Wednesday, September 24, 2008: 2:00pm-5:00pm
Post Conference Tours
As in previous years, we offered three special tours/ site visits of facilities that occured after the main conference concluded on Wednesday, September 24. There was an additional fee of $35 to participate in a special tour and advance registration was required. Space was limited. Participants were asked to select the special tour they would like to attend when they filled out their registration form.
A. Hennepin County Medical Center and the Center for Urban Health (CLOSED)
HCMC is Minnesota’s primary safety net, providing more uncompensated care (and more care to publicly insured individuals) than any other facility in the state. Served by Hennepin Faculty Associates, a multi-specialty practice group with joint appointments at the University of Minnesota, HCMC provides emergency, primary, outpatient specialty, and inpatient care in more than 80 languages, to the most culturally diverse patient population in the state. The site visit will include tours of the Emergency Department, the Interpreter Services Department, a program to address limited health literacy among Spanish-speakers at the Pharmacy, culturally specific primary care services at the General Medicine Clinic, the Pediatrics Department and the Diabetes Clinic. The tour will conclude with a discussion at the Center for Urban Health, regarding factors that facilitate and impede development and sustainable implementation of services responsive to culturally diverse populations.
B. Center for International Health (CLOSED)
The Center for International Health, is a HealthPartners clinic that provides a broad range of health care to culturally diverse communities, focusing on refugee and immigrant primary care. Our staff has advanced training, many years of global health experience and understands the unique needs of immigrants, including those living in the United States for many years. The Center for International Health has received statewide and national recognition and awards for our care delivery model and believe it represents one example of the best practices in culturally competent health care. We have an experienced team of health care providers, including bilingual/ bicultural physicians, nurses, psychologists, psychiatrists, physician assistants, and social workers. Enjoy a brief tour of the facility and an opportunity to meet and ask questions of our diverse staff and on site interpreters. Follow the link below to read about a new book telling the story of the Center for International Health:
http://www.aftonpress.com/index.html
C. Minneapolis American Indian Center
Join us for a tour of the Minneapolis American Indian Center, a destination to the heart of the American Indian community. Owned and operated by the community, it houses a variety of programs servicing youth to elders in unique collaborations with health care agencies. Visit with staff and leadership that oversee the work of bringing community healthcare services to the community. The site visit will include a tour of the building, a visit to the Two Rivers Gallery, and Woodland Indian Arts and Crafts.
http://www.maicnet.org/
Post Conference Sessions
Health Promotion & Prevention of Health Disparities for
Minnesota’s Refugee & Immigrant Communities
A Roundtable Discussion on Creating Community: Health Policy and Immigrant Integration
You are invited to attend a unique policy roundtable on the link between immigrant integration and healthy communities, featuring a dialogue between policymakers, service delivery experts, and representatives of refugee and immigrant communities.
The roundtable was hosted by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), a grantee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation’s statewide initiative, Healthy Together: Creating Community with New Americans. The Foundation has identified four social determinants of health that go beyond access to high-quality health care and healthy lifestyle: social connectedness; early childhood development; housing; and environment.
NCSL convenied policy roundtables to support immigrant integration and healthy communities in two areas selected by the Foundation: early childhood education and health promotion/prevention of health disparities. The policy roundtables provided an opportunity for policymakers to meet with refugee and immigrant leaders to identify local challenges and potential solutions in health and social policy arenas. The workshops highlighted trends and promising practices at both the national and state level, followed by roundtable discussions focused on next steps for Minnesota. The project aimed to increase knowledge of Minnesota’s public policymaking structure and processes among refugee and immigrant community members, leading to increased civic participation. The project also informed state and local policymakers on newcomer communities, their specific needs and priorities, as well as the assets within their communities to help address those needs.
Goals for this session:
- Highlight promising practices in refugee/immigrant integration within Minnesota related to the Foundation’s initiative Healthy Together: Creating Community with New Americans
- Discuss recent Minnesota health legislation and health policy changes and relevance for refugee/immigrant communities
- Learn about integration models identified by conference participants from other states and other countries
- Offer an opportunity for information dissemination and networking of a broad spectrum of state policymakers, nonprofit organizations, refugee and immigrant community leaders, and health care professionals
- Through the roundtable discussion, identify priorities and potential next steps for immigrant health improvements in Minnesota.