Vignettes of Policy, Systems and
Environmental Change from Three
Minnesota Communities
Making It Better Presentation
Jill Chamberlain & Michael Huber
November 15, 2011
About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of
Minnesota
•
Largest Health Plan in Minnesota
o 2.8 million members, 3,000 employees
• Not-for-profit company
• Center for Prevention established in 1998 to
lead evidence-based prevention initiatives
• Funded with proceeds from tobacco settlement
Leading a long-term, statewide public
health initiative
•
Clear goals to tackle root causes of disease
o Reduce tobacco use
o Reduce obesity by increasing physical activity and healthy
eating
• Best practices
o Apply CDC community guidelines, proven and promising
strategies
• Use all levers of change to make the healthy
choice the easy choice
Goal: Change the Cultural Norm
•
We aspire to durable change that will outlast our
attention to the issues
• Success in changing policies and systems offer
higher yields over time (PS&E)
• We still support and pursue more traditional
programming and events—but in support of
policy goals
Elements of Effective PS&E
•
Requires sustained effort over time
o We started in earnest on PA in 2004
• Must work at multiple levels concurrently
o Electeds
o Business interests
o Municipal, county, and state agency staff
o Non-profits and advocacy organizations
o “The Public”
4 Key Ingredients of Movement Building
•
Convenings—conferences that we stage/host, or
by injecting agenda items into others’ meetings, and
fostering issue-focused organizations
• Recruiting “grasstop” supporters—state, county
and local
• Providing funding and technical assistance – to
create local models
• Communications and strategic events—both
advocate oriented and for the general public
Key Successes
> Complete Streets
– State level policy passed in 2010
– 19+ local resolutions and policies, across the state
> MN Active Living Network
– 140 (2009) to 400+ members (2011)
> Two communities hosting annual open streets
events…more to come
First Vignette – Hopkins, MN
Download video from: http://www.preventionminnesota.com/doing_page.cfm?oid=5887
Second Vignette – Streets Alive!
Download video from: http://www.preventionminnesota.com/doing_page.cfm?oid=5887
Third Vignette – Red Pine SRTS
Download video from: http://www.preventionminnesota.com/doing_page.cfm?oid=5887
In closing, major points …
• Keep at it
• Work horizontally and vertically
• Don’t neglect events…strategic events paired
with consistent, key messages
• Help do-ers feel like they’re not alone
Statewide advocacy requires
sustained effort over time
Contact Information
[email protected]
651-662-2192
[email protected]
651-662-1777
Make the healthy choice
the easy choice