Making it Better, Your Minnesota's Health Improvement Log

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January 14, 2016

Current and archived issues available at www.health.state.mn.us/divs/oshii/log

To be added to the distribution list please email Health.MakingitBetter@state.mn.us.

In This Week's Issue

• Don't forget!
• Gems
• Check out the Local Public Health Planning and Assessment website
• School Grants for Healthy Kids
• New report shows support for “local food systems”
• Pro Walk Pro Bike now accepting workshop proposals
• Submit workshop ideas for the Youth Bike Summit
• Twin Cities Hosting 2016 Winter Cycling Congress
• Host Walk! Bike! Fun! Curriculum Trainings
• MDH Tobacco Community Input Process Findings
• SHIP 4 Requirements Revisited
• SHIP Evaluation Updates Coming Soon
• New Standard IRS Mileage Rate
• Accepting Grant Applications

Don't forget!

• Making it Better Regional Learning Meetings: Active Living. Sessions are scheduled at 9 a.m. four days in January. Three meeting dates are still open: Jan. 19, 21, or 28. Register here.  
  
  
• Submit comments on HUD's proposed smoke-free public housing rule by Jan. 19, 2016.  More information with links to other resources about HUD’s proposed rule and smoke-free affordable housing can be found on the Public Health Law Center’s website. 
  
  
• Join the Creating Walkable Communities webinar at noon, Jan. 19 (Central Time). Register now! 
  
  
• Complete this brief survey to help identify which Food Charter planning-related strategies are most important. Surveys are due Jan. 19.
  
  
•  The Point of Sale Connect Call at 2 p.m. Jan. 20.  Conference line: 1-888-354-0094  Passcode: 8132089
  
  
• First 2016 Safe Routes to School Network call from 10 to 11 a.m. Jan. 21. Join WebEx meeting. Meeting password:SRTS

Gems

City of Morris passes a strong park policy

The City of Morris passed a strong park policy that took effect November 24.  The policy prohibits the sale, sponsorship/promotion, and use of tobacco products and electronic delivery devices at all times in or on all park property, including the skate park.  Kudos to the partnership between the City of Morris and Horizon Public Health TFC for their commitment to providing safe and healthy environments.

Gov. Dayton Proclaims January SNAP-Ed Outreach Month!

Governor Dayton has proclaimed January SNAP-Ed Outreach Month.

His proclamation reads, in part, reads:

“Whereas, the SNAP participation rate in Minnesota is 66 percent overall, and 57 percent for seniors aged 60 and older; and SNAP is a public benefit program that creates an economic boost in communities where new benefits are redeemed; and benefits help decrease the prevalence of poverty, especially child poverty, where every dollar spent on nutrition education in Minnesota saves up to $10 in long-term health care costs.”

Click here for full proclamation. 

Do you have a resource or success story (“gem”) to share for a future issue?  Submissions for each week’s Thursday publication are due by noon Tuesdays. Send to Health.MakingitBetter@state.mn.us or community specialists for:

• SHIP  Meredith Ahlgren, Allison Heinzeller, Jessica Smith or Dan Taylor
• Tobacco Pa Khang
• American Indian LaRaye Anderson or Sarah Brokenleg
• Community Wellness Rachel Mahon Bosman

Check out the Local Public Health Planning and Assessment website

MDH Public Health Practice section staff created a website to share the findings Community Health Boards (CHBs) reported in the 2010-2014 Assessment and Planning Cycle. The website includes:

• Links to all Community Health Improvement Plans
• Top Community Health Issues/Priorities by CHB
• 10 most important community health issues by region
• Three standards most in need of improvement by region

Click here to access the Local Public Health Assessment and Planning website.

For questions regarding Local Public Health Assessment and Planning, contact Sarah Small: sarah.small@state.mn.us

School Grants for Healthy Kids

In partnership with University of Minnesota Extension: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - Education (SNAP-Ed), Minnesota Action for Healthy Kids (MN AFHK) will issue Physical Activity and Nutrition grants to high-need Minnesota schools – grants that will facilitate school wellness enhancements focusing on healthy eating and physical activity and ensuring that the healthy choice is the easy choice for MN students, families and schools.  Up to 20 high-need, low income schools will be awarded $1,500 to support both physical activity and nutrition initiatives that aid schools in creating and expanding a dedicated health team and becoming recognized as health-promoting.  View the paper application

Friday Jan. 22, 2016 – Applications Due

Friday Jan. 29, 2016 – Awarded schools notified 

New report shows support for “local food systems”

A new report by the National Conference of State Legislatures, (NCSL), funded by Johns Hopkins Center for Livable Futures, shows that since 2012 the states have supported what NCSL calls “local food systems.” These do not include food safety, but rather trendy local food system approaches, farmers markets, community gardens and urban agriculture, healthy retail groceries, and food policy councils.

Pro Walk Pro Bike now accepting workshop proposals

Proposals for Pro Walk/Pro Bike/Pro Place, which will be held Sept. 12-15 2016 in Vancouver, BC are being accepted. Moving Towards a Healthier World is the conference theme and proposals are sought for four focus areas: Mobility, Governance, Health, and Resilience. Proposals will be accepted until 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29 (Eastern Time).  Click here for more information.  

Submit workshop ideas for the Youth Bike Summit

The Youth Bike Summit, hosted by Cycles for Change, is now accepting workshop proposal applications for the 2016 summit to be held on May 27-29 in St. Paul.

We are particularly excited about the youth-led and interactive workshops. We are looking forward to hearing all your great ideas for this year’s summit!

Deadline to submit proposals: Feb. 12, 2016
Download the application here.

Twin Cities Hosting 2016 Winter Cycling Congress

The Winter Cycling Congress will be held Feb. 2-4 in Minneapolis and Saint Paul. This is a three-day, professional development event that unites diverse and international groups of people who share the vision of increasing bicycling and walking among people of all ages and abilities through the winter. Click here for more information about the event. 

Host Walk! Bike! Fun! Curriculum Trainings

If you would like to host a training session in the Spring of 2016, please click here to complete the application. Applications are due Jan. 29 and host sites will be selected in February.

MDH Tobacco Community Input Process Findings

The MDH Tobacco Team is conducting a six-month initiative that began in July, 2015 and ends this month. The team is accepting community input and gathering information on the harms of commercial tobacco use, interventions designed to decrease commercial tobacco use and exposure to tobacco. The collected information will help the agency gain community stakeholders’ insight and will allow the MDH to formulate strategies to address tobacco-related health inequities. The information, which was collected through in-person group sessions, individual interviews and an online survey, will help the agency formulate its policies and develop the program as it moves forward with the goal of advancing health equity in tobacco control. 

We are excited to share interim findings from this process! Click here for a summary of the findings. Please note that these findings are limited to broad themes. A detailed report of all findings and recommendations will be developed later.

No announcements this week.

SHIP 4 Requirements Revisited

Save the date!  

Join us for a SHIP 4 webinar (MDH requires that at least one staff member from each department attends the webinar). Topics will include the differences between SHIP 3 & SHIP 4, a general orientation on available resources that are available for this grant period, and more.  

Choose from two times:  

Jan 26 | 10-11 am | Join webinar | Session password: Happyday123$

Jan 27 | 2-3 pm | Join webinar | Session password: Happyday123$

 The webinar will be recorded for future reference.

SHIP Evaluation Updates Coming Soon

Updates regarding evaluation will be sent to SHIP 4 evaluation points-of-contacts.  Be on the lookout for this e-mail coming from the Health.SHIP.eval@state.mn.us address. The e-mail will include updates on MDH staffing, REDCap, and other evaluation activities.

New Standard IRS Mileage Rate

Effective Jan. 1, 2016, all State grantees who request reimbursement for travel expenses are required to use the new standard IRS mileage rate of $0.54 per mile for business-related travel. Mileage reimbursement rate has decreased from $0.575 to $0.54 per mile.

Accepting Grant Applications

As part of the Seeds of Native Health campaign, First Nations Development Institute is now accepting grant applications from tribes and organizations that are working to improve the nutrition and health of Native people.

Grant proposals are due Feb. 11, 2016. For more information, click here.

No announcements this week.

No announcements this week.