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Worksites
Webinar | Breastfeeding and Your Responsibilities Under the Law | July 21
Time: Noon – 1 p.m.
Date: July 21
Presented by: The Public Health Law Center at Mitchell Hamline
School of Law
Federal and state laws require employers to provide nursing moms time and a
private space to express breast milk while at work. This webinar will address
how the laws apply to Minnesota businesses, including the accommodations
employers are required to make for nursing moms to ensure compliance.
Additionally, the webinar will address how local businesses are supporting
nursing moms and making the laws work at their worksites
Register here.
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 community specialists for:
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Working
with Minnesota Local Governments to Increase Access to Healthy Food:
Equity and Engagement—Building Automatic Relationships
Time: Noon
Date: July
18
Many Minnesotans are
interested in working with their local and regional governments to create more
equitable communities and effectively address their priorities and needs.
Likewise, these governments are also exploring how best to involve residents in
comprehensive planning and priority setting. Currently, these efforts often
focus on how these units of government can play an instrumental role to
increase reliable access to safe, affordable, and healthy food.
Comprehensive planning can be a powerful tool to create a vision and roadmap to
address inequities and engage community members. This webinar describes the
relationship between equity and local planning, exploring current efforts
across Minnesota to build community engagement and create more equitable
communities.
In
this webinar, you'll:
- Understand what equity is, why it matters, and how it can be
applied to comprehensive planning.
- Understand how comprehensive planning has negatively impacted
some communities in the past, linking an understanding of this history
with intentional, effective engagement with communities of color.
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Learn concrete strategies to build equity into comprehensive
planning processes, including strengths and weaknesses of different
approaches, based on current efforts by local Minnesota governments to
engage more effectively with a broad range of community members.
Register
here.
The
webinar will be recorded and available here.
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New Active Living infographics from Active Living Research are
now available in Spanish.
These graphics feature evidence on a range of topics, including Safe Routes to School, transportation systems, parks and recreation, and youth sedentary time. Both English and
Spanish versions of these infographic are available for free download.
AGRI Farm to School Grant
The Minnesota AGRI Farm to School Grant Program anticipates
awarding up to $500,000 in competitive grants to increase sales of locally
grown and raised foods to K-12 institutions and childcare centers. The grant
program supports Minnesota school districts and child care providers’ efforts
to use more Minnesota grown and raised foods in their food service programs.
The Center for Prevention at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota has
committed up to $125,000 to help schools and child care providers meet the requirement
for matching funds for equipment or physical improvement projects.
Grants are intended to:
- Purchase equipment that allows schools and child care
centers to purchase, prepare and serve more Minnesota grown and raised
food. Up to 50 percent of the total project cost may be covered by the
grant, with a maximum grant award of $50,000 and a minimum grant award of
$1,000. Recipients must contribute the remaining 50 percent of the project
cost as a cash match. Blue Cross funds may be used for this type of
funding.
- Create plans that identify specific equipment, tools,
training or policies needed by school districts and child care centers. Up
to 75 percent of the total project cost may be covered by the grant, with
a maximum grant award of $30,000 and a minimum grant award of $1,000.
Recipients must contribute the remaining 25 percent of the project cost as
a cash match. Blue Cross funds may not be used for this option.
Proposals must be received
no later than 4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2. The complete request for proposals and
instructions for submissions are available online at www.mda.state.mn.us/grants/grants/mnfarmtoschool.aspx.
For questions, please contact Ashley Bress at 651-201-6648 or Ashley.Bress@state.mn.us.
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 Apply to host a Walk! Bike!
Fun! curriculum training in your area to implement the curriculum change for
schools. Doing so will provide area teachers and community educators with the
skills to teach children safe pedestrian and bicycle skills! Complete and
submit this application: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/fallwbf_2016
Deadline, August 5.
Contact Michelle (Breidenbach) Kiefer with questions michelle@bikemn.org.
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Tracking Tobacco Laws: A Minnesota Digest is the definitive summary and explanation of Minnesota's
tobacco-related laws. This plain-language resource for local officials,
attorneys, public health professionals and advocates includes links to
state and federal laws, regulations and legal settlements that affect the sale,
marketing and use of tobacco in Minnesota. This publication was updated
to include changes to state and federal tobacco laws since 2008 (the laws and
rules cited are current through June 2016).
Navigating your way through Tracking Tobacco Laws is simple. To locate a
particular topic, you can click on that topic within the Table of Contents or
Index. Hyperlinked items are underlined and in red.
Tracking Tobacco Laws is available on the
Public Health Law Center website at: http://publichealthlawcenter.org/topics/special-collections/tracking-tobacco-laws
Registration
is now open for the 2017 National Conference on Tobacco or
Health. The NCTOH is the premier gathering of
the U.S. tobacco control movement. Since the most recent NCTOH in 2012 the
field has evolved considerably, with new challenges to face and new tools and
resources available. Join leaders and practitioners from across the country for
three days of learning, networking, and strategizing on the impact of and
opportunities around reducing tobacco use. More information about the NCTOH is
available on the meeting registration site at www.nctoh.org.
Register now to secure a limited-time discounted earlybird rate! Space is
limited and registration will close when capacity is reached.
All conference announcements,
including the Call for Abstracts launch and agenda updates, will be shared via
this email distribution list. Stay subscribed for the latest updates from the
2017 NCTOH.
Overview of “Stop Sales to
Minors” Online Vendor Training
Time: 2:00 – 3:00 pm
Date: Sept. 21
Description: Association for Nonsmokers – MN
(ANSR) will provide an overview of the newly released “Stop Sales to Minors”
online tobacco vendor training. We will cover how the training works and how
grantees can promote it. We will also talk about our current plans for
dissemination and brainstorm dissemination strategies together.
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To register for this training session
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Go to https://health-state-mn-ustraining.webex.com/health-state-mn-ustraining/k2/j.php?MTID=t05408239585209b9305ce811da680e02
and register.
Once you are approved by the host, you will receive a confirmation email with
instructions for joining the session.
To view in other time zones or languages, please click the link
https://health-state-mn-ustraining.webex.com/health-state-mn-ustraining/k2/j.php?MTID=t047c5f05550970e2774ab16c6030f72b
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For assistance
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You can contact Lorraine Swenson at:
lorraine.swenson@state.mn.us
1-651-201-5438
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The Center for Prevention at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of
Minnesota delivers on Blue Cross' long-term commitment to improve the health of
all Minnesotans by tackling the leading root causes of preventable disease:
tobacco use, lack of physical activity and unhealthy eating. Funded through
proceeds from Blue Cross' historic lawsuit against the tobacco industry, they
collaborate with organizations statewide to increase health equity, transform communities
and create a healthier state.
The Center is pleased to announce a new funding opportunity for their Healthy
Eating Success Stories funding initiative. They are seeking to fund six to
eight organizations at $10,000 each, to showcase innovative, successful healthy
eating work.
Many successful and innovative projects and initiatives have
been implemented that address barriers to eating healthy throughout Minnesota.
However, due to various constraints such as organizational size or staff
capacity, there are often fewer resources available to promote such
successes.
This funding aims to highlight the outcomes and lessons of current or completed
healthy eating programs, and to promote them within communities that may be
inspired to duplicate the successes.
They seek to fund organizations that tell success stories about their healthy
eating project in unique and innovative ways that also align with the
foundational work laid out in the Minnesota Food Charter. The Success Stories
project will use persuasive, tailored communications and powerful personal
narratives to execute campaign(s) that will deliver positive community-based
healthy eating messages.
The application deadline is 1 p.m. Monday, Aug. 8 (Central
Time).
To apply for this funding
opportunity and review the required materials, visit the Available Funding page.
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The Minnesota Department of Health’s Asthma Program, in
partnership with the American Lung Association in Minnesota, is offering
mini-grant funding to support schools that work to create asthma friendly
schools. Grant money up to $1,500 is available to implement a variety of
school-based projects in elementary, middle or high schools from June 8, 2016,
through Aug. 31, 2017.
Schools will establish their own timeline to complete their
projects by Aug. 31, 2017.The funds, which are available to public schools,
charter schools and private schools, can be applied to individual schools or
across districts. Applications are being accepted for the current grant
cycle.
For more information, go to
the Minnesota Asthma Program – Asthma Friendly Schools Mini-Grant Program to
learn how to submit your application.
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The Annual Statewide Health Improvement
Program (SHIP) Meeting, which will be July 26-27 at Eagan Community Center, is
quickly approaching.
Stretch breaks, biking and walking opportunities will be
available throughout both days. Dress accordingly.
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We’re highlighting SHIP grantees’ work in their communities
with a special feature at the 2016 Annual SHIP Meeting.
Send us your favorite digital photos that showcase some of
your local successes and the partners that helped make it happen. Photos will
be used to create a “Wall of Success” that highlights the many things that you
and your peers are doing to create healthier communities across the state.
Please send digital files (with a short
description of the project) to Chris Kartheiser at chris.kartheiser@state.mn.us
by Thursday, July 21st.
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Recently you received an email from your Community Specialist
outlining the timeline and sharing resources for year 2 planning.
As a reminder, here is the timeline:
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Aug. 1
| Strategy selection sheet and variance form due
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Aug. 31
| Work plan & budget drafts due to CS
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Sept. 19
| Feedback provided to grantees on drafts
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Oct. 3
| Revised work plan & budget drafts due to CS
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Oct. 19
| Feedback provided to grantees on revisions
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Oct. 31
| All year 2 work plans and budgets finalized
For additional details,
refer to the email or contact your Community Specialist.
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As you know, completing a Health Equity Data
Analysis is a requirement of SHIP 4. Originally, this was due Oct. 31, 2016.
Under the updated timeline, all grantees must complete a health equity data
analysis by Oct. 31, 2017, the end of year 2 of the SHIP 4 grant.
- The 10 grantees piloting the Data Guide will complete a
HEDA by November, 2016.
- Grantees who are not part of the pilot can either:
1. Begin the HEDA process now or soon, before the Guide is
refined and the rollout is more fully developed during the pilot period; or
2. Begin the HEDA process in November, 2016, once the Guide is refined and the
rollout is developed. There will not be a formal Community of Practice for the
launch of the refined Guide. But you will be able to seek guidance from the
grantees who piloted the process, from SHIP staff, and from the Minnesota
Center for Health Statistics.
If you decide to move forward now, you are not on your
own! Please reach out to Ann Kinney from the Minnesota Center for Health
Statistics and your Community Specialist. We want to emphasize that you can ask
for and receive the same level of support from MCHS and SHIP that has always
been available to you.
The Data Guide is available on the Minnesota Center for Health Statistics website,
along with numerous resources. The final product for the Health Equity Data
Analysis is still being determined as part of the pilot, but we will want to
see some documentation of how you worked through the five steps in the Guide.
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We are happy to
announce that Holly Glaubitz has joined the Worksite team in the last month.
She comes with great depth in worksite wellness - most recently from StayWell,
working as a contractor for the State of Minnesota employee program. She knows every
nook and cranny of this state! Prior to that, she was the worksite interventionist
for the Heart of New Ulm, and has great experience and stories to share in
rallying small and medium employers to do worksite wellness. She worked on SHIP
1 there as well. Prior to that, she worked in wellness for the Farm Bureau in
Des Moines, IA. She can be reached at holly.glaubitz@state.mn.us, phone
651-201-5432.
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The National Congress of American Indians Conference
passes a resolution entitled "Supporting policies to reduce commercial
tobacco use, secondhand smoke exposure, and tobacco related-disease among
American Indians and Alaska Natives." The resolution found on the NCAI
webpage. This has potential to be extremely useful for other tribal tobacco
prevention advocates because many tribal governments rely heavily on NCAI's
recommendations. In the near future this link will also have the model tribal
smoke-free air policy that can be downloaded and modified by tribes.
Please forward this to any other tribal public health
partners. Let's hope this can be the beginning of many more tribes with
comprehensive smoke-free air policies!
Resolution | NCAI
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 No announcements this week.
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