Next HEAT meeting is April 21

The next HEAT meeting will take place on Tuesday, April 21, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m., at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, Conference Room A (enter through cafeteria). We will focus on funding proposals to support partnership development and to conduct community engagement workshops on obesity and the food environment. Lasagna dinners will be available from TMH catering for $5. Please contact Lance Gravlee to reserve a dinner.

Next HEAT Meeting is March 24

The next HEAT meeting will take place on Tuesday, March 24, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m., at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, Conference Room A (enter through cafeteria). We will focus on discussing our NIH proposal to support partnership development. Lasagna dinners will be available from TMH catering for $5. Please contact Lance Gravlee to reserve a dinner.

Next HEAT Meeting is February 24

The next HEAT meeting will take place on Tuesday, February 24, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, Conference Room A. We will continue planning for a community forum on health equity and discuss a new funding opportunity to strengthen community involvement with HEAT. Please come and make your voice heard.

Day of Dialogue on Minority Health III

Please mark you calendars for third Day of Dialogue on Minority Health, hosted by Bethel AME Church (501 W Orange Ave., Tallahassee, FL). The event will take place on Saturday, February 21, 2009, 8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. This year’s theme is “Developing a Viable Church Health Ministry,” and featured speakers include Reverend Dr. Oveta Fuller, Dr. Cyneetha Strong, and Reverend Dr. Julius Harrison McAllister, Jr. For more information, view the save-the-date flyer here (PDF).

Next HEAT Meeting is January 27

The next HEAT meeting will take place on Tuesday, January 27, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., at the Leroy Collins Public Library (200 W. Call Street), Henderson Room, in downtown Tallahassee. We will discuss new projects initiated by HEAT members, discuss HEAT’s structure, and renew plans for a community forum on health equity. Please come and make your voice heard.

Next HEAT meeting is July 22

The next HEAT meeting will take place on Tuesday, July 22, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., at the Leroy Collins Public Library (200 W. Call Street), Henderson Room, in downtown Tallahassee. We will discuss HEAT’s organizational structure and work toward plans for a community forum on health equity. Please come and make your voice heard.

Next HEAT Meeting is June 10

The next HEAT meeting will take place on Tuesday, June 10, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., at the Leroy Collins Public Library (200 W. Call Street) in downtown Tallahassee. We will present a draft vision statement and core principles and discuss plans for a community forum on health equity. We hope for broad participation from people in the community and the universities. Watch this space for further details.

Next HEAT Meeting

The next HEAT meeting will take place on Tuesday, May 13, 5:30 – 7:30, at the LeRoy Collins Leon County Public Library (200 West Park Avenue, at corner of Call and Bronough Streets). The meeting is open to the public. We hope to hear from many different voices as we work to develop a shared vision for how HEAT can promote greater equity in health in Tallahassee and the surrounding region.

HEAT at the Mayor’s Summit

Last month, Miaisha Mitchell, Qasimah Boston, and I spoke about HEAT at the Mayor’s Summit on Race, Culture, and Human Relations in Tallahassee. The theme of this year’s summit was “Moving Forward with Positive Change.” Our panel, which also included Dr. José Rodríguez (FSU College of Medicine) and Dr. Makeba Earst (Sunshine State Dental Association), addressed this theme with a focus on how collaboration between community residents and university researchers can generate positive change for equity in health.

The event reminded me of how challenging it is to shift the discussion about health from the doctor’s office and to the community. Many of us are used to thinking about health in terms of health care. Health care is undoubtedly important. But in terms of health equity, it is not the most important factor. The root causes of inequities in health are inequities in social and economic resources. It was exciting to discuss that idea at the Mayor’s summit, because many of the people who attended our panel work in local government in areas that impact public health — even if health isn’t part of their job description.