Highlights of this February 2010 newsletter: 1) MPHA Policy Forum: Healthcare for Undocumented Persons 2) Call for MPHA Leadership 3) Membership Drive, April-May 2010 4) 2010 Public Health Film Fest 5) MPHA Policy Committee Update 6) Call for 2010 Awards 7) MPHA representative to the E-Health Initiative needed 8) 2010 Annual Meeting, volunteers needed 1) On the Edge: Evidence Behind Current Public Health Controversies Our 2009-2010 policy forum series explores cutting edge and controversial public health topics. The third forum topic will be an exploration of public health implications—from the organization and delivery of care to underlying ethics issues—for health care for undocumented persons. Rob Fulton, Saint Paul/Ramsey County Department of Health, will moderate our forum. The panelists will be José Gonzalez from the Minnesota Department of Health, Mike McMullin from Migrant Health Service, Inc., and Ellie Garrett from the Minnesota Center for Health Care Ethics. Please plan on joining MPHA colleagues and friends as we explore: Health Care for Undocumented Persons March 12, 2010 7:30-9:00 am Minnesota Department of Health Snelling Office Park 1645 Energy Park Drive
Saint Paul, MN 55108 Directions: http://www.health.state.mn.us/about/sop.html A breakfast of locally produced and organic foods will begin at 7:00 am. The cost of the forum is $8 for MPHA members, $15 for non-members and $5 for students. Registration now open at www.mpha.net. 2) Call for MPHA Leadership The Minnesota Public Health Association’s (MPHA) Leadership Committee announces the call for nominations for MPHA’s elected offices on Governing Council. Members of the Governing Council are constant ambassadors and proponents of MPHA. They ensure that the mission and vision of the organization moves forward through leadership and service. This year the Leadership Committee is soliciting nominations for: - President-elect (3-year commitment)
- Three (3) Members-at-large (2-year term)
For information about the positions and current members, please visit the official posting on the MPHA website (see “featured news”) or email Linda Olson Keller at: olson173@umn.edu. 3) 2010 Membership Drive, coming April-May 2010 The MPHA Membership Committee will be sending renewal information to all MPHA members in early April to kick off the 2010 Membership Drive. MPHA memberships are now on a 12-month rolling basis, with most renewing members having a start date of the 1st of either April or May, depending on when membership information was uploaded to the new member database. As always, members are encouraged to log-in to their member profile to review, update or change their membership information from the membership account section of the website. And, please contact the membership committee at membership@mpha.net for any question you have about MPHA or member services. 4) 2010 Public Health Week Film Festival Make plans now to attend this year’s Public Health Film Fest, April 5-9th! More information can be found at: http://www.sph.umn.edu/news/nphw/filmfest/index.asp. Content areas this year are: refugee health; aging; food, nutrition & the environment; obesity; and sexual health. 5) Policy Committee Updates The Policy & Advocacy Committee has identified policy priorities for 2010, which include chronic disease prevention, health care reform, and addressing health disparities. MPHA will continue to work in partnership with coalitions to address key policy areas including sustaining funding for the Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP), ensuring access to health care through sustaining General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC), increasing physical activity among youth through partnership with Minnesotans for Healthy Kids, and reducing exposure to toxic chemicals through partnership with Healthy Legacy.
The Policy & Advocacy Committee is always looking for volunteers who are interested in participating in meetings, representing MPHA in coalitions, forming partnerships with new coalitions, and tracking legislation. If you are interested in working more closely with any of the coalitions we are involved with (especially the GAMC Alliance, Coalition for Responsible Sex Ed), or in monitoring the work of key legislative committees, we welcome your help. Please contact Melanie Ferris (mferris@mpha.net) and Alison Moore (amoore@mpha.net) for more information. 6) Call for 2010 MPHA Awards The Minnesota Public Health Association’s (MPHA) Leadership Committee announces the call for nominations for the MPHA Awards. This is a great opportunity to acknowledge the commitment and contributions of public health colleagues. Please consider submitting nominations for the following awards: - The Albert Justus Chesley Award honors an individual who has “distinguished him/herself in the field of public health and who has, through his/her membership, made a definite contribution to the Minnesota Public Health Association.”
- The B. Robert Lewis Award is presented to "an Elected Official who has distinguished him/herself in aggressive pursuit to establish and maintain health as a human right and to secure optimal community and personal health."
- The Harvey G. Rogers Environmental Health Leadership Award honors “an individual who through years of dedication, distinguished service and technical contribution has promoted the public's health through preservation of the environment”.
- The Paul and Sheila Wellstone Public Health Achievement Award honors “an individual who has distinguished him/herself in public health through an outstanding contribution… to promote and protect the health of individuals, families and the community… (and) leadership as demonstrated by the impact of on other’s careers or having made a contribution that reflects innovation, creativity or a courageous pioneering effort consistent with professional excellence and public service”.
Please visit the website at www.mpha.net the “featured news” section on the homepage for detailed guidelines of each award, previous award winners, and the nomination form. Please email Linda Olson Keller with your nomination. If you are nominating a colleague, please ask for their permission before submitting a nomination. Nominations must be received by Wednesday May 6, 2010. 7) MPHA representative to the E-Health Initiative needed MPHA has been asked for an organization representative to the MDH E-Health Initiative. More information about the Initiative can be found at the Department’s website: www.health.state.mn.us/e-health. If you are interested in being the MPHA representative to the E-Health Advisory Committee, please email President Jim Hart at: hartx013@umn.edu. The Governing Council will review the slate of potential candidates at the next scheduled GC meeting. 8) 2010 Annual Meeting, volunteers needed Join MPHA leaders to help plan the premier Minnesota public health event- the 2010 Minnesota Public Health Association Annual Meeting! Help us to make the 2010 MPHA annual meeting the best yet by teaming up with public health professionals across the state on the Annual Meeting Planning Committee. Why should I join the annual meeting planning committee? - Meet new people - Build your resume - Strengthen public health in Minnesota - Have fun! How can I get involved? - Contact Kristen Godfrey, kristen.godfrey@gmail.com ______________________________________________________________________________ A note from the Communications Chair: The MPHA website continues to evolve and become more dynamic in its functions. A greater number of partner organizations are finding great ease with posting jobs and events on our website. Members are asked to check in often to see updates for those features and to spread the word about posting such pieces of information for membership. I appreciate your feedback on both the website and member communications; please let me know your thoughts at: communications@mpha.net. Thank you! Scott Harpin, MPHA communications chair |