Policy Issues

North Carolina

2012 Public Policy Agenda

Building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke.The American Heart Association / American Stroke Association supports and advocates for public policies that will help improve the cardiovascular health
of all Americans by 20 percent while reducing deaths by coronary heart disease and stroke by 20 percent by 2020.

•  Improve Child Nutrition Standards: Advocate for competitive food and beverage nutrition standards with the Legislature and State Board of Education that are consistent with the guidelines for the Alliance for a Healthier Generation Healthy Schools Program or the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine.
•  Require Quality Physical Education in Schools: Advocate for local policy that requires quality physical education for students that includes minimum standards for elementary students of at least 150 minutes of PE during each school week and at least 225 minutes per week for middle school students.
• Protect Smoke-free Laws: Protect the statewide smoke-free law and support local efforts to extend secondhand smoke protections in other worksites.
• Protect and Secure Dedicated State Appropriations: Protect and secure dedicated state appropriations that align with heart disease and stroke prevention priorities, support eliminating health disparities, and dedicated recurring funding for evidence-based state tobacco prevention & cessation programs.
• Promote CPR Training as a HS Graduation Requirement: Advocate for legislation that CPR training consistent with AHA guidelines including psychomotor skills and AED awareness be required for high school graduation.
• Support Coordinated Stroke Systems of Care: Support efforts to create inclusive and coordinated statewide systems of care that improves stroke treatment, including efforts that ensure the recognition and protection of designated facilities treating stroke in the state is based on Joint Commission accreditation or an equivalent process.