Making it Better: Minnesota's Health Improvement Log

Minnesota Department of Health sent this bulletin at 04/11/2019 11:00 AM CDT

Making it Better: Minnesota's Health Improvement Log

April 11, 2019

Registration for Spring Regional Meetings

Provide input on the next iteration of SHIP

Spring Regional Meetings are almost here! Make plans now – join OSHII and other fellow regional SHIP staff in a discussion about our collective vision for the next round of SHIP. This will be an important starting point to our SHIP planning process. Please encourage your public health leadership to attend as well.

Northwest, Minnesota Department of Health, 705 5th St. NW, Bemidji - April 17

Northeast, Duluth Public Safety Building, 2030 North Arlington Ave., Duluth - April 23

Southeast, Owatonna Public Utilities, 208 S. Walnut Ave., Owatonna - April 30

Metro, Ridgedale Library, 12601 Ridgedale Dr., Minnetonka - May 15

Southwest, The Plaid Moose, 2630 Broadway Ave., Slayton - May 21

Registration is now available.

Bike to School Day is May 8

Register your school today

This May 8, thousands of students, families, community partners and elected officials will celebrate Bike to School Day, a national event, that encourages bicycling (or walking) to school. Students reap the health, community and academic benefits of a little bit of exercise before school, while having fun riding bicycles with their peers. Full details of MN's Bike to School Day.

Additional resources to get ready for Bike to School Day:

Register your schools to receive a toolkit from MnDOT.
Free marketing materials to use at your school including social media messages and posters are available for download.
In partnership with Quality Bicycle Products and Dero Bike Racks, MnDOT is holding a state wide poster contest and asking students "how does it feel to ride a bicycle." Learn more about the Bike to School Day Poster Contest.

Safe Routes to School National Conference

Early bird registration is open

Early bird registration for the 2019 Safe Routes to School Conference is now open! Discounted registration rates are available through June 30.

Make plans to attend the conference in Tampa, Fla., Nov. 12-14, and join hundreds of Safe Routes to School and active transportation professionals to exchange ideas and share knowledge in a culturally and vibrant city that is best explored by food, bike and public transportation.

Minnesota had a strong contingent at the last conference so we hope to have many more Minnesota representatives there this year!

Learn more and register.

Tobacco Regional Meetings

SHIP Tobacco Regional Video Conference Calls

There is one remaining regional tobacco conference call for Metro SHIP grantees. During this meeting, local and state SHIP staff will convene to share local and state policy progress, grant updates and helpful tobacco prevention resources. Register below today!

To register:

Metro - Date: April 16, Time: 9:00 a.m.

Social media best practices

Use #MNSHIP

How often do you post to your social media platforms? Is the content directly SHIP related? If so, we have a hashtag! Use #MNSHIP or @mnhealth on your Twitter and Instagram posts to help track content, and it's a fun addition on Facebook, too.

And, if you tag Minnesota Department of Health on your message, there's a good chance that we'll share your message (MDH on Twitter; MDH on Facebook).

SHIP Financial Guide FAQ

SHIP Financial Guide questions answered

Q. Can food be provided at CLT meetings?

A. Yes, food is allowable for SHIP partner and/or community meetings. In support of SHIP’s mission to expand access to and selection of healthy food, MDH encourages serving nutritious foods. A good standard is the USDA My Plate guidelines.

See pages 18-19 in the Financial Guide (PDF) for additional information about food and meal purchasing guidelines.

Calendar

Webinar: Tribal sovereignty and e-cigarette companies

Date: April 12
Time: 11:00 a.m. - noon

Join representatives from Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights, the National Native Network, the Great Plains Tribal Chairmen's Health Board and the Canli Coalition to talk about why e-cigarettes are not proven effective cessation devices, why e-cig use is a problem in Indian Country, some of the most recent tactics by e-cig companies and potential ideas and resources for tribes to use as they navigate this issue.

Learn more and register.

Webinar: Creating age-friendly streets - Part 1

Date: April 22
Time: Noon - 1:30 p.m.

It’s widely known that the U.S. population is aging, but how do we prepare our local transportation networks to support the mobility needs of older adults and keep them safe? This webinar series will offer key principles for considering the safety and mobility needs for older adults.

During the first part of the series, panelists from the Centers from Disease Control and Prevention, AARP and the University of North Carolina’s Department of Emergency Medicine will share their perspectives on the importance of planning and designing for older adults.

Learn more and register.

This week's gem

Hydroponics lab in Crow Wing

Crosslake Community School is truly living out its mission of educating environmentally aware, community conscious learners with the introduction of a hydroponics lab to teach students about growing produce with alternative mediums.

“We wanted to explore how to teach students how to grow without soil. The vision behind this is to create an indoor learning space and create opportunities for students as they relate to farm to table,” said Todd Lyscio, executive director of the Crosslake Community School. With support from Crow Wing Energized and SHIP, the school implemented the hydroponics lab, which is a system to grow produce indoors without soil but instead with water and a nutrient mix.

Staff and students have reacted positively to the initiative with a group of students taking responsibility for nurturing the plants and maintenance of the solarium. The lab is engaging 100% of students at Crosslake Community School from kindergarten to high school and exposing them to sustainable growing practices.

Looking ahead, the school plans to harvest produce from the solarium and use in lunches as well as add areas for growing outdoor produce and habitat restoration for additional learning opportunities.