Minnesota Institute of Public Health

A colleague recently sent me the most interesting report about various motivational perspectives on life at work from different ages and generations.

As MIPH works to develop its outreach and marketing of our helpful products and services in public health and prevention, a few special observations occur to me:

It doesn't matter what line of business you are in, if you don't have customers, you don't have a business.

One could argue, IS there a topic that has NOT found its way into the health care reform national discussion?  That said, in our 38 year history of work in substance abuse prevention, MIPH staff and our partners have noted with interest how infrequently substance abuse prevention has been part of the dialog.

(This is a retrospective about life at MIPH in 2009).

Like most places, MIPH began 2009 with a mixture of hope for the future, confidence from our past work, worry about an awful economy, and realization of what we could influence in our world of health improvement.

Dealing with major systems change can be tough. I've blogged before about these times of change and what they seem to mean to people within their organizations. Change remains one of the few constants in life.

We are taking a short break during the holidays and will continue the MIPH blog in early 2010. Thank you for reading our weekly blogs and telling us what you think.

Wishing you a warm, happy and safe Holiday Season.

 

For many years MIPH kept going forward - growing, achieving, accomplishing. While that's still very true, we are more strategic about this than ever before, and it's helped us.

In our quest for quality assurance here at MIPH we follow some sage advice from a longtime colleague of mine who ran a very successful printing business.

 

When Jim Collins, author of the best-selling book Good to Great was asked what motivated him to undertake the massive research project to understand what distinguishes great companies from simply good companies, he replied “Curiosity.”

Anyone right now who says he/she’s got it all figured out as regards what will happen on health policy, is misleading you. It’s a sea of confusion, debate, high energy, politics, civics, angst and great possibilities...

From time to time many of us in prevention are viewed as “If it tastes good, feels, good, or is otherwise interesting, Prevention People with find something WRONG with it!”.

In our work, and I will bet in yours as well, there is often need for sage advice and counsel about the plans to be undertaken...

Science news tells us that in 2009 after fifteen years of progressive research, research made public a composite of fossil from a 4.4 million year old carcass...

No, that’s not a Scrabble move; it’s the evolution of our largest federal grant to the new National Prevention Technical Assistance (TA) system Central Region known as the Regional Expert Team, (RET).

When MIPH began its federal work creating the Central Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies (Central CAPT) in 1997, we learned then-CSAP Director Karol Kumpfer had an image in mind...

I heard a speaker recently describing a very important reality in our lives when our bodies, our friends, or other conditions are essentially warning us to change behavior. Sometimes we heed the warnings, sometimes we don’t...

In our quest to apply prevention that works, we continue to learn from research, and be as wise as we can from experience..

Submitted by guest author Kevin Spading, Director, MN Prevention Resource Center.

Over the last year or so, I must admit, my heart has been heavy.

Last October, in St Cloud, we welcomed the wonderful leadership of Jack Claypoole and the outstanding efforts of the Drug Free Communities grants to our conference and learned about their effectiveness and their recipe for success in communities..

While in Washington DC recently, I was invited to the National Press Club for the press conference releasing the National Survey on Drug Use and Health: 2008 Findings...

I don’t know if it’s an official term in demographers’ language, but “young old” describes a lot of baby boomers—people ages 60-74. As public health and social service people, we need to pay additional attention to this group and their needs..

In Minnesota and in many states of the U.S., traffic crashes cause deaths and injuries, and are the leading cause of death for people ages 1 to 34...

Sometime next year, the world population is expected to hit the seven billion — that’s billion with a ’b’— mark.

Sometimes it’s hard to explain what exactly it is we do at the Minnesota Institute of Public Health.

One chronic challenge many have is connecting their day-to-day work with the Big Picture. How do my daily tasks and routines help advance the overall goal of my organization?...

During tough times, there’s a lot to be said about the need for perseverance.

I think of Abraham Lincoln and all he went through to become who he became. He failed in business; lost in the Illinois State Legislature; his fiance’ died; he had a nervous breakdown...

On the heels of the 2008 economic downturn, MIPH and most other nonprofits I know of are re-thinking how they approach for-profit corporations for philanthropic support...

We all know what Outreach means in terms of constituents, stakeholders, consumers, clients, and all those we serve out there. Among the things we’ve learned here at MIPH are, You’re NEVER done doing outreach, and often in addition to doing a good job, you need to make sure people know you’re doing a good job! That’s part of Outreach...

Clearly, prevention is at a new level of maturity, and expectations. In this day of precious limited prevention resources, it is incumbent on each of us to do more and with accountability; with expectations of results...

There are simply times when people are more amenable to learning. Call it a readiness, or even heightened inclination to learn. Often it’s driven by something that happens in our environment. They are teachable moments in our lives...

Since fifth grade we’ve known the drill about water : it’s 70% of the earth’s surface, 60% of our body weight, and the most precious natural resource on the planet.  We can’t live without it.  The APHA calls Water and the public health the “21st Century Challenge”.

MIPH is working more with the issues of proper nutrition, along with issues of hunger and of starvation.

Many people have described MIPH as “The Little Company That Could”.  Some of our long time staff bristle at that, preferring the moniker, “The Middle Sized Company That DOES”...

While conversing recently with a colleague about gun violence, she told me, “There are so many out there that refuse to acknowledge these shades of gray...

The following Blog is written and offered here by Tou Lee, our Prevention Specialist.  Tou’s message is timely, important and of great interest.  Read on...

If you’re like us at MIPH, you place a high premium on quality assurance or quality control.  Being fast is not good enough; being of high quality takes time...

There’s a difference between a Pollyanna and a Can-do Realist. Many people can find hope in the slightest spark  of light and use that spark to keep on keeping’ on… Resilience at its best. Probably why my crummy golf game often ends with a well played final hole, that keeps me coming back for another try...

The following Blog offers some helpful insights on Social Media and is written and offered here by Carlos Morales, our Senior Systems Analyst here at MIPH.  Read on....

This is probably a question that would not have been asked two years ago but today it’s the most common question when thinking about marketing and outreach. The term social media most often refers to...

Mexico City is now termed by CNN News as the epicenter of swine flu outbreak. There are now 90 cases worldwide, and 50 in the U.S. This number will probably need to be updated between the time I write this, and the moment it appears on this blog. Point is, the situation is changing by the day, by the hour...

Call them what you want – customers, clients, constituents, -- you need them to give meaning purpose and success to your organization. There’s data to suggest it’s a lot easier to keep satisfied customers than to go out and secure new ones. Customer Loyalty is a huge issue...

The last decade has been quite the breakthrough in effective and evidence-based prevention programs, policies and practices. Justifiably, it is no longer OK to use the tired old argument “but how do you measure something that DIDN’T happen because of your program?”, or “I know my program works – I can see it in my kids’ eyes!”...

I've asked Tom Griffin and Melissa Boeke of our staff to describe for us the MN Epi website. Please read on...

Though most people believe in the value of prevention, we continue to face the challenge of how to profile it in a compelling way. Many people are familiar with the Upstream story, but upon request I reiterate it here...

Of the 2,600 Minnesotan veterans returning home after duty in Afghanistan and Iraq, nearly 80% have readjusted to home life fairly well. But twenty percent have not, and of that group, some have taken their own lives. It is the ultimate tragedy...

Stephen Glenn, Ph.D. for many years wrote and conducted trainings called Developing Capable Young People, and later morphed that into workplace trainings entitled Developing Capable Employees.

I think he was on to something important...

Guest Blog by Kevin Spading

People consume, smoke, and insert chemicals oftentimes not thinking about real consequences. This couldn’t be further from the truth when we study the relationship of various drugs such as stimulants, depressants, and hallucinogens on the human brain...

This blog was previously published in the February 2009 edition of Prevention with Impact newsletter.

A big buzz phrase these days is “ROI.” What’s our Return on Investment? For what we give, what do we get back? And, is it worth it?...

In the Information Age, the challenge has changed. The question used to be, “How do I access information?” Now it is, “How do I keep from drowning in the stuff?”...

“The Only Constant is Change” …
“Change We Can Believe In”…
“In Times of Change, Learners Inherit the Earth”…
“Systems Change”
(“Buddy, Can You SPARE Some Change?”) …

We hear a lot about change these days, and goodness knows the times, well, they-are- a….,” like the song says...

MIPH has been honored in having been approached by schools that have known us and trusted us to help with prevention activity.  That has included schools in our stateand region that experienced the horrific tragedies that involved schoolshootings.

Lots of words and emotions expressed about the condition of our sagging economy. Everyone I know has a story to tell about that. Doesn’t it make you sick?...

Fame, apparently, is fleeting. Infamy lasts a while longer.

Many Americans jumped to their feet and cheered in front of their TV sets this past summer when USA’s Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps touched the wall first to win his record-setting 8th gold medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics in China...

This is a time of year when most organizations take stock. They look at their year-end results and assess indicators and levels of success, or lack of same.

For-profit businesses do many things essential to our way of life but their major goal is to make money. A little secret is, nonprofits need to make a margin to grow....

We throw around the term ‘hero’ rather loosely these days. From the football player who catches a key pass to win a playoff game, to the nice looking, somewhat talented Hollywood celebrity star or starlet with a publicist, people tend. . .

In years past as a prevention consultant, I witnessed first hand how some community coalitions and groups would argue about what to do and how to proceed with substance abuse and violence prevention programming steps.  Usually, it was because there had never been a meaty, candid group discussion about what exactly it was. . .

“Where’d you get that information?” Usually a good question relating to how we access information sources we trust, and how we try to avoid sources we don’t trust.

You hear a lot about collaboration, partnerships, coalitions and alliances, to get things done. How very valid and critically important these relationships are!

But there’s more to the story.

Last week we lost a great friend. Lt. Phil Bartusek of the Albert Lea Police Department, who fought a brave battle against cancer, passed away on December 15, 2008. Today and always we honor Phil and remember his accomplishments.

The following Blog is written and offered here by Kevin Spading, our Minnesota Prevention Resource Center (MPRC) Director here at MIPH.  Kevin’s message is timely, important and of great interest.  Read on…

 

The United States of America is a nation of immigrants.  When each person looks into the mirror and asks him/herself, “Who am I?” one thing that every person in this...

The end of a year and anticipation of a new year triggers my thinking about accomplishments, lessons learned, and expectations for the new year.

From Executive Director Jerry Jaker "I am pleased to forward some helpful insight in this blog on Program Evaluation, written by Tom Griffin and Becky Sechrist of our staff."

Most are aware our outgoing U.S. President commenced the White House Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives. The concept was to permit faith-based groups to have a “level playing field” in pursuing...

From Executive Director Jerry Jaker "Please read the blog below from our MIPH Medical Director Neal Holtan, M.D., M.P.H., M.A. who describes the formal relationship MIPH has with the Mayo College of Preventive Medicine. Our projects and initiatives are greatly enhanced by Neal's leadership in this important collaboration..."

Late last week CNN and other news outlets ran the startling story that more U.S. marines were killed in motorcycle accidents (25) than were killed in Iraq (20) over the past twelve months. Over 18,000 of the nearly 200,000 U.S. Marines stateside...

In the great noise and clutter of life, public health workers and advocates try – with varying degrees of success – to influence behavior change so...

It’s interesting to me that dialog in our election campaigns and in the nation in general address “collaborations” and “cooperation” like they’re totally new concepts. As the science and art of prevention...

Alcohol and public policy – what a ride in our country’s history! Since the Mayflower arrived loaded with crates of beer and wine (you could look it up!)...

At MIPH, we don’t sell health insurance. We do view ourselves as a kind of retailer of health improvement.

According to the Veteran’s Administration, the number of veterans living in Minnesota is over 400,000. This includes 18,000 Minnesotans currently in the National Guard and/or Reserves. Recently almost...

Maybe it’s just me, but it seems in spite of all the recent changes in schools with assessments, funding formulas, politicking, some constants remain. The main certainty is...

It’s a new day at MIPH, with a new website, new energy, new direction through our 2009-2011 Strategic Plan, and that makes it exciting.