The following guest post is by Elizabeth Krause, Senior Program Officer and Director of the Health Leadership Fellows program, and Jenn Whinnem, Communications Officer and Class of 2012 Fellow at the Connecticut Health Foundation.

Every Connecticut resident should have access to quality health care. But it’s not that simple. Because of language and cultural barriers, inherent societal bias, and other factors, health disparities exist in racial and ethnic populations, even when there is ready access to health care.

Because the Connecticut Health Foundation (CT Health) is committed to ending health disparities, every year, we select up to 20 diverse individuals to participate in our Health Leadership Fellows program to build public will for health equity.

While there are many leadership development programs across the country, what makes our program unique is our commitment to developing the leadership skills of people of color who are working on this issue in Connecticut. The focus on health equity provides a real-world context for skill development for a group whose leadership contributions have historically been under recognized.

Let’s face it: the rising tide does not lift all ships. Connecticut needs strong potential leaders of color to advance the issue of health equity. Our network includes 140 fellows who are ready, willing, and able to act as opportunities arise. We cultivate our leaders by providing opportunities where they can:

• Learn from state and national health leaders, policy-makers, trainers, and their peers
• Develop an understanding of the theory behind systems change as part of realizing health equity (rather than addressing equity issues one person at a time)
• Discover their own personal leadership style and how to work with other styles in multi-disciplinary coalitions
• Communicate with strategic, values-based messaging to effectively influence others around this issue
• Expand their professional network across sectors and industries.

We’re interested in leaders from all walks of life – healthcare, education, business, community. Our strongest requirements are a passion for achieving health equity and commitment to learning whether you are an emerging or seasoned professional.

Don’t just take it from me. Our Principal Consultant Heidi Brooks shares what you can expect – even on the first day! – as a participant in the program:

Hear the Class of 2012 talk about what drew them to the program, and read about some of the projects from the 2011 Class.

Are you excited yet? If yes, your written application form and a third-party recommendation letter are due by April 2, 2012. Visit this page to learn more!

Just a quick heads up for you public health folks on Twitter – our Surgeon General, Dr. Regina Benjamin, has joined the platform.

Recently the Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media brought on board a new Medical Director – Dr. Farris Timimi.  As part of the Advisory Board for the Center, I wanted to get to know Dr. Timimi a little better and share with you some insights into his work and his new role. We’re really happy to have him on board and I’m personally looking forward to seeing him move forward the mission of Mayo.

Here is a brief video where he touches on his interests in this new role:

You can also find Dr. Timimi here on Twitter! Now onward to the interview -

P/S: Can you give us a little background as to how you got involved in the medical world and what prompted you to focus on cardiovascular disease?

FT: My interest in Cardiology reflects the opportunity to merge physics and medicine. I have consciously chosen my clinical practice, advanced heart failure/transplant cardiology, as it is one of the few sub-specialties within cardiology that allows for continuity care, i.e., the opportunity for a long-term relationship with a patient and their family, all too rare in Cardiology practice.

My interest in engagement reflects lessons I have learned as to the value of partnership. Several years ago, I established a small indigent Cardiology clinic in rural Minnesota, to provide cardiac care in an underserved community clinic. As a product of a state funding mandate, one-half of the community clinic board was to be made up of patients and their family members. It became readily apparent, truly after the first meeting, that many of the barriers to health care that my patients encountered were issues that I only discovered about when we met as a group to discuss operational clinic issues. This lesson, the value of that transparent conversation, led to my subsequent exploration of patient-family advisory councils as a broader means of capturing patient and family input, particularly at the level of policy and procedure development, ideally at the moment of content creation.

Social media, as applicable to health care, is the logical extension of those value lessons to a realm that has no geographic or time barriers.

P/S: What contrasts do you see in today’s medical practice versus 10 years ago, as it relates to the treatment of patients?

FT: I believe we are in the midst of a fundamental and frank evolution of the patient-provider compact, a transition from a transactional encounter, to one of two-way partnership and open engagement. There is clearly a developing expectation on the part of patients and their families of partnership that is evident now, much more so than when I first finished medical training. This applies to all levels of the care continuum, ranging from the intimacy of the patient-provider interaction, to the level of institutional policy and procedure development, and now more evident at the level of national health care policy. I also believe more providers have begun to recognize the value of this conversation, the value of bringing all stake-holders to the table.

P/S: With the development of the Clinic’s Center for Social Media – where do you see the organization playing a role in the next 10 years of health/medicine?

FT: Social media represents a group of tools that specifically allow conversations to occur regardless of geography, and in an asynchronous fashion. My primary focus will be seeking and identifying opportunities in the arenas of clinical practice, research and education, where these tools can be used. My second focus will center on insuring that these tools, as often as possible, foster a conversation as opposed to a transaction. In essence, we need to extend the lessons we have learned from the evolution of the patient-provider compact, namely the transition to open, two-directional engagement, to the digital domain. The more transparent and the more conversational, as opposed to transactional, that we can be, the better we can serve others and the more value we will all garner.

P/S: Where do you see the limitations of social media and what crucial aspects will help sustain its role in providing a better health/medical community?

FT:It can be all too easy to view social media as a purely marketing strategy. Fundamentally, in health care, it represents an opportunity to extend the conversation with patient and providers, with teachers and learners, independent of typical constraints. Critically, it is only by keeping this mind set, that authentic content of real value to all parties can be fostered.

P/S: What do you hope to accomplish in your new role as Medical Director?

FT: I have seen, repeatedly, the value for both patients and for providers, in open partnership. That conversation, the capacity to listen productively, has been powerful. I want to insure that we continue to apply Mayo Clinic’s primary mission, namely, “The needs of the patient come first”, to the digital domain, by insuring that we continue to evolve the capacity for constructive partnership. We face many challenges in health care and are in the midst of a paradigm shift; community design has the capacity to allow us all to build a better iteration. Gandhi said “We must become the change we want to see in the world”; by using social media tools to truly working together, we can crowdsource the change we want to see in health care.

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Excellent feedback here Dr. Timimi and truly looking forward to the next chapter in the Mayo Clinic’s Center for Social Media! More details on the appointment can be found here on the Center’s blog.

The following is a guest post from Jayme Hummer. Jayme serves as Manager of Special Projects and Research at Enspektos, LLC. She also co-hosts the Path of the Blue Eye Project’s podcast, fyi: healthmarcomms. She has more than ten years of experience in research, project management, writing, editing, and publicity.

Part of the Path of the Blue Eye Project, unNiched is a series of live events for health marketing communications professionals interested in receiving stellar education and forging deep connections with their peers. We hold two types of unNiched events: micro and macro.  The macro event –  a large scale event focusing on innovation in health marketing and communications — is under development.  However, we held three unNiched(micro) events in 2011 at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City.  These intimate breakfast events feature discussion, networking and collboration around a range of topics, including mobile health, freeing federal and private health data and innovative health marcomms tactics and strategies. unNiched(micro) has been a success and we’ve seen a number of partnerships and collaborative efforts spring from the events.

Another aspect to the unNiched project is our Fellowship Program where we select one individual per year to attend one or two unNiched(micro) events and cover all travel expenses. The fellow also becomes a regular contributor to Walking the Path, the official blog of the Path of the Blue Eye Project and a leading member of our online community. We’re also interested in publishing articles and case studies produced by the fellow. We are currently seeking individuals from academic institutions or non-profits in health communication, including public health, mobile, hospitals, etc. to apply for the 2012 fellowship program. The program is open to individuals in the United States or Canada.
Interested in the program? Hop on over to the application form.  If you have questions or comments about the program, please submit them here.

It is a fairly simple concept that has been coming back into my mind especially after reading The Blue Sweater – a book about the journey of Jaqueline Novogratz, CEO of the Acumen Fund. If we don’t make public health integrated into people’s lives and sustainable – we will continue to fail.

Let me make it even more clear: for public health initiatives to be anywhere near effective in the coming years, the phrase sustain or die will need to ring loudly.

Sounds a bit morbid right? Well, unfortunately that’s exactly what we are dealing with these days. A deadly lack of effectiveness. According to an August study published in the Lancet – there will be an additional 65 million more obese Americans by the year 2030. That’s pretty staggering number in the next 18 years. How long do we need to look at these numbers and hear these reports before we realize that if we don’t do something drastic, effective and sustainable, the world of public health will lose out on the premise that the discipline is aimed at prevention and saving lives.

No more time for failure. Sustain or Die.

Double Meaning?

To “sustain” (according to Mirriam-Webster): to give support/relief to, to supply with sustenance, to support the weight of (no pun intended?)

To “die” (according to Mirriam-Webster): to pass out of existence

Campaigns do not sustain themselves. Multi million dollar HIV/AIDS campaigns that say the same thing to the same “troubled communities” do not sustain themselves. People who are passionate and invested in their own communities, however are sustainable. Partnerships with credible local leadership is sustainable. Building neighborhoods that encourage health is sustainable.

Coming into a community with a celebrity poster on a bus stop? Not sustainable. The celebrity gets paid and the citizens? They have something to look at briefly while waiting for a bus to take them to a job where they don’t get paid enough and gives them little time to think about getting more fruits and vegetables in their diet. Marinate.

Oh yeah. Sustain or Die.

The Death of Public Health?

Now for the morbid part. Two fold death. The field of public health in which we work to prevent disease/death is on the chopping block. Funding is constantly disappearing and professionals are a) burning out b) switching industries c) losing the passion and interest we so desperately need during these times. Terms/issues like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease have become buzz words in the media (not in a good way). Oh and culinary abominations like the triple stack Whopper continue to thrive in place of real food.

Where does that leave us? If we fail at growing sustainable new ideas for public health – the communities/populations/people that are supposedly in our care are doomed (there’s that DIE part again). Also the field of public health itself will become a shell of its former accomplishments and too, will perish for being a slow moving, ineffective, timid, business-as-usual, aging, just-get-me-to-retirement field.

So Then What?

In November of last year I brought an idea to life by co-founding the first public health innovation film festival - FastForward Health. It was a fantastic experience, not only for seeing the amazing turnout and getting some cool press, but also seeing the inspiration that was cultivated during that short time with all sorts of people interested in making positive impact in the health space. There are opportunities out there folks! Technology, food/water, the built environment – these are just a few of the main places where fresh ideas are being put into place by people who may or may not have an MPH (marinate) or a traditional health background. Urban gardens, mobile health, video games for health – it’s all very real and it’s all very necessary. This is what this blog is about and this is what I am most definitely advocating for and wakes me up in the morning!

Disagree with me? Agree? Let me know. Stay tuned for something else I’m cooking up around this that I’m hoping will add value to the next iteration of public health.

Welcome to 2012.

The American Public Health Association recently launched a competition that gives health departments the opportunity to improve their capacity around health inequality policies. What’s up for grabs? Certainly nothing to yawn at (especially in this economic climate):

According to the APHA site announcing the policy innovation contest:

Between five and eight health departments will receive awards ranging from $25,000 to $40,000 to develop, implement, and/or evaluate an innovative policy approach to a critical public health problem, with a focus on reducing health inequities and building policy capacity.

I’m happy to see that the CDC is involved in providing funding for the initiative – in some upcoming posts, this will become clearer on where I’m thinking the role of organizations like the CDC will be most helpful to move innovation in public health.

Remember back in October when Chris Hall introduced the SXSW Health Accelerator program for next year’s conference? I’m really looking forward to seeing what start-ups get to showcase their stuff.

I’m even more excited about the increase in health focused innovations occurring at the biggest conference that I’ve ever attended. Last year was the debut of the health track and I can only assume that this year will be even bigger. Recently, I saw via Twitter that Stephen Downs, CTO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will be sitting on the Accelerator’s judge panel. Involved in plenty of initiatives around technology/innovation in health, this was a great move by SXSW.

Game on, 2012!

What do you get when you combine experts/thought leaders in the innovative spaces of health communications, a generous helping of research/public health practitioners and a sunny Florida? Why, you get the Digital Health Communications Extravaganza of course!

Put together by my friend and colleague Jay Bernhardt (who I’ve interviewed before at a conference he put together with the CDC), the event promises to give plenty of insight into the next generation of health communications with case studies, research and deep dives into the issues communicators for public health should know. Supported by some great institutions, this should be a solid event to attend on a regular basis.

Facebook: http://dhcx.fbjoin.me 

Twitter: http://twitter.com/dhcxconf

Check out some more specific details after the jump!

Featured Speakers Announced:

•          Sekou Andrews, Storyteller/Poet
•          Rohit Bhargava,  Global Strategy & Marketing, Ogilvy
•          Amelia Burke, Digital Media, Westat
•          Jonathan Cho, Office of Communication and Education, National Cancer Institute
•          Kathy Crosby,  Center for Tobacco Products, US Food and Drug Administration
•          Cliff Dasco,  General Internal Medicine, The Methodist Hospital, University of Houston
•          Matthew Dasco,  Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch
•          Lenora Johnson, Office of Communication and Education, National Cancer Institute
•          Gary Kreps,  Department of Communication,  George Mason University
•          Craig Lefebvre, socialShift; RTI International; University of South Florida
•          Dana Lewis, Swedish Health Services
•          Mark Luckie, 10,000 words; The Washington Post
•          Scott Shamp,  New Media Institute Grady College, University of Georgia
•          Vic Strecher, University of Michigan; HealthMedia, a Johnson & Johnson company
•          Larry Swiader, National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy

When & Where:

February 15-17, 2012 at the Peabody Orlando Hotel in Orlando, Florida

How DHCX is Different:

•          DHCX is for advanced users of information and communication technologies, or those who want to become advanced users;
•          All presentations will be held in general, plenary sessions with ample time for Q&A and networking;
•          Presentation topics will address multiple digital platforms (including, but not limited to, mobile) and sectors (health promotion, public health, healthcare, telehealth, communication, and information technology);
•          DHCX is run by a nonprofit, academic institution; Registration and hotel rates are affordably priced;
•          The Peabody Orlando (http://www.peabodyorlando.com) is one of only two Forbes Four-star and AAA Four Diamond hotels in the Orlando area and a short distance to Disney World, Sea World, and Universal Studios.

Who Should Attend?

•          Professionals, scientists, researchers, practitioners, students, developers, entrepreneurs, and visionaries from government agencies, academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, and for-profit companies;
•          In other words: innovators, connectors and investors who are searching for solutions to big problems in domestic and global public health and healthcare.

What You Will Experience:

•          Two days of collaborative discovery and dialogue with internationally renowned speakers, presenters, and  colleagues on the digital communications edge in public health and healthcare solutions;
•          Intense learning, inspiration and new collaborators to move your projects to the next level of impact;
•          Interactive group collaborations and crowd-sourced problem solving for better health;
•          Lively and fun entertainment; i.e., not your typical conference.

Sponsored by the University of Florida Center for Digital Health and Wellness

 DHCX Partners:

•           US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products
•           National Cancer Institute (NCI) Office of Communication and Education

 Exabyte Sponsor:

•           Sapient

 Terabyte Sponsors:

•           Brigham Young University (BYU) Department of Health Science
•           IQ Solutions
•           Ogilvy Public Relations

 Gigabyte Sponsors:

•           Abt Associates
•           CommunicateHealth
•           Danya 
•           RTI International
•           Westat

The following is a guest post from the PreventObesity.net team, who last week’s  Partnership for a Healthier America’s (PHA) inaugural “Building a Healthier Future” summit, held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel here in Washington. The two-day event was jam-packed with newsworthy announcements and fun gossip, which we break down below.

Moving Ahead

In a keynote address wrapping up the conference, First Lady Michelle Obama announced that the next initiatives for her “Let’s Move!” campaign will focus on encouraging physical activity among young people, who she said suffer from a “crisis of inactivity.”

Young people today are the most sedentary in our nation’s history, Obama said. This generation spends an average of 7.5 hours each day in front of a screen such as a television or computer, and only a quarter of them play outside each day, compared to three quarters of kids a generation ago.

“It wasn’t always like this,” Obama said, reflecting on her own childhood. “We would walk to school every day. And then when we got to school, we’d run around and play before the bell rang. You got to school early to run around.”

But these days, “the only walking our kids do is out the front door to a car,” Obama said.

Obama didn’t reveal any specific details for the upcoming initiative, but she did note that she plans to work with mayors, schools, sports leagues, celebrities and business to find new ways to encourage activity among young people.

And Obama encouraged the advocates in the audience to do their part to get kids moving. The First Lady even screened a video featuring clips of her being active, from doing jumping jacks and dancing the Dougie to jumping rope and playing football.

“I’m pretty much willing to make a complete fool of myself to get our kids moving,” she said. “But there’s a method to my madness.”

Bipartisanship Agreement

There’s not much working-across-the-aisle happening in Washington these days, but a Republican and a Democrat came together during the conference to raise awareness about the importance of addressing the obesity epidemic.

Former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and Cory Booker, Democratic Mayor of Newark, N.J., came together to praise food industry titans such as Wal-Mart and Walgreens for doing their part to reverse obesity by opening locations in underserved areas and selling more fresh and affordable products.

The duo made several joint television appearances, co-authored an opinion piece for Politico and kicked off the conference with keynote addresses on Tuesday morning. Both argued that America’s response to the childhood obesity epidemic will shape its future, for good or bad.

Booker compared childhood obesity to past challenges such as the abolition of slavery or defeating Nazi Germany, telling the audience that “the greatest threat to our democracy in America, is the health and education of our children.”

“We drink deeply from wells of freedom and liberty and justice that we did not dig,” Booker said.

“Our children challenge us every day when they stand up in our schools and say those five words: With Liberty and Justice for All,” he later added. “We who sit here now, we are those Americans who must stand up now, and not let our inability to do everything undermine our ability to do something.”

Booker challenged the conference attendees—including private businesses—to work together to make change. When a reporter asked Booker whether the industry’s promises will actually do anything – and suggested addressing government subsidies for certain foods might create more effective change — the mayor responded that the pledges are something that will help people now, rather than just continue to divide people.

“Today, back in my city, I’ve got a working mom who doesn’t have access to a supermarket,” Booker said, adding that grocers opening locations in underserved areas will help that woman. “I see these guys come up with real solutions… I’m telling you right now, we’re doing something, and we’re getting something done.”

Frist —  who also is a heart surgeon — noted that PHA and others will hold the industry accountable. “American consumers are not stupid,” and know the difference between real change and public relations stunts, Frist added.

“Making the healthy choice the easy choice can make the bottom line healthy, too,” Frist said. “I’m not about to argue that the private sector’s motivation are purely altruistic. But frankly, it doesn’t matter.”

Hey, Isn’t That?

The PHA summit was strictly an A-list affair, what with headliners such as First Lady Michelle Obama, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, “Top Chef” head judge Tom Colicchio and former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

But it was the appearance of a tabloid-favorite star that had heads turning.

NBA player Kris Humphries, best known for being the soon-to-be ex-husband of reality starlet Kim Kardashian, attended the summit on behalf of his namesake foundation. Humphries came to D.C. to be a part of the childhood obesity movement – his group aims to get kids physically active – but his appearance nonetheless drove gossip among many attendees, especially the 20-something set.

Humphries, who was accompanied by his mother, kindly chatted up conference goers and posed for photos. But he appeared to take the summit seriously, as he quietly sat alongside the 800-or-so other attendees during the speeches and sat in on breakout sessions (and for what it’s worth, he was not trailed by any cameras)

Dishing Out Success

If one little boy had his way, “Top Chef” judge Tom Colicchio probably would have been sent to pack his knives on Tuesday night.

Colicchio competed in the “Great American Family Dinner Challenge,” which pitted two teams of chefs against each other to see who could craft the tastiest multi-course meal for a family of four for less than $10. (For you foodies, Maria Hines and Holly Smith competed against Colicchio and Ming Tsai.)

White House Assistant Chef Sam Kass emceed the contest, and real-life families helped judge. But one 6-year-old boy apparently didn’t like several of the dishes (including Colicchio’s offerings) as he promptly spit out the food upon tasting it.

Colicchio and Tsai still won the contest, however.

Conference attendees also dined on delicious, nutritious and affordable food during the dinner. Chefs Floyd Cardoz, Michel Nischan, Koren Grieveson and Anne Quatrano each prepared family style meals that cost $4.50 per person.

All of the recipes can be found on the PHA website.

Making Commitments

Several big-name companies and organizations announced they are partnering with PHA to take substantive steps designed to help reduce childhood obesity. Their commitments are listed below.

• Hyatt Hotels: Will make its children’s and other menus healthier by adding healthy options, offering a fruit or vegetable as the default side for kids and reducing sodium content, among other changes.
• Kaiser Permanente: Support breastfeeding with new guidelines at all of its 29 hospitals that offer maternal and child health services.
• The Fresh Grocer: The Philadelphia-based company will build five new grocery stores in areas where people lack access to healthy and affordable foods.
• YMCA of the USA: The nationwide group, which serves about 700,000 kids each day, will establish standards for nutrition and physical activity for its out-of-school programs, and set limits on screen time.
• New Horizon Academy: The childcare company will set physical activity and nutritional standards at its 67 locations across the country.
• The Links, Incorporated: The women’s volunteer service organization, dedicated to ensuring the cultural and economic survival of African Americans, will work with its chapters to launch childhood obesity intervention programs.

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Elizabeth Brotherton-Bunch is senior writer and editor for PreventObesity.net, a website dedicated to building a network of leaders and supporters who care about reversing the childhood obesity epidemic. Sign up to become a PreventObesity Leader and receive future newsletters.

Last Thursday evening I was honored to be a guest participant of the #hchlitss Twitter chat. The hashtag stands for Health Communications, Health Literacy and Social Sciences and was created by Kathleen Hoffman and RV Rikard (who both live here in North Carolina!).

In being invited to the event, I thought about some relevant topics to highlight in the hour – I landed on sustainability in public health initiatives, digital health literacy and being smart in health communications with specific communities (i.e. communities of color). The conversation quickly ramped up a few minutes into the Twitter chat with great people jumping in with thoughts, including Myrna Morales and Kate Ellington, two of the realest people I know around the health literacy discussion and cultural competency.

I had a great time, got fired up and met some new people. You can find the full transcript of the Twitter chat on the #hchlitss blog.