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Minneapolis’ tobacco-free
off-campus housing work with the University of Minnesota’s Office for
Off-Campus Housing and Live Smoke Free was featured in a news article in the
Minnesota Daily. Read
about their progress here!
Quin Community Health Services SHIP has partnered with the Middle-Snake-Tamarac Watershed District (MSTWD) to utilize the Agassiz Valley Impoundment to encourage more walking and biking in the region. What is an impoundment? Impoundments are a form of flood control used in relatively flat areas where flood water can be held during spring and summer and be released into streams and rivers later in the year. The result of this flood control creates a raised embankment that can be utilized for walking and biking. SHIP staff plan to partner with the watershed in the spring/summer 2015 to increase the number of people using the impoundment for physical activity and highlight this very unique opportunity for walking and biking. This is one step in a long-term plan to make the Agassiz impoundment, and other impoundments in the area, a destination for anyone to see!
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 every Tuesday to Health.MakingitBetter@state.mn.us or grant managers for:
We are excited to announce that Peter Raeker has been hired as OSHII’s Communication Coordinator. He started on Feb 9. Peter comes to OSHII with decades of communication experiences. Welcome, Peter!
MDH seeks a Community
Specialist for the SHIP grants. Primary responsibilities include implementing
effective health improvement initiatives addressing physical activity, healthy
eating and tobacco use prevention, Providing consultation, guidance,
technical assistance and support to local community grantees and grant
administration. Click here to apply.
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Staff from the Illinois Public Health Institute will provide an overview of QI, explain the differences between quality improvement, quality planning and quality assurance and review the Plan, Do, Study, Act cycle. A staff member from the Oklahoma State Department of Health will share an immunization QI project example. This webinar is best suited for public health professionals curious about QI. No previous knowledge or experience required. If interested, please register here as space is limited. This webinar will be recorded and made available at www.nnphi.org as well.
When
residents help plan healthy changes in their community, great things can
happen. ChangeLab Solutions’ new interactive curriculum, The
Changemaker’s Guide, is a comprehensive resource to help residents
and advocates envision a healthy neighborhood—and then create one. This guide
is designed to help trainers build the capacity of community groups to effect
change, influence policy, and engage with the planning processes that shape
neighborhoods, cities, and regions.
The workshop activities, icebreakers, and accompanying materials are offered in
both Spanish and English. The
Changemaker’s Guide was originally developed for residents
in the LA area; however, it can be modified to fit different community
contexts. To learn more, check out their resources
on participating in the planning process.
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Learning opportunity available: Smarter
Lunchrooms video available to view on MN Department of Education
website.
You are invited to join a webinar, entitled Reduce
the Salt, Keep the Flavor: Getting Started with Food Service Providers. This webinar will examine how change
happens in a variety of commercial and non-commercial food service settings as
it relates to sodium reduction. It will address questions such as:
- What are
the highest and lowest sources of sodium in the US diet and in foods?
- How do
proportions, portion sizes and the build of dishes affect sodium content?
- What
knowledge do food service providers need to successfully implement sodium
reduction?
- What training and communications strategies work best?
- Examples
of best practices and successes in sodium reduction in volume food service will
be shared.
Register for this event through the
Dialogue4Health webex platform here.
New school meal standards set by the federal Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act have been getting a lot of press lately. To provide healthier meals, the bill upped requirements for servings of whole grains and legumes. Farm to School programs are one way to meet this requirement while taking advantage of healthy, regionally grown products and supporting local farmers. IATP has come up with a report to help schools add regionally grown grains and legumes to your Farm to School repertoire. See full report here.
AASA has funding from the Walmart Foundation to support alternative school breakfast serving methods, including breakfast in the classroom and grab’n’go. AASA will provide funding for infrastructure, marketing, communications and other needs around school breakfast implementation. AASA will also provide in-depth technical assistance through mentors and inclusion in its school breakfast Community of Practice.
They are looking for two different types of grantees.
- Districts that want to bring alternative school breakfast to some or all of their schools for the first time.
- Districts that already serve alternative school breakfast but are not seeing results.
AASA invites proposals from qualified school districts that possess the commitment, need, and capacity to participate in this alternative school breakfast project.
Download the application (2 parts): Word and Excel
They will hold a webinar for Q&A on Feb 18 at 12pm. Register here. Proposals due March 13, 2015.
New research brief and infographic highlights connection between physical activity, academic achievement.
“Regular participation in physical activity and higher levels of
physical fitness have been linked to improved academic performance and
brain functions, such as attention and memory,” according to a research review—and highlighted in an associated infographic—conducted by
Active Living Research. The authors of the brief conclude that providing daily
physical education to all students “is a justifiable use of valuable school
time” given the demonstrated academic and health benefits.
See the full report here.
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Nearly 2 in 5 kids are still exposed to secondhand smoke.
A new Vital Signs report issued by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention reports that, despite declines in exposure, 58 million
people in the United States are still exposed to secondhand smoke; two of every
five children, including seven in 10 black children, are still exposed.
Secondhand smoke causes early death and disease in both children
and adults who do not smoke. There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand
smoke; even brief exposure can be harmful.
For more information about this report, visit the Vital Signs
webpage here.
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 No resources
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Health/Race Equity & the Community: Jeanne Ayers - Assistant Commissioner,
MN Department of Health
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Beyond Disparities: Dr. Rose Brewer - Environmental Justice
Advocates of MN
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The Somali Experience: Farhio Khalif - Voices of East African
Women
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Reducing Environmental Hazards to Child
Development: Kathleen
Schuler - Co-Director Healthy Legacy & Stephanie Belseth - Pediatric
Nurse Practitioner
- Question and Answer session
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Call to Action: Karen Clark – MN Representative
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Indigenous Peoples Task Force - Spiritual
Closing: Sharon Day
American Indian Center
1530 E Franklin Ave S
Minneapolis, MN
Data
Access portal: Use data from this
portal to identify local priorities, inform grant applications, and measure
progress. MDH’s MN Public Health Data
Access portal includes data on over 20 health and environment topics. View interactive maps, charts, and custom
tables to evaluate trends and patterns. This
portal is maintained by the MN Environmental Public Health Tracking Program,
under a cooperative agreement with the CDC National Tracking Network.
The
Summit Program Committee is seeking individuals and groups to actively
participate in the Summit. They are looking for sessions that will:
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Emphasize action-oriented and results-driven
policies, best practices and programs
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Share Stories of participants’ work
to improve conditions that increase the walkability of and promote walking in
local communities.
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Engage attendees in active participation and
development of new ideas and innovative approaches
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Participate in a unique active conference setting
with mobile tours and walking sessions
The Every Body
Walk! Collaborative and America Walks need you to help make this event a
success by submitting a proposal today to become a presenter. Proposals
are due by February 25, 2015.
To learn more about this exciting opportunity and download the application, please visit here.
SCALE is an exciting opportunity for communities in the United States to substantially accelerate their health improvement journey. SCALE recognizes and values that communities hold the solutions to improve their health. Therefore, the goal of SCALE is to equip communities with skills and resources to unlock their potential and achieve significant results.
Twenty pacesetter communities will be selected to participate in this 20-month intensive “learning and doing” program. SCALE will support communities in their efforts to address factors that contribute to health, lead complex change, and advance equity. Up to 10 additional mentor communities will serve as part of the technical assistance team in the SCALE initiative. Mentors will be serving within the context of an “all teach, all learn” approach that acknowledges that everyone has the opportunity to learn from one another in an effective transformation process. Click here for more information.
The primary goal of the Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Mentoring Program is to assist newly forming coalitions in becoming eligible to apply for DFC funding on their own.
Eligible applicants are currently funded DFC grantees with a coalition that has been in existence for at least five years (not to be interpreted as having been a DFC grantee for five years); has an active DFC grant at the time of application; and, is in good standing (not on high risk) .
More details here.
With this request for proposals (RFP), they invite eligible applicants to propose projects that address these conditions in one or more of the following areas:
- Equitable Systems
- Stable Lives
- Social Connections
- Vibrant Communities
You can find full descriptions of these strategic aims in the RFP. They focus on the interconnectedness of people, institutions and systems that together can create a health community by building and advancing capacity for lasting change that results in better health for all. Additional details here.
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Dates and Locations:
- Feb 17 | Minnetonka | Ridgedale Library, 12601 Ridgedale Dr, Minnetonka, MN 55305 | Robert H Rohlf Room
- Feb 19 | Marshall | Southwest Health & Human Services, 607 West Main Street, Marshall, MN 56258 | 3rd Floor, Rooms 4 & 5
- Feb 24 | Rochester | Minnesota Department of Health, 18 Wood Lake Dr SE, Rochester, MN 55904 | Large Meeting Room
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Feb 26 | Duluth | Lake Superior College, 2101 Trinity Rd, Duluth, MN 55811 | Room S1981 **No afternoon Health Care Session in Duluth**
To those who may have a Making it Better Healthy Eating Active Living Regional Meeting on your calendar for today, Feb 12, the meetings, which had been tentatively scheduled for February, are being rescheduled for May. More details coming soon.
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Dates & Locations:
- Feb 17 | Minnetonka | Ridgedale Library, 12601 Ridgedale Dr, Minnetonka, MN 55305 | Robert H Rohlf Room
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Feb 19 | Marshall | Southwest Health & Human Services, 607 West Main Street, Marshall, MN 56258 | 3rd Floor, Rooms 4 & 5
- Feb 24 | Rochester | Minnesota Department of Health, 18 Wood Lake Dr SE, Rochester, MN 55904 | Large Meeting Room
- Feb 26 | Duluth | Lake Superior College, 2101 Trinity Rd, Duluth, MN 55811 | Room S1981
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