kids swinging in the parkSHIP Stories

In its first two years, communities throughout the state carried out a wide assortment of evidence-based, best practice projects designed to increase access to healthy choices and improve the health of Minnesotans.

"[SHIP] is the most successfully program I have been involved with that brings the community together....This has truly been a success for Watonwan County."-- John Baerg, Watonwan County Commissioner

  • Healthy living trail in Waite Park
    (PDF: 439KB/1 page)
    Waite Park residents now have the opportunity for more physical activity and healthy living, and at the same time learn about cancer prevention.
    The Harold P. Nelson Healthy Living Trail in the City of Waite Park (population 6,715) in Stearns County received...More
  • Businesses help employees get and stay tobacco free
    (PDF: 300KB/1 page)
    Transforming work places to become tobacco-free in Olmsted County calls for a big picture approach. “We’re trying to create an environment where it’s easier for people to quit smoking,” ...More

  • 3,850 residents now free of second-hand smoke in
    their Dakota County homes     (PDF: 420KB/1 page)
    Addressing the problem of second-hand smoke is an important part of Dakota County’s SHIP efforts. Before SHIP, little outreach was done to Dakota County multi-unit housing properties to encourage or support adoption of smoke-free policies.  Through SHIP, …More

    • photovoice

    Health In My Hometown

    How communities influence our health and the health of our youth is the subject of the Health In My Hometown photovoice project. Thirteen communities gave cameras to youth to document what helps them be healthy and what was holds them back regarding healthy eating, active living, and staying tobacco free.

    Thirteen communities participated: Blue Earth, Cottonwood-Jackson-Redwood-Renville, Dakota, Goodhue, Grand Portage Tribal, Mille Lacs Band Of Ojibwe, Minneapolis, North Country, Olmsted, Ramsey Red Lake, Rice and Todd.

    Two videos and a photo book are available online at Health In My Hometown www.healthinmyhometown.org.
  • Bringing more fruits and vegetables to Grand Portage
    (PDF: 1120KB, 1 page)
    With the help of SHIP, Grand Portage Reservation has been able to make real, sustainable improvements in access to healthy foods through the development of a community garden. Grand Portage Reservation, located near the Canadian border, ...More

  • Physical activity is the best policy in McLeod County
    (PDF: 341KB/1 page)
    With support from SHIP, Preschools and day cares throughout McLeod County are not only making physical activity a permanent part of their daily routine, they are making it a company policy. Child care providers are looking at their current policies, space and physical activity practices... More

  • Alternative school students winners with porcupine sliders
    (PDF: 239KB/1 page)
    “It started with a seed,” says a South Education Center Alternative (SECA) teacher. With the support of SHIP, one year earlier she and her students started a school garden at the alternative high school in Richfield. Students planted seeds near sunny windows as a symbol of opportunity. …More
  • Physical activity equals healthy and happy kids
    (PDF: 274KB/1 page)
    Schools in Cass County are already seeing results of their efforts to increase physical activity among their students. With the help of SHIP, four of the five schools in Cass County created programs to improve students’ physical activity, reaching up to 2,000 students.…More

  • Walking School Bus a big plus to father and daughter
    (PDF: 223KB/1 page)
    In Mankato, Minnesota, about 320 students at the newly built Rosa Parks Elementary, were excited to see their new school, classrooms and meet their teachers. But perhaps just as excited was one single father of a six-year-old daughter.…More

  • Burnsville employer supports employees quitting smoking
    (PDF: 438KB/1 page)
    Rigid Hitch, a Burnsville manufacturer, connected with the Statewide Health Improvement Program when Betsy Kauffman, human resources manager, completed a Dakota County survey about potential ways to improve employee wellness and health. Tobacco was smoked or chewed…More

  • Tapping local experts in Litchfield
    (PDF: 658KB/1 page)
    Tapping local expertise and working together as a community is what the Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP) is all about. In the Litchfield area, Minnesota Rubber & Plastics launched wellness programs at its Litchfield plant about six years before SHIP came on the scene…More

  • Achieving Wellness in the Work Place
    (PDF: 587KB/1 page)
    These days, over 8,000 employees across Rice County are on the move, making better food choices and reducing tobacco use. The secret behind their health kick? Rice County’s Statewide Health Improvement Program worksite project...More

  • Nine counties work together to get kids off to a healthy start
    (PDF: 593KB/1 page)
    One area where health care clinics can help make huge strides toward health improvement is with new families. Breastfeeding is important for the health of the baby, leading to a lower risk for many health problems…More

  • Tobacco to be respected, not abused, at Leech Lake
    (PDF: 313KB/1 page)
    Given the high rate of tobacco use among American Indians, making improvements in how clinics work with their patients who smoke could have a profound effect on the health and wellbeing of generations of Tribal people. …More
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Updated Thursday, 24-May-2012 13:58:19 CDT