Letters on transgender bathroom bill, state’s fiscal mess, public health

Restroom bills protect privacy of all students

Should the Legislature protect the bodily privacy of public school students when using restrooms and locker rooms? The Eagle editorial board says “no,” focusing on boycott threats from liberal, ideologically driven corporations and sports leagues (“Learn from other states on bathroom bills,” April 1 Eagle Editorial).

The editorial board always finds a way to grow further out of touch with common sense.

“Sorry, girls,” it seems willing to say. “You will have to get used to that boy in your locker room. Otherwise, the NCAA might not allow the state of Kansas to host a March Madness game.”

Students have a constitutional right to privacy. Federal law authorizes schools to have sex-specific facilities, and federal courts have repeatedly ruled that policies like the Student Physical Privacy Act are constitutional and necessary to safeguard privacy.

Bills introduced in the Legislature will not result in harassment of transgender kids. Every Kansas student should be protected against harassment – a job our school officials do well. But so too should every student be protected from having their privacy violated – a basic American right.

These bills guarantee privacy for everyone by maintaining separate restrooms for girls and boys while offering accommodations for students uncomfortable using communal restrooms.

Let’s not be intimidated by big business into selling out our children’s privacy. Let’s support the Student Physical Privacy Act.

Should forfeit salaries

One way to help solve the financial mess that the governor and state legislators have created – which has resulted in the looting of education and the state highway fund – is to require that they forfeit their salaries and any overtime pay during their time in office. They should also reinstate the taxes they eliminated.

Everyone should pay their fair share, instead of increasing the tax burden on the middle- to lower-income brackets. From those who have much, much is expected, not less.

Collective impact

Infant mortality is a key indicator of population health. With the Kansas infant mortality rate higher than the national average, Kansas infants living beyond their first birthdays is a huge accomplishment.

The Sedgwick County Maternal Infant Health Coalition uses a collective impact approach to improve maternal and infant health outcomes. Multiple programs are needed to reach the tipping point for collective impact; thus, the integration of public and private health services is mandatory. These partnerships develop and implement strategies to inspire Kansans to take action to reduce infant mortality.

The KIDS Network works collaboratively with community organizations to educate parents, family members and child care providers. One of the ways the network promotes infant health is through infant safe sleep tools (baby showers, cribs, videos). Our message is as easy as ABC – always place a baby to sleep alone, on the back, and in a clutter-free crib.

The KIDS Network also honors the babies who have died too soon through the Step Up for KIDS 5K run and memorial walk. The 13th-annual event will be held Saturday at Wichita’s Old Cowtown Museum.

Without the existence of public health systems, collaboratively approaching this health care crisis is impossible.

Health the job of all

This is National Public Health Week. Americans live shorter lives and suffer more health concerns than people in other high-income countries, and the U.S. ranks 43rd in life expectancy at birth. We as Americans tend to ignore health prevention, and studies show people with less means suffer from poorer health as a result of their economic status.

I am president of the Wichita Medical Research and Education Foundation. Our mission includes supporting community efforts designed to improve the health of all Kansans. We financially support programs that educate and train health care workers to promote healthy communities and healthy lifestyles. We support local research that examines health promotion programs and their outcomes.

But the health of our community is really the job of the entire community, not just an individual or one group. This includes our schools, elected officials and those in positions to improve the health of our community.

Culture of health

Imagine you moved to a new community, one that had a master plan to get the community moving more, with walking and biking paths. The community was addressing food deserts, areas of a city that lack access to healthy and fresh foods. The same city was working with new moms on initiatives to ensure their newborns had a healthy start, from the beginning.

What if I said that city is right here? Wichita is doing all of this and more. I think it’s a perfect time to realize all the work our community is doing to build a culture of health during National Public Health Week.

For our community to be strong, it takes everyone being healthy in mind, body and spirit. If we can all make the healthy choice the default choice, we will go even further.

What if we all worked together more, with elected officials, our counterparts and those closest to us? What will the next year bring? I’m excited to see.

This story was originally published April 7, 2016 at 7:04 PM with the headline "Letters on transgender bathroom bill, state’s fiscal mess, public health."