Rice County Public Health Receives Statewide Health Improvement Program Grant to Fight Chronic Disease

Rice County Public Health has received an 18-month grant from the Minnesota Department of Health focused on fighting chronic diseases caused by obesity and tobacco use.

This is the second Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP) grant Rice County has received since July, 2009. According to MDH, the SHIP grant is aimed at helping Minnesotan's live longer, healthier lives by creating sustainable policy, system, and environmental changes within four settings: schools, worksites, health care, and communities.

'Our focus for SHIP over the next 18 months will be working on seven different strategies around healthy food, physical activity, and tobacco reduction" says Natalie Ginter, SHIP Coordinator for Rice County. 'We've had a lot of success with our SHIP program the last two and a half years which is why I think we received funding again this time when it was so competitive and funding was down."

In the first round of SHIP, every county in the state received money, including several tribal communities and there were 44 SHIP grantees. There was a 70 percent funding reduction for the 2012-13 SHIP grant and only 18 grantees were awarded funding from MDH this time.

SHIP Strategies for Rice County in 2012-13:

• Farm to School
• Active School Day
• Tobacco-Free College Campuses
• Active Transportation
• Smoke-Free Multi-Unit Housing
• Physical Activity in Child Care Settings
• Comprehensive Worksite Wellness


For more information about Rice County SHIP, please visit www.healthyricecounty.org or call Rice County Public Health at 507-332-6111.

CONTACTS:
Natalie Ginter, SHIP Coordinator, (507) 332-5921
Gary Weiers, County Administrator, (507) 332-6121