Next HEAT meeting is Nov. 16

The Health Equity Alliance of Tallahassee (HEAT) will hold its next regular meeting next tomorrow, Tuesday, November 16, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at the Roberts and Stevens Medical Center (1515 Old Bainbridge Rd.). Thanks to our colleagues at the Leon County Health Department for hosting this meeting.

Please join us.

Eliminating racial inequalities in birth outcomes

The latest edition of the Unnatural Causes newsletter featured a recent article by Michael Lu and colleagues, who propose a 12-point plan for closing the black-white infant mortality gap. The article, published in the journal Ethnicity & Disease, outlines a life-course approach to eliminating racial inequalities in birth outcomes. The authors boil down the approach to a 12-point plan:

• Provide interconception care to women with prior adverse pregnancy outcomes
• Increase access to preconception care to African American women
• Improve the quality of prenatal care
• Expand healthcare access over the life course
• Strengthen father involvement in African American families
• Enhance coordination and integration of family support services
• Create reproductive social capital in African American communities
• Invest in community building and urban renewal
• Close the education gap
• Reduce poverty among African American families
• Support working mothers and families
• Undo racism

What’s important about this list is that it identifies interventions at many different levels—from clinics to communities to the country. The list also moves beyond the usual focus on health care by identifying basic social and economic factors that drive health inequalities, including poverty and systemic racism. For each recommendation, the article reviews evidence for why each point matters and highlights interventions that have made a difference. This evidence-approach could help to strengthen current efforts to address infant mortality in Leon County.

The article is freely available from the Unnatural Causes website.

Next HEAT meeting is October 19

Update, 10/13/10:The location for next week’s meeting has been set: We will meet at the Greater Frenchtown Revitalization Council, 421 W Georgia St. Thanks to Miaisha Mitchell for hosting.

Hold the date for the next regular HEAT meeting: October 19, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. The location for the meeting has yet to be determined — if you are interested in hosting the meeting, please drop us a line.

We invite your input in crafting the agenda for the October meeting. After the summer break, our plan is to focus discussion on what we have accomplished to date and where we need to go next. In particular, we’d like to take stock of our work on Unnatural Causes and two HEAT spinoffs—the Food Policy Council and HEAT Heart Health—that are moving ahead with success. How can HEAT best support and integrate these projects? What are the priorities for future work? How can we ensure the sustainability of our efforts? What benchmarks should we use to gauge our success in promoting health equity?

Our work will succeed or fail by the strength of our partnerships, so please hold the date and stay tuned for more information about the meeting location. Come make your voice heard.

Next HEAT meeting is May 18

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

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

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

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

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

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

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).