April 8, 2008, the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act of
2008 (FAAMA) was passed by the House of Representatives. This
important legislation was introduced in the House by Rep. Nita Lowey
(D-NY) as H.R. 2063. It calls for a uniform guidance document to be
created for schools so that any school in the country looking for
help in managing food allergies will have a place to turn. Now that
the bill has been passed by the House, it will be reviewed by the
Senate HELP (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions) Committee, who
will consider the bill within the coming months. Known as S. 1232 in
the Senate, this bill was introduced by Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) on
April 26, 2007. If the HELP Committee approves the bill, then it
will be presented to the full Senate, and with their agreement it
would go to President Bush for final approval. If passed, FAAMA will
provide schools across the country with uniform guidance on how to
create appropriate management and emergency plans for children with
food allergies. The bill will direct the secretary of health and
human services to develop a voluntary policy for schools to
implement measures to prevent exposure to food allergens and to
ensure a prompt response if a child suffers a potentially fatal
anaphylactic reaction.
Joliet Herald News Article, "Allergy Aid Group Gives Parents Peace
of Mind" by Jean Dunning
December 5, 2007
Joliet Herald News interviewed Eleanor Garrow-Majka, Founder of
POCHA of Will County, on December 3, 2007, titled "Allergy Aid Group
Gives Parents Peace of Mind." The article discusses how food
allergies affect families and that there is support out there for
the families; they are not alone! Also interviewed was Jodi Limacher,
POCHA of Will County's new Registered Dietician. Jodi's children
also have food allergies, so she is a wonderful, new resource and
addition to our group!
Naperville Sun Article, "Fighting Food Allergies One Step at a Time"
by Susan Frick Carlman
September 7, 2007
Naperville Sun interviewed Eleanor Garrow-Majka, Founder of POCHA of
Will County, in September 2007, titled "Fighting Food Allergies One
Step at a Time." The article discusses how food allergies affect
families and the upcoming FAAN Chicago Walk for Food Allergy to take
place on Saturday, September 15th in Lincoln Park/Chicago. Fellow
support group founder also interviewed was Kellee Konieczny with
POCA of DuPage. For more information on the Chicago Walk for Food
Allergy, please visit www.foodallergy.org Please take a moment to
read!
Joliet Herald News - September 2007
Our Food Allergy Article from the Naperville Sun made the Joliet
paper. The hard copy includes my interview; and the online article
includes an interview with our POCHA Mom, Heidi Chignoli.
Chicago Parent Magazine Article, "Testing Thomas" by Katie Holland
Chicago Parent Magazine interviewed Eleanor Garrow-Majka, Founder of
POCHA of Will County, in November 2006, titled "Testing Thomas." The
article discusses how food allergies affect families and what is
being done about it. Others interviewed were Dr. Jennifer Kim,
Attending Allergist at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago and
Medical Advisor for POCHA of Will County; Anne Munoz-Furlong, CEO
and President of Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN); and
Christine Kobe, RN, Plainfield Wesmere Elemetary School Nurse.
Please take a moment to read!
Children's MAGIC (Milk Allergy and Gastrointestinal Coalition)
Update 08/2007:
Senate Bill 935 passed into law, August 2007.
With the help of Representative Tom Cross, Republican Leader of the
House in Illinois and Jason Eberstein with Children's MAGIC, Senate
Bill 935 passed into law August 2007. You may view the law here:
To view the legislation please visit GO HERE.
05/24/07: Senate Bill 935 passed the Illinois House today with an
overwhelming majority. The bill now goes back to the Senate for a
vote of concurrence – meaning they agree with the changes made by
the House. This vote is typically a formality. Assuming there are no
snags with the Senate concurrence vote, it will then go on to the
governor for his signature to become law. I expect this vote to take
place with in the next week.
Senate Bill 935 is an amazing step in the right direction for
formula coverage. The passage of this bill will set a precedent for
others to follow and creates a section of code that can be expanded
in the future. The insurance industry was able to convince the
Chairman of both the Senate and House Insurance Committees to kill
the bill if changes were not made – in order to move a bill forward
and offer coverage the section detailing allergies was removed by
the Chairman. The final bill will require coverage for amino acid
based elemental formulas regardless of delivery method for the
diagnosis and treatment for eosinophilic disorders and short bowel
syndrome.
To view the bill and its status please click here.
02/02/07: I met with Republican House Leader,
Tom Cross, on
Friday morning, 2/2/07, along with Jason Eberstein with Children's
MAGIC (Milk Allergy and Gastrointestinal Coalition) from Washington
DC. Rep. Tom Cross is supportive of this cause; and we are working
on passing this Legislation for Illinois before the session ends in
May 2007. POCHA of Will
County and
MOCHA North
Highland Park are supporting their legislation. Denise Bunning,
Founder of MOCHA North Highland Park, is also serving on the
Children's MAGIC Advisory Board. Please check back for future
updates on this topic.
Children's MAGIC is committed to promoting healthcare coverage and
reimbursement of amino acid-based elemental formulas for children
who are unable to consume a natural, life-sustaining diet due to
various allergies or diseases. When children are denied these
medically necessary foods, they frequently turn to hospitals and
emergency rooms and incur staggering medical bills. To address this
crisis, a coalition was created and named Children's MAGIC -
composed of parents, advocacy organizations, health institutions,
business groups and like-minded individuals.
You can learn more about Children's MAGIC by visiting their website
at
www.childrensmagic.org
