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Contact: Chris Burns, Communications Manager, Saint Paul — Ramsey County Public Health, 651.266.2537 or email
County Public Health Award Winners Announced
Awardees will be Recognized at April 5 Ramsey County Board Meeting
Saint
Paul, MN. (April 1, 2016) — Three
groups working to address health issues in their communities will receive the 2016
Ramsey County Public Health Award at a meeting of the Ramsey County Board
of Commissioners on Tuesday, April 5, 2016. The awardees will be honored for
their exceptional contributions to improving the health of individuals,
families and communities in the county.
The
2016 Ramsey County Public Health Award winners are:
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Visions in Living Life – Change is Possible, a youth program within the Aurora Saint Anthony
Neighborhood Development Corporation, for its education and advocacy regarding flavored tobacco in Saint Paul.
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Everybody’s Garden, a Mounds View Public Schools project that integrates food insecurity education
and community service at school gardens used to grow healthy organic produce
for a local food shelf.
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Children’s Dental Services Dental Team, for their work to reduce health disparities among
low-income children, immigrants and refugees in Saint Paul, by providing
culturally appropriate, and accessible dental care where communities naturally
congregate.
Award recipients were selected for their leadership,
advocacy, collaboration and work to improve community health in Ramsey County.
Nominations for the awards, which are sponsored by Saint Paul – Ramsey County
Public Health, were submitted by the public earlier this year.
This
is the second year public health has recognized individuals and groups for
their work throughout the county. “One exciting aspect of the awards this year is
the involvement of youths,” said Ramsey County Board Chair Victoria Reinhardt.
“It bodes well for the future health of our county to have so many youths not
just learning about health issues, but providing leadership and doing hands-on
work to improve the health of people and environments in Ramsey County.”
The
awards presentation coincides with National Public Health Week, April 4 -10. “The role of local public health is not only
to provide services, but to provide
leadership, facilitate conversations, engage the community and support the good
work of others striving to enable all people to attain and sustain good
health,” said Marina McManus, Director of Saint Paul – Ramsey County Public
Health. “These awards enable us to recognize the exceptional work being done by
many individuals and groups to reduce health disparities and improve the health
status of the community.”
Nominations
for the 2017 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 https://www.ramseycounty.us/your-government/departments/health-and-wellness/public-health/ramsey-county-public-health-awards
Additional Background
on the 2016 Ramsey County Public Health Award Winners
Visions in Living Life – Change is Possible is a program within the Aurora Saint Anthony Neighborhood Development Corporation that helps
youth make wise and responsible personal decision to build strength within
their families and experience personal growth. Youth from the group have been
involved in tobacco education and prevention efforts for several years.
Vision in Living Life
youth are being recognized for the leadership they provided on the issue of
flavored tobacco through education and advocacy. They attended community
festivals and events and educated their neighbors, parents and peers by sharing
their own stories about tobacco use, and what they had learned about how the
tobacco industry targets youth with sweet and candy flavors in cigars, chewing
tobacco, shisha and electronic cigarettes. The youths met with Saint Paul City
Councilmembers to discuss the harm being caused by flavored tobacco and joined
with other groups in the Ramsey Tobacco Coalition to advocate successfully for
a city ordinance that prohibits the sale of flavored tobacco products in stores
where kids can enter.
Everybody’s Garden is a service learning project of the Mounds View Public Schools designed
to provide applied learning, develop student leadership, and foster civic
involvement. Mounds View Public Schools installed 11 organic gardens at all
Kindergarten – 8th grade schools, with support from a Statewide Health
Improvement Program (SHIP) grant administered by Saint Paul – Ramsey County Public
Health, Through Everybody’s Garden, students learned about growing and eating
healthy foods, about food insecurity, and how their work could help alleviate
health inequities in their community.
Approximately 1900
students, teachers, and community volunteers were involved in the construction,
planting, harvesting and maintenance of the gardens. In the first year of
operation, the gardens produced nearly 1.1 tons of fresh produce for the Ralph
Reeder Food Shelf, a value of $3,000 to $5,000.The gardens are also being used
for events to expand cultural outreach and parental connections.
Children’s Dental Services (CDS) dental team provides a full range of dental education and treatment
services to more than 10,000 low-income children and pregnant women in Saint
Paul each year. The team is receiving the public health award for their
innovative approaches to expanding dental care access, for their culturally
targeted care, and their sustained efforts to reduce health disparities among
low-income children, immigrants and refugees.
The
CDS dental team collaborates with Saint Paul Public Schools, Head Start Centers
and many other community partners to provide portable dental care on-site,
where people naturally congregate. The dental team co-locates screening and
treatment services at schools, Head Start sites, libraries, low-income housing
sites, and community events such as the Saint Paul Project Homeless Connect.
They use translated culturally targeted oral health curriculum that engages
children and families in healthy dental habits. CDS also engages more than 30
at-risk youths annually through a hands-on work internship and mentorship
program.
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