Making it Better: Minnesota's Health Improvement Log

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Making it Better: Minnesota's Health Improvement Log

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Feb. 1, 2018

New Commissioner Announced

MDH Commissioner Malcolm

Governor appoints Jan Malcolm

Governor Mark Dayton announced on Tuesday, Jan. 30, that Jan Malcolm is the new Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH).

Malcolm is a public health expert with significant management experience in both the public and non-profit sectors, and previously served as MDH Commissioner from 1999 to 2003.

Commissioner Malcolm's appointment took effect on Tuesday. Go to Governor Dayton's website to read the news release.  


Walk! Bike! Fun! Training

Foley kids walking to school

Apply now to host a training

Communities and schools that participate in Walk! Bike! Fun! curriculum training will commit to implementing what they learn into youth programs. Encourage your school district to apply.

The deadline to apply to host an educator's training in the spring is Feb. 28, and more information can be found on this Walk! Bike! Fun! link.


Bike Friendly Community

bike instructor showing man how to ride a bicycle

New resource available

The Bicycle Friendly Community Resource Guide: A Toolkit for Minnesota is designed to help Minnesota advocates foster bicycle friendliness in their communities. It also aims to improve health, safety and overall quality of life.

Download your Bike Friendly Community guide here.

Calendar of Events

SHIP Evaluation Webinar

Date: Monday, Feb. 5
Time: 2:00 p.m.

Join the SHIP Evaluation Team for a webinar where participants will be given the big picture for evaluation for 2018 and an outline of REDCap updates. Watch your email inbox for a calendar invite and webinar details.


Planning for Population Health Coffee Call

Date: Wednesday, Feb. 7
Time: 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

This month’s Planning for Population Health Coffee Call continues our discussion on healthy food access and planning.  Be prepared to discuss the topics or themes that came out of the Food Charter in Action events in your area. If you weren’t able to attend, still join us to share your thoughts about a other local opportunities where community input and community energy can influence planning efforts.

Call-in details: 844-302-0362        Attendee access code: 322 122 57


Healthy Retail Webinar

Date: Thursday, Feb. 8
Time: 11:00 a.m. - noon 

Retailers often face issues around maintaining the quality of fresh produce in aging equipment, stocking produce in an appealing way, clearly displaying the name and cost of produce, etc. Join U of M Extension Regional Sustainable Development Partnership for this webinar to learn more about resources to help retailers promote fresh, healthy foods.

To join the webinar, click on this link.

Session number: 630 941 641                                Session password: Produce1!

Dial-in information: 844-302-0362                       Access code: 630 941 641


Tobacco Control Webinar

Date: Wednesday, Feb. 14
Time: 2 a.m. – 3 p.m. 

This webinar provides information on a variety of online resources that anyone in tobacco control will find of use.  Presenters will highlight a collection of legislative and health data found on the CDC’s State Tobacco Action Tracking & Evaluation (STATE) system website and the Office on Smoking and Health’s Interactive Data Dissemination Tool OSHData, and show how this wealth of state and local information can help inform tobacco control policy activity and initiatives.

This Public Health Law Center website provides registration information.

This Week's Gem

bowl of broccoli

St. Louis Park students are learning to expand their taste buds. They are one of six suburban school districts Hennepin County Public Health Promotion is working with to increase vegetable consumption. 

In November, a new recipe was provided to students: Roasted Parmesan Topped Broccoli. It was a big hit with students and staff. This prompted an elementary school parent to contact her son’s kitchen manager and ask for the recipe. According to the parent, her son was raving about the new broccoli recipe so much he asked Santa to bring him more it! You know you’re doing something right when broccoli makes it on a child's Christmas list.

Anoka-Hennepin, Brooklyn Center, Hopkins, Osseo and Robbinsdale are the other schools implementing  Healthy Cafeterias initiatives, which includes making Smarter Lunchroom changes with an emphasis on fruits and vegetables, training cafeteria staff on new vegetable recipes and holding vegetable taste-tests for students.

We are not sure if Santa brought the St. Louis Park student any roasted parm broccoli, but we are sure that recipe will remain on the menu for all to enjoy.