Identifying Local Opportunities - Assignment 5

Identifying Local Opportunities: Birmingham, Michigan

1. Sunscreen bill signed into law
2. https://www.candgnews.com/news/sunscreen-bill-signed-into-law-108932
3. Public Act 243 of 2018 releases schools from the liability of students who bring sunscreen and other FDA approved topical creams to school to apply. Previously, children needed a doctor’s note to bring and apply anything during school hours. This bill now allows schools to accept a parent’s note for permission to apply. 
4. This presents the opportunity for parents of an easily applied sunscreen product for children to use at school.Current sunscreen liquid is complicated and time consuming for a child to apply and heavy to carry around. Spray sunscreen, consequently also is now likely to be banned from elementary schools as children could recklessly spray this around. There is now an opportunity for a conveniently packaged, easy to apply sun protection product for children to do themselves. 
5. Parent’s of young children have this problem. It is also in the schools interested to know about these products, as they are involved to supervise the application process at school. Likely, the schools would not provide this product to students so they may not purchase.

1. Sleep: a whole new summer slide to worry about
2. https://www.candgnews.com/news/sleep-a-whole-new-summer-slide-to-worry-about-108875 
3. Detroit ranks worst in sleep, a recent study reveals, and summertime schedules are particularly difficult on children. Between the stimulation of long sunlight hours, a lack of structure without school, and rising temperatures, children are not getting the sleep that they need during the summer months. Experts provide that controlling light and temperature are some of the best ways to correct these patterns of behavior and encourage healthy sleep schedules.
4. There are a couple opportunities presented in this article such as black out curtains to block light, people to install black out curtains. Lightweight bedding may also be an opportunity here.
5. Parent’s of young children have this problem as well. Caregivers of children could also have this problem, ie. grandparents who watch the children, nannies or daycare providers. 

1. Drowning prevention is more than learning to swim
2. https://www.candgnews.com/news/-drowning-prevention-is-more-than-learning-to-swim-108851
3. In this article, local man reports that he drowned while winter surfing on Lake Michigan. According to the World Health Organization, drowning is defined as the respiratory distress that occurs due to immersion or submersion in liquid and these instances can be fatal, non fatal or non fatal with injury. As a result, occurrences are underreported every year, placing all of us at risk. This man describes that although he was a strong swimmer, he had the wind knocked out of him and was unable to fight the strength of the waves with heavy gear. 
4. The opportunities here are varying including: specialized training to promote water safety, lighter winter surfing gear, and more frequent patrols for lakes (Great Lakes and inland lakes). 
5. Arguably anyone who is around water frequently runs the risk of drowning. More specifically, anyone who lives on water, owns a pool, or likes water sports and boating. With respect to patrolling, individual counties and states suffer from this problem. 

1. Experts offer tips to protect homes during vacation
2. https://www.candgnews.com/news/experts-offer-tipsto-protect-homesduring-vacation-108721
3. With finicky weather for much of the year, many Michiganders take advantage of the summer months to make use of second homes and lake front properties. Often times, this means that people are away from one of their properties for much of the year. Home damage caused by fires and burglary are too major problems that arise from this lifestyle. Experts in this article offer many suggestions for preventative measures to take to reduce homeowners’ risks of these. 
4. An opportunity exists here for installing and providing camera’s on one’s porch. There is also an opportunity for a course or resource manual to provide to homeowners. Essentially, this would extrapolate on this article with expert advice.
5. All homeowners who frequently travel have this problem. 

1. Schools in Birmingham and West Bloomfield begin plans to partially reopen in fall
2.  https://www.candgnews.com/news/schools-in-birmingham-west-bloomfield-begin-plans-to-partially-reopen-in-fall-117571 
3. K-12 schools in Southeastern Michigan are now beginning to discuss how they plan to reopen for the fall semester, in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Although the schools transitioned to online learning for the remainder of the spring 2020 semester, they intend to, in some capacity, bring students back to campuses in the fall of 2020. As such, they are not looking for ways to limit contact between students, including limiting the contamination of equipment, desks etc. One suggestion is to make classrooms “hybrid”, offering students to come in only for a certain time of day, or specified days and then allowing the other students to come in.
4. The larges problem that schools face is sanitation. A specialized crew that could gain contracts to sterilize many schools on this “flip” method (with some students attending Monday and Tuesday, and others Thursday and Friday) may be able to fill a niche need. Additionally, there is an opportunity for immunity supporting vitamins, therapies and treatments for both the students and faculty at this time. 
5. Schools face the problem of how to prevent the spread of disease and parents/children face the problem of how to protect themselves with immune system support.