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Nov. 15, 2018

Tobacco conference scholarship for SHIP grantees

National Conference on Tobacco or Health scholarships

The Minnesota Department of Health Tobacco Prevention and Control Program and American Lung Association Technical Assistance Provider are collaborating to offer a limited number of scholarships to SHIP grantees working on tobacco-free living strategies to attend the National Conference on Tobacco or Health (NCTOH) on Aug. 27-29, 2019, located at the Minneapolis Convention Center. First call for applications are due Nov. 30.

Visit Basecamp for more information on NCTOH and to access the application.

BUILD Health Challenge 2019

Coming soon: call for applications The BUILD Health Challenge is looking to support dynamic collaboratives driving sustainable improvements in community health in 2019. Applications will be released in early 2019 in search of awardees. Selected communities will be eligible to receive up to $250,000 in funding, capacity building support and join a national peer network. The BUILD Health Challenge awards focus on strengthening partnerships and are designed to support collaborations ready to put plans into action. Visit the BUILD website and the application page for more information.

New physical activity guidelines for Americans

New 2018 guidelines for physical activity The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently released the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition, which outlines the amounts and types of physical activity needed to maintain or improve overall health and reduce the risk of chronic disease. The document also highlights new benefits of physical activity and tested strategies that can be used to get all Americans more active.

Opportunity for health education professionals

All health education professionals invited to take survey

The Health Education Specialist Practice Analysis II (HESPA II) is being conducted to re-validate the contemporary practice of entry-level and advanced-level health education specialists and to redefine the core knowledge and competencies for health education/promotion practice.

View the consent form to get started.

Give feedback on the MN Food Charter Network

Survey is open through Dec. 7

The purpose of the Food Charter Network, launched in 2015, is to support and foster shared action toward reliable access to healthy, safe and affordable food for all Minnesotans regardless of where they live or how much they make. Our success depends on the participation of diverse partners across our state, including individuals like you.

Please provide feedback on how you think the Minnesota Food Charter Network is doing so we can determine where things are going well and where we need to make corrections.

The survey will remain open through Friday, Dec. 7.

Winter Regional Meetings

Dates and locations for regional meetings in 2019

Save the date for the regional meeting in your area, coming in January and February. Look for registration in the next few weeks.

Jan. 24: Southwest, MinnWest Technology Campus, Commons: 1707 Technology Drive NE, Willmar, MN

Jan. 29: Northeast, Blandin Foundation, 100 North Pokegama Ave, Grand Rapids, MN

Jan. 30: Northwest, Detroit Lakes Community & Cultural Center, 826 Summit Ave, Detroit Lakes, MN

Feb. 5: Metro, MDH Golden Rule Building, 85 E 7th place, Suite 220, Saint Paul, MN

Feb. 7: Southeast, Well Living Lab, 221 1st Ave SW, Rochester, MN

No Making it Better next week

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

With the upcoming holiday, we won't be sending out a newsletter next week.

Look for the next Making it Better on Nov. 29.

Calendar

Webinar: Bicycle friendly university - how to make the grade in Minnesota

Date: Monday, Nov. 19
Time: 2:30 - 3:30 p.m.

Tune in to this webinar to learn what Minnesota State University, Mankato, has done for bicycling over the years and how they made the grade as a Bicycle Friendly University. We have five universities in Minnesota that have been recognized as bicycle-friendly by The League of American Bicyclists and many more universities statewide who might qualify for the Bicycle Friendly University designation. Seek out recognition for what you're already doing to be bike-friendly and set goals to improve the bike culture for students, staff and visitors at your school.

To join the monthly active living webinar visit the MDH WebEx page.

Webinar: Complete Streets and bicycle and pedestrian planning

Date: Tuesday, Nov. 27
Time: 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.

Join the Safe Routes to School National Partnership to hear from a county health department that developed pedestrian plans for unincorporated communities, a health coalition that lead a Complete Streets policy effort, and about other ways to bring a health focus to local walking and bicycling initiatives.  

Register at the Safe Routes to School National Partnership website.  

Webinar: Active Transportation for Healthy Communities

Date: Thursday, Nov. 29
Time: 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.

Activity-friendly and walkable communities are designed in ways that make physical activity easier and more accessible for everyone. In alignment with the Center for Disease Control’s Connecting Routes + Destinations materials, this webinar will highlight work being done by three communities of various sizes that are working to create more activity-friendly connections for all.

Register with America Walks.

This weeks Gem

In Lake Crystal, steps have been taken to improve the infrastructure around the elementary school by constructing a sidewalk on one of the busy roads leading to the school. The city of Lake Crystal completed the sidewalk project near Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial Elementary School this fall, just in time for Walk to School Day. The street where the sidewalk sits, Watonwan Street, provides a direct route to the elementary school and is much safer now for kids to travel to school on foot. This project was identified as a high priority in the school’s Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Plan, which was a collaboration between Blue Earth County SHIP and community groups and funded by a Minnesota Department of Transportation grant. Lake Crystal has also created a SRTS Plan for the secondary school. The Watonwan Street sidewalk is the first major project to be implemented from the SRTS Plan, and the school hopes to continue adding more sidewalks, curb cuts, and crosswalks and provide more biking and walking safety workshops. For more information, read the Mankato Free Press article.

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