by Anne S. on Friday, October 26, 2012
Oct. 23rd the Minnesota Dept. of Health and the five counties in the region that have received a Statewide Health Improvement Program grant held a community forum to highlight the opportunities to promote healthy living in their communities. The keynote was by Miss Minnesota and American Heart Association volunteer, Siri Freeh. Siri talked about how when her father developed cardiovascular disease, she knew that cardiovascular health would become her focus as a nursing student at the University of Minnesota. Siri is passionate about kids health and is worried that statistics show this generation of children will have a shorter life expectancy than their parents due to overweight and obesity. Many of the strategies that SHIP has supported in the 5-counties (Cottonwood, Jackson, Faribault, Martin, and Watonwan) focus on providing healthy food and opportunities for physical activity for children. Attendees included Sen. Julie Rosen, Rep. Bob Gunther, several county commissioners, and a wide breadth of community members. Sen. Rosen highlighted that SHIP was originally passed as a bi-partisan effort to reform healthcare with a greater focus on prevention and cost saving. Learn more about success stories in these MN communities: http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/oshii/ship/communities/faribault-martin-watonwan.html
Photo: Rich Collins, Siri Freeh, and Sen. Julie Rosen