MEDIA CONTACT: Chris Burns, Public Information Officer, Saint Paul – Ramsey County Public Health, 651.266.2537.
Four Awardees to be Recognized at April 7 County Board Meeting
Saint
Paul, MN. (April 6) — One individual
and three groups will receive 2015 Ramsey County Public Health Awards at
the April 7 meeting of the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners, The awardees
will be honored for their exceptional contributions to improving the health of
individuals, families and communities in the county.
The
2015 Ramsey County Public Health Award winners are:
-
Pa Nyia Vang for
her work in the Hmong community providing education and support to families
with children who have special health care needs.
-
Urban Roots for the
nonprofit’s work cultivating youth leaders to connect with community members to
grow fresh produce, promote organic practices, and the cooking and eating of
healthy foods.
-
Saint Paul Public Housing Agency's health improvement team for
its work to address health disparities by fostering a culture of health through
multiple initiatives at its 20 residential communities.
-
The Twin Cities Mobile Market, a program of the Wilder Foundation, under
the leadership of Leah Driscoll for their work to improve health outcomes by
bringing healthy, affordable food to underserved neighborhoods.
(See background
information below for more about the award winners.)
The
Ramsey County Public Health Awards are sponsored by Saint Paul – Ramsey County
Public Health. Nominations were
submitted by the public earlier this year. Award recipients were selected for
their leadership, advocacy, collaboration and work to improve community health.
This
is the inaugural year of the awards program. “The work of this first group of
award winners is impressive,” said Ramsey County Board Chair Jim McDonough.
“Our county is fortunate to have such dedicated individuals and groups focused
on improving the health of people and the environment in Ramsey County.”
“The collaboration, leadership and passion
these winners display in their efforts to improve our community’s health is
inspiring,” said Commissioner Janice Rettman, Chair of the Ramsey County Health
Services Committee. “Working at the grassroots level, together with multiple
community partners, these individuals and groups are creating smart solutions
that fit the individual needs of their neighborhoods.”
The
public health award presentation coincides with National
Public Health Week
which this year emphasizes the importance of a multi-sector approach to
improving the health in local communities. “One of our goals in developing
these awards was to highlight the fact that the work to improve community
health isn’t just being done by public health and the health care system alone,”
said Marina McManus, Director of Saint Paul – Ramsey County Public Health. “We
want to recognize the innovative work being done by many individuals and groups
to reduce health disparities and improve the health status of the community.”
Nominations
for the 2016 Ramsey County Public Health Awards will be accepted starting in
January of next year. More information on the awards including nomination forms
are available at http://www.co.ramsey.mn.us/ph/au/rc_public_health_awards.htm
Background on 2015
Ramsey County Public Health Award Winners
Pa
Nyia Vang – Pa Nyia Vang is a Parent Support Navigator with Family
Voices of Minnesota where she focuses on providing assistance in the Hmong
community. As a parent with a daughter who has acute chronic special health
care needs, she understands the complications of raising a child with special
health care needs, as well as how to navigate Hmong culture, traditions,
beliefs and stereotypes. Through Family Voices of Minnesota, she conducts
monthly meetings at Gillette Children Specialty Healthcare where she provides
support, and connects parents to resources and assistance available both inside
and outside the hospital.
Pa Nyia has also provided
leadership to many community groups including developing a support group for
Hmong families in collaboration with the ARC of the Greater Twin Cities and
serving on the Saint Paul Public School’s Special Education Advisory Council.
She also serves on the Minnesota Department of Health’s Children and Youth with
Special Health Care Needs Stakeholder Advisory Team. She has shared her
knowledge as a speaker at multiple conferences over the last two years organized
by Saint Paul Public Schools, the Minnesota Department of Health, local public health
nurses, and the Hmong Health Care Professionals Coalition.
Urban Roots – Youth at the
nonprofit Urban Roots have taught thousands of community members the skills
they need to improve their own health, as well as working on projects that help
improve the health of the broader community. They attend community events to
demonstrate how to plant vegetable seeds, pass out samples of healthy recipes
or lead activities that explain the importance of eating healthy food. The youth
serve as role models for the younger students they mentor at hands-on cooking and
gardening classes, and work at their urban gardens.
Urban
Roots youth interns use organic practices to grow produce on six different
pieces of urban land. The produce is distributed to community members through
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), donated to local food shelves, served at
a local church’s “Wellness Night” meals, and used as healthy food samples at
various community events. The interns work with numerous schools and community
groups to share their knowledge and enthusiasm about healthy eating and
cooking.
Twin Cities Mobile Market
– The Twin
Cities Mobile Market, a program of the Wilder Foundation, provides
store-quality healthy, affordable food at 18 locations in Saint Paul, five days
a week via a converted transit bus. The goal of the mobile market is to improve
health outcomes by bringing healthy food directly into the areas that need it
the most. The stops include schools, senior and public housing in places
identified as areas where people may not have access to a full-service grocery.
The
development of the mobile market, under the leadership of Leah Driscoll, has
involved many community partners, volunteers, and input from hundreds of
community residents. Because the mobile market is the first of its kind in
Minnesota, setting up the service required extensive work to ensure it was
properly licensed and met the requirements of multiple regulatory agencies.
Success of the project is evident in the more than 800 people served in the market’s
first month of operation, more than twice the projected estimates. Equally
important is the experience of one of the shoppers who shared with Mobile
Market that she was now able to eat fruit for the first time in two years.
Saint Paul Public Housing
Agency –
The Saint Paul Public Housing Agency began working in 2011 with public housing
residents to prevent and reduce chronic disease by focusing on healthy eating,
active living and reducing tobacco use. The initiative, supported in part by
funding from the Minnesota Department of Health’s (MDH) Statewide Health
Improvement Program (SHIP) began as a pilot project at five sites, and was
expanded to include all 20 SPPHA sites that serve more than 10,000 individuals
and families.
A
new focus on healthy living is emerging within SPPHA communities as residents,
housing and public health staff, and multiple other community partners
collaborate on an impressive array of health initiatives. From new gardens
installed at residential sites where residents can grow their own fresh
produce, gardening and healthy cooking classes, walking groups, strength,
balance and yoga classes, to exercise demonstrations and new exercise
equipment, SPPHA communities and their partners are working to create new
opportunities for healthier living. Active transportation is also a goal with
an emphasis on walking and a large biking component with more than 750 bikes donated
to youth and families, classes on how to maintain bikes, and bike repair fixit
stations that have been installed.
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