2013 State of Public Health Forum:

Sharpening Focus on the Threats of the 21st Century

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

10 a.m. to Noon

Dakota Lodge, West St. Paul

Public health professionals: Please join us on Tuesday, April 2, at the Dakota Lodge in West St. Paul, for an important conversation convened by Dr. Ed Ehlinger, Minnesota Commissioner of Health, regarding the state of our public health in Minnesota.

Commissioner Ehlinger believes the changing landscape of health policy makes this a crucial time in which the public health community must develop improved policies, programs, and partnerships to address the 21st century plagues of chronic disease, health disparities, and ineffective and unaffordable health care. In his presentation, Commissioner Ehlinger will urge the public health community to work together to forge new policies and partnerships that address these looming challenges.

The forum will also feature a panel discussion on the importance of public health partnerships. The panel will be moderated by University of Minnesota School of Public Health Dean John Finnegan, with participants including:

• Gretchen Musicant, chair of the Local Public Health Association of Minnesota (LPHA) and health commissioner for the City of Minneapolis
• Allie Freidrichs, director of Meeker-McLeod-Sibley Community Health Services
• Shannon Lotthammer, director of the Environmental Analysis and Outcomes Division, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
• Mark Lappe, emergency manager, Hennepin County Medical Center

• Lillian McDonald, executive director, ECHO Minnesota

The forum is sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Health, the Local Public Health Association of Minnesota, and the Minnesota Public Health Association. Public and private sector health professionals are encouraged to participate, along with colleagues in related fields. There is no cost, but advance registration is requested. Participants can register online at http://www.health.state.mn.us/registration/nocharge/