Did you know there is currently a condition that affects one in four girls and one in six boys before their 18th birthday?  And, that recently the Centers for Disease Control has acknowledged this condition as a national health epidemic?

This “condition” is the reality of child sexual abuse in Wisconsin.  Here are some additional statistics you might not be aware of:

• In Wisconsin, 47 percent of sex offenders were related to the victim, 49 percent were acquaintances and 4 percent were strangers.
• The median age for reported sexual abuse is 9 years old.
• Nearly 40 percent of victims are abused by older and larger children.
• Abuse typically occurs within a long-term, on-going relationship between the offender and victim, escalates over time and lasts an average of four years.

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This is an update to a blog post dated May 8. Read about the statewide smoking ban.

Last night just after 10 p.m., the State Assembly voted 61-38 to concur with the 25-8 vote earlier in the day by the State Senate to pass a statewide smoking ban to go into effect July 5, 2010. More than 40 amendments were offered to attempt to water down the reach of the statewide ban.  All of the amendments failed. It now goes to the Governor for his signature.

Congratulations and thank you to the many people at Children’s Hospital and Health System who worked in support of this legislation year after year, and so many of you who took the time this week to call your legislators.  Your voices were heard!

–Michelle Mettner, vice president of Government Relations, Children’s Hospital and Health System

The warm weather officially has arrived! Trees are blooming and the scent of freshly mown lawns is in the air. But for those of us with asthma and allergies, spring also means trouble breathing, itchy eyes and lots of sneezing. Do you have trouble catching your breath when you’re exercising or are around people who smoke? Does your child struggle to breathe or cough a lot when he or she plays outside or with the family dog? You and your child might be one of 300 million people worldwide who suffer from asthma.

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Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin is teaming up for the MACC Fund by sponsoring a team in the annual MACC Fund Trek 100 Ride for Hope Saturday, June 6.

Honorary co-captain Peggy Troy, MSN, RN, president and CEO of Children’s Hospital and Health System, and I invite you to support this event by registering as a rider or volunteering at the Children’s Hospital-sponsored rest stop.

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This week at the State Capitol, Legislators, the American Cancer Society, Smoke-Free Wisconsin and the Tavern League announced a compromise on the statewide smoking ban legislation. The deal would include a ban in all public workplaces, including bars and taverns to go into effect July 5, 2010.  Exceptions to the ban would be granted to existing cigar bars that receive a majority of their income from tobacco sales and tobacco retailers who derive 75 percent of their income from tobacco sales.  The compromise deal does not allow for smoking rooms in hotels or motels.  It does provide language to ensure taverns could have outdoor smoking areas.

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