Health Equity Alliance of Tallahassee

Next HEAT meeting is May 18

Lance Gravlee — Wed, 12 May 2010 01:13:27 +0000

The next regular HEAT meeting will take place Tuesday, May 18, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Our host this month is Dr. Melvena Wilson of Thagard Student Health Center at Florida State University. We will meet in room 249/250 of the Askew Student Life Center (SLC) on FSU’s campus. The SLC is located on the corner of Woodward Avenue and Traditions Way. Parking is available in the lot across the street. Please see the map for directions. Light dinner and refreshments will be provided.

Please join us!

New report: Increasing access to healthy foods

Lance Gravlee — Wed, 12 May 2010 00:58:23 +0000

One goal that has emerged from HEAT is to improve health by improving the local food environment. Three HEAT partners—the Leon County Health Department, Greater Frenchtown Revitalization Council, and the University of Florida—are collaborating on research funded by the Blue Foundation to understand how the food environment constrains healthy food choices in Tallahassee. A related group has initiated a local Food Council, which aims to improve access to healthy and sustainable foods in Leon County.

So many people and organizations will be interested in a new report just released by the Prevention Institute, “Recipes for Change: Healthy Food in Every Community.” As the Prevention Institute explains, “The paper outlines organizational practices and public policies to expand access to healthy foods in support of healthy eating and better overall health.” The report provides recommendations for creating healthy food retail environments, increasing access to healthy foods in schools and other public institutions, reforming federal food and nutrition assistance programs, and supporting regional food systems and agriculture. The overarching goal is to build a healthier food system in the United States, with a focus on increasing access to healthy foods in low-income communities and communities of color.

See the Prevention Institute website for more.

Next HEAT meeting is April 13

Lance Gravlee — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 16:55:39 +0000

The next regular meeting of the Health Equity Alliance of Tallahassee will take place on Tuesday, April 13, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. This month our host will be the Roberts and Stevens Medical Center, Leon County Health Department, 1515 Old Bainbridge Road (south of Tharpe Street, next to New Mt Zion AME Church). We will discuss next steps following this week’s Town Hall Meeting and viewing of Unnatural Causes in observation of National Public Health Week. We will also get updates from the food council and HEAT-BP Steering Committee and discuss future funding opportunities. Refreshments will be provided.

Please join us!

Town Hall Meeting: A Call to Action

Lance Gravlee — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 16:50:09 +0000

This week is National Public Health Week, and April is National Minority Health Month. HEAT and the Future Public Health Professionals of Florida A&M University will mark both occasions by hosting a Town Hall Meeting this Tuesday, April 6, at 6:30 p.m. The theme of this event, which will take place at the Leon County Health Department’s Southside location (872 W Orange Avenue), is “A Call to Action.” The goal is to engage the community in a discussion about the issues, recommendations, and actions we can take to achieve greater health equity.

Feel free to download the flyer (PDF) and distribute to your networks.

Local, National and International Community Health Related Events

joyce.brown — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 14:21:48 +0000

US Conference on African Immigrant Health 2010 (Atlanta)

Qasimah Boston will be presenting in the US Conference on African Immigrant Health 2010 the workshop ” Public Health Policy and Programs in Ghana Addressing Health Disparities” April 7th-11th 2010 At the Hilton Atlanta/Marietta Hotel Conference Center

The Association of Minority Health Professions Schools, Inc.24th Annual Symposium on Career Opportunities in Biomedical Sciences and Health Professions (Alabama)

Miaisha Mitchell will be presenting at the Association of Minority Health Professions Schools..24^th Annual Symposium on Careers in Bio Medicine….using the Unnatural Causes framework. April 15-18^th 2010 , Sheraton Hotel, Birmingham, Alabama.

Women of Color (WOCN) National Call To Action Institute and Conference (Louisiana)

Joyce Brown will be presenting at the WOCN National Call To Action Institute and Conference the Westin New Orleans , Canal Place Joyce will be presenting on Sexual/ Reproductive Rights, Domestic Violence , HIV and other Health Disparities.. May 11-14^th

League of Women Voters (Tallahassee)

Teresa Chase

Hot topics luncheon open to the public; – May 18^th; $17 lunch 11:30-1pm…location TBA

Next HEAT meeting is March 16

Lance Gravlee — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 13:20:28 +0000

The next regular HEAT meeting will take place Tuesday, March 16, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m., at the Leroy Collins Public Library (200 W. Park Avenue) in downtown Tallahassee. We will discuss the town hall meeting we are planning to wrap up Unnatural Causes events in April and get reports on the food environment and HEAT-BP projects. If there are other items you’d like to add to the agenda, please contact Lance Gravlee. We hope to see you there!

Hold the date: Health Summit 2010

Lance Gravlee — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 13:05:40 +0000

Mark your calendars for April 3, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., to attend Health Summit 2010, sponsored by the Leon County Health Department. The Summit, which marks the beginning of Minority Health Month, will take place at the South Side location of the Leon County Health Department (872 West Orange Avenue). For more information, please contact the LCHD Office of Minority Health (850-606-8110).

New CD-ROM on Community-Based Participatory Research

Lance Gravlee — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:24:41 +0000

HEAT is among a growing number of community-academic partnerships that have embraced community-based participatory research (CBPR) as an approach to explain and eliminate social inequalities in health. Some leading proponents of this approach have now released an instructional course—available on CD-ROM or as a downloadable file—to help people get started with this approach.

The course is titled “Community-Based Participatory Research: A Partnership Approach for Public Health.” The primary instructors are Barbara Israel, Chris Coombe, and Robert McGranaghan from the Detroit Community-Academic Urban Research Center (where, incidentally, I did my postdoctoral training in CBPR). As the instructors describe it, the training includes five parts:

Rationale, definition, and core principles
Strategies for forming, maintaining, sustaining, and evaluating CBPR partnerships
Qualitative and quantitative data collection methods and interpretation
Dissemination and translation of research findings
Benefits, challenges, and recommendations for using CBPR for research and social change

To receive a free copy (if sent within the United States and U.S. Territories) of the CD-ROM, or to access the downloadable version, please register at: www.cbpr-training.org. Information about availability of continuing education credits can also be found on the website. You may also register by phone by calling the Michigan Public Health Training Center at 734.615.9439 (Course code: CBPRR0909).

Next HEAT meeting is Feb. 16

Lance Gravlee — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 19:47:23 +0000

The next HEAT meeting will take place Tuesday, Feb. 16, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m., at the FAMU School of Allied Health Sciences Conference Room 103. We are grateful to FAMU for offering to host this meeting. A key goal for our February meeting will be to reflect on events we organized around the local re-broadcast of Unnatural Causes in January and to discuss our next steps for building on these events. We will also discuss new funding opportunities for community capacity building, improvements to the website, and other strategies for continued development of the partnership. Please join us!

Day of Dialogue on Minority Health IV

Lance Gravlee — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:07:20 +0000

This Saturday, February 13, Bethel AME Church in Tallahassee will host the fourth annual Day of Dialogue on Minority Health. This year’s theme is “Stressors, Strains & Health: Connecting the Dots to Help.” Co-Chairperson, Dr. Penny Ralston, describes the theme this way: “The program this year focuses on the effect of so many strains on our families that we are now seeing in our congregations. These strains affect our physical, mental and spiritual health. Our purpose is to help church health leaders to identify stressors and strains and to find solutions, especially community resources available to help us.”

Dr. Ralston and Co-Chairperson Dr. Elsie Crowell have put together an excellent program. Featured speakers include Rev. Mary W. Robinson, Rev. Stanley L. Walker, Elder Franklin Rush, Dr. Temple Robinson, Dr. Cyneetha Strong, and Dr. Jackie Robinson.

Please join us for a Day of Dialogue at Bethel AME Church (501 West Orange Avenue) this Saturday, February 13, 8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.