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Welcome to the Montana Rural Health Initiative (RHI) quarterly newsletter! Our hope is to increase
communication while supporting the work of communities and individuals across
Montana. Please let us know if we can be of assistance.
Sincerely,
Shalina Mirza
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News from the RHI
RHI Receives Donation from the Montana HealthCare Forum and Sponsors of the Make Health Happen Summit
The Montana
HealthCare Forum recently made a contribution to aid the RHI's efforts. "Kathryn Roe of the Health Law Consultancy is the
contributor to the Montana HealthCare Forum who made the donation to the
Incubator possible, and the Forum is delighted to support rural community
wellness projects." said Joan Miles, convener of the Montana HealthCare Forum,
a network of stakeholders
and others who are interested in health care policy and reform that develop
innovative changes to the health care system in Montana.
In addition, the sponsors of the Make Health Happen: Promoting Wellness and Prevention in Rural Communities summit decided to
donate excess conference funds to the Montana RHI. The conference occurred August 9th & 10th,
2009 at Montana State University in Bozeman, MT. The focus of the summit
was to bring together top foundation and business leaders, and world-class
experts to explore ways to improve health and promote wellness in small
communities.
 
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RHI Incubator Program
Helping Rural Communities Hatch and Grow Wellness Programs
The RHI Incubator program was designed to stimulate the creation of community-wide prevention and wellness activities in rural communities, and the first round proved to be a success. The supported community projects include efforts to:
- Construct a trail system in Scobey, MT, while developing and sustaining a Safe Routes to School Program within the community
- Pilot a BackPack Program at Thompson Falls Elementary School to help battle childhood hunger by providing a backpack full of child-friendly nutritious food choices for weekends & holiday breaks
- Execute a two-part community event to connect young children and their parents with community resources and to provide access to a comprehensive screening of children's overall health to promote optimal growth and development in the Bozeman area
- Execute a bike safety, education, and wellness information program to children in the Belgrade community
- Implement an educational/screening program to identify health risks within Big Horn County, and use the information and data as a source of motivation for participation in a community-wide six week fitness program.
The RHI Collaborative Committee was thrilled with the interest in the incubator program, and look forward to helping these projects make lasting changes in Montana communities while also serving as a catalyst for other groups and organizations throughout the state. The next call for Incubator applications will begin late February, 2010.
To view the latest RHI press release, please click here.
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Featured Programs:
Eat Right Montana
Eat Right
Montana (ERM) is a diverse partnership between individuals and organizations
who share the common goal of providing consistent, evidence-based nutrition and
physical activity information. The coalition has been promoting healthful
eating and active lifestyles for 18 years; sharing resources and expertise to
help Montanans live healthier lifestyles.
For the past twelve years, ERM has provided
Montanans with the Healthy Families Media
Campaign, a monthly packet that includes up-to-date, simple, and positive
nutrition and physical activity handouts. The 2010 campaign: Treasure Your Family's Health:
Back-to-Basics with Food & Fitness, will include the trend toward more
meals and celebrations at home, while recognizing that simple, basic,
home-cooked meals can improve the nutritional quality of one's diet. This
packet is distributed electronically to media outlets throughout Montana, as
well as ERM Coalition members, public health agencies, schools and interested
parties in Montana and throughout the country.
Past and current issues of Healthy Families and other ERM materials
are archived and available on the ERM web site at www.eatrightmontana.org.
2010 Shape Up Montana Underway Shape Up Montana is a three-month, team-based program of the Big
Sky State Games that encourages Montanans to make healthier
nutrition choices and be more physically active. Shape Up Montana's team competition recognizes achievement in two
categories: Accumulated Activity based on logging miles using the new Miles Calculator and Weight Loss due to healthful eating and
physical activity.
For the first time, Shape Up Montana will offer a Family Division
as part of the Accumulated Activity category. The cost for the
three-month program is $15 and $10 for employees of Big Sky State
Games (BSSG) program sponsors. Everyone who enters will receive a
Shape Up Montana T-shirt, weekly challenges, animated exercises,
and nutrition and physical activity tips, access to numerous
wellness calculators and free entry into the 25th Anniversary Big
State Games Fitness Walk on July 16 in Billings.
Awards will be presented to the top three teams in each
division.
To learn more about Shape Up Montana or how to get involved, please visit: www.shapeupmontana.org
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Upcoming RHI Webinars
February- "Childhood Obesity Screening and Surveillance"
Join us for the RHI featured webinar, Childhood Obesity Screening and Surveillance, presented by the Montana Nutrition and Physical Activity Program. On Thursday, February 11th, from 9:00 am to 10:30 am MST, Barbara Moore, PhD., and Rachel Pahut, RN will discuss the process of assessing children in schools and other settings. Topics will include: planning, safety and confidentiality; engaging parents and health care providers; what to consider and how to proceed; measurement protocols; and how to calculate BMI using age and sex specific percentiles. To register, please follow this link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/567078859
March-"Smoking Cessation -- The Purchasers Perspective"
Employers are the purchasers of health insurance for the majority of Montanans and consequently employers watch carefully the cost of health insurance and strive to understand what they are paying for. Dr. Robert Shepard, MD and Sue Heineman, Pharmacist, will first describe the cost (and health) benefits of smoking cessation and then provide a description of a free tool accessible to employers via the web. This webinar provides the most concise way to learn how to save dollars, improve health and increase employee retention. Registration information coming soon!
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Fresh, Local Foods in Underserved Communities
NPLAN Webinar Spotlight
National Policy and Legal Analysis Network to Prevent Childhood Obesity (NPLAN) will host a webinar training on policies that promote
fresh, local foods in underserved communities on February 23rd at 11:00 am (MT). Visit http://nplanonline.org/ to register.
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Community Grant Opportunity
Home
Depot Building Healthy Communities Grant Program
Home Depot support nonprofits
that are using volunteers to improve the physical health of their communities.
Grants support building, rebuilding, painting, or refurbishing; increasing
energy efficiency or sustainability; landscaping or planting of native trees;
community facility improvements; and the development and/or improvement of
green spaces. Grants of up to $2,500 are made in the form of The Home Depot
gift cards for the purchase of tools or materials. Visit http://corporate.homedepot.com/wps/portal/Grants for more information and to apply. The application deadlines
are March 1, July 1, and November 1.
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Upcoming Conferences: Spring 2010March 24-25, 2010
23rd NW Regional Rural Health Conference
"Weathering the Perfect Storm: Challenges & Changes"The Northwest's largest conference on rural health - incorporating Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington - celebrates its 23rd year in 2010. The NW Regional Rural Health Conference strives to stay abreast of the current policy and regulation developments at the federal, regional, state and local levels which impact healthcare delivery. At the same time, the conference delivers content inclusive of collaborative rural models, innovative community projects, quality, and other underlying themes that shape the way business is done. 
April 13-15, 2010DPHHS Spring Public Health ConferenceNew Frontiers for a Healthy MontanaThe 2010 Spring Public Health Conference, which will be held in Bozeman, MT, will focus on child and maternal health. The conference goal is to provide public health professionals the opportunity to expand their knowledge base about maternal and child health, enhance their clinical skills, and foster collaborative relationships. Some 175 - 200 public health and health care professionals in Montana are expected to attend.
April 26-27, 2010
5th Annual Worksite Health Promotion Conference
Keeping Montanans Well through Worksite Health Promotion
The Montana Worksite Health Promotion Coalition is to be a resource for Montana employers regarding the art and science of health promotion and wellness at work. The Worksite Health Promotion Conference, held in Bozeman, MT, is for organizational health professionals and business executives responsible for implementing wellness strategies within their organization.  | |
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Shalina Mirza, Project Coordinator
MT AHEC & Office of Rural Health
406.994.5310
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