Othering & Belonging Spring Summit 2021

Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Join the Othering & Belonging Institute on April 21 for a groundbreaking day of connection and big ideas for building a world based on belonging, justice, and care—for our communities, for our living planet, and for our future.

Summit will feature special sessions with Toshi Reagon, john a. powell, Tokata Iron Eyes, Xiye Bastida, The Nile Project, Naomi Klein, Taeku Lee, Astra Taylor, Norma Wong, Sarah Crowell, Alphabet Rockers, and more. Agenda and speakers can be found on our Summit webpage. 

Register for this event here!

MDH announces new opioid podcast series

Free podcast provides listeners insight, hope and help

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) today announced the launch of a new podcast series, "Stories from the Field," aimed at addressing the evolving opioid epidemic.

The goals are to provide a voice to those who have experienced substance use disorder, offer resources to those helping people who use drugs make safer choices, and to illustrate the complexities of the epidemic. The podcast hosts a series of experts in the health care field, as well as community leaders and others devoted to reducing the number of Minnesotans affected by this crisis.

The opioid crisis continued to escalate in 2020, with 373 overdose deaths reported in the first six months of the year. That’s compared to all of 2019, where a total of 428 total Minnesotans died from an opioid overdose. Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm says the impacts of every overdose, fatal or non-fatal, are far-reaching and avoidable.

“We know that every death by overdose is a preventable death,” said Malcolm. “We need to set our sights on providing support and resources to all Minnesotans who are affected by opioid use disorder, and all communities where substance use leads to personal, family, and community suffering.”

The "Stories from the Field" podcast series tells real stories from real people throughout the state and are just one tool in MDH’s opioid overdose prevention work. The series reveals the raw emotions of people who have battled substance misuse, lost loved ones, and managed to get through it. The diverse group of guests represent communities of color, tribal communities, the LGBTQ population, and a variety of economic backgrounds. Community advocates, medical professionals and other front-line prevention specialists discuss the problem, efforts to destigmatize substance use, and possible solutions. They all agree that recovery is possible.

“Podcasts are just one way the Injury and Violence Prevention section at MDH engages with our communities to address the emerging opioid crisis,” said Dana Farley, injury and violence prevention supervisor. “By featuring the work being done throughout the state, we hope to leave listeners with a sense of hope and that help is available.”

To listen to the podcast series, visit Opioids: Prevention, Treatment and Community-Driven Efforts. For more information and other resources, visit MDH’s Opioid Overdose Prevention page. For downloadable graphs and statistics on opioid use in Minnesota since 2000, visit the MDH Drug Overdose Dashboard.

Join us on March 29, 2021 at 5:30 PM as we kick off the Our Health MN panel series—a series of conversations with lawmakers, city and county officials, community leaders, and YOU about what a healthcare system that works for all of us looks like. Featuring: Rep. Cedrick Frazier, Rep. Athena Hollins, Sen. Jen McEwen, and Sen. Erin Murphy.

Click here to register!

While many parents are excited to see their children return to in-person learning, as well as the prospect for broader COVID vaccine eligibility by May 1st, some public health advocates are also concerned.

Responding to the COVID-19 Infodemic: An NNLM Virtual Symposium

April 8-9, 2021

12:00 PM - 5:00 PM EDT 

The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the disparities of underserved, minority and underrepresented communities. This includes ensuring equal understanding of accurate health information, education in hard hit communities and valuing inclusion in clinical research to overcome COVID-19.

The NNLM Virtual Symposium is an opportunity to address misinformation and mistrust, raise awareness about the pandemic and efforts to combat it. Symposium attendees can expect to come away from this experience with a better understanding of COVID-19 as well as strategies and programs that can be used to engage with communities. We are excited to feature the following keynote speakers:

• Vinay Gupta, MD, MPA, Affiliate Assistant Professor, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, Seattle, WA
• Gregg Orton, National Director, The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), Washington, DC
• Elizabeth Wilhelm, Health Communications Specialist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Global Immunization Division, Atlanta, GA
• Chris Pernell, MD, MPH, FACPM, Chief Strategic Integration and Health Equity Officer, University Hospital, New York, NY

For more information or to register, visit https://nnlm.vfairs.com/en/.

Join the MN Department of Health for a monthly 

Mental Well-Being and Resilience Learning Community

Men’s Shed: Creating Social Connection in a Sometimes-Lonely World

March 30, 2021

Men’s Shed is an international phenomenon with thousands of clubs worldwide, originating in Australia. In a world that is facing a loneliness epidemic across generations, Men’s Shed builds social connection! Social connection is one of the most important resources for well-being and preventing suicide.  Men’s Shed is a club, mainly for older guys. We have tools, and materials for pursuing our interests and passions, for learning something new and sharing skills. We join to make stuff and tinker. We share a pot of coffee in a friendly atmosphere. Minnesota has five Men’s Shed programs including: Hopkins, Minnetonka, Crystal, Roseville, and Mound.  This may be a particularly important strategy in every community, but particularly among rural communities where rates of suicide among older men has been among the highest in recent years.  Learn about the Men’s Shed history across the globe, and in Minnesota, the benefits to well-being, and about the steps to start a Men’s Shed in your community.   

Click here to register for this event!

ATTENTION APHA MEMBERS!

ISC Disasters and Emergency Preparedness Webinar, "COVID Vaccine: What Works and What Doesn't"

Thursday, March 25, from 2 - 3 PM EDT

Join a team of a team of scientific, legal and communications experts to discuss strategies and best practices in combating misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine.

Click here to register for this webinar!

Attention MPHA and APHA Members! You are invited and encouraged to attend!

COVID Collaborative is hosting a Fireside Chat with Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, the Chair of the Biden-Harris COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force, on March 23 from 11:30 am – 12:30 pm ET.

The event will be focused on the critical topic of equity and COVID-19 and will be a discussion between Dr. Nunez-Smith and the co-chairs of the COVID Collaborative, former Governors Deval Patrick (D-MA) and Dirk Kempthorne (R-ID). COVID Collaborative is honored to co-host the event with the NAACP, UnidosUS, and the National Congress of American Indians. Each of these groups will provide targeted questions to our moderators about the equity challenges facing the communities they represent. After the initial discussion, there will be a moderated Q&A during which time you can ask Dr. Nunez-Smith questions through the chat function.

To RSVP, please visit this link. The event will be hosted on Zoom, and we will share the link for the webinar days before the event.

School of Public Health Research Day

Date: Thursday, April 15, 2021

Time: 9:00 – 11:00 am

Location: Virtual

School of Public Health Research Day provides our students and faculty an opportunity to showcase their research activities and other scholarly work with the public health community. Join us Thursday, April 15, at 9:00 a.m. to hear presentations that will highlight their innovative thinking and concrete action to tackle some of the world’s most emerging and persistent public health challenges. This year, Research Day will be held completely online! All virtual activities are free and open to the public.

For more information, visit sph.umn.edu/researchday