Minnesotan Women Share their Stories and Passion

For the past six years, Go Red For Women has been the American Heart Association’s solution to save the lives of women across this country by helping them turn simple lifestyle choices into life-saving actions.

Whether it’s eating healthier, exercising more, quitting smoking, or committing to visit the doctor every year, Go Red For Women empowers women to take these steps toward a healthier life.

We know that Go Red For Women is working!!! Since the movement began, 750,000 women across the country have joined. As a result of signing up to join the movement, 96 percent of those women have reported they were motivated to take action to live healthier.

We met several of these women at the Twin Cities first-ever Go Red Casting Call at the Mall of America on Wear Red Day, February 6, 2009. We reached a couple hundred women with important health messages at the event and nearly 40 women chose to sit down and share their personal stories with us on camera.

We met Lynn, who chose successfully to quit smoking this past year after more than 40 years of smoking.

A young lady named Maya was moved to live healthier after she lost her mother to a heart attack at age 48. In honor of her mom, Maya chose to fit exercise and healthy eating into her life and has since lost 50 pounds.

We were touched by Amanda who found herself in congestive heart failure just weeks after giving birth to twins. Today she chooses to make time to listen to her body, for her health and the future of her children.

Thanks to all those who attended the casting call and shared their stories. The Minnesota and National winners will be announced May 31, 2009. Stay tuned!

PE Bill Gets First Committee Hearing

Our bill to ensure all Minnesota students receive quality physical education is getting its first hearing! It will be heard on Wednesday, February 18, in the House K-12 Education Policy Committee.

If your Representative sits on this committee, please contact him/her to ensure we have their support for HF 439! Click on the link below to see if your Repsentative sits on this committee.

Ask your Representative to Support Quality Physical Education!

This committee hearing is the first step to ensuring all kids receive quality physical education across the state of Minnesota. HF 439 will ensure physical education is not eliminated from schools so our children have a chance to learn lifelong physical activities and healthy habits. Further, research has shown that students who participate in quality physical education have higher academic performance. Let your Representative know how important quality physical education is to the health and well-being of our kids.

Budget Crisis: What about increasing the tobacco tax?

State legislators are hosting town hall forums across the state from to ask Minnesotans for their ideas on how to solve the budget crisis.

The American Heart Association and our public health partners need your help to raise awareness around the benefits of an increase in the tobacco tax. Not only would this help raise important revenue for the state of Minnesota, it would also save lives and help prevent heart disease and stroke.

We are targeting five communities- Brainerd, Forest Lake, Mankato, Rochester, and Willmar. If you live in one of these communities, we strongly encourage you to attend your community forum and report back to us!

Sample question: I am a [heart disease/stroke survivor or caregiver or health care professional]. I think an increase in the tobacco tax would be a good way to raise needed revenue. It would also help address some major health care issues, including preventing many chronic diseases such as heart disease and stroke. [Include short personal story here].

$1.00 increase would:
Raise between $90-150 million
Decrease youth smoking by 13.3% and cause 19,500 adults to quit
Save 19,300 Minnesotans from premature smoking-caused death
Save $8 million from fewer smoking-caused heart attacks & strokes over five years

Brainerd
Friday, February 20th - 10:30 a.m.
Washington Educational Services Building-Board Room
804 Oak Street
Sign up to speak at this location

Forest Lake
Thursday, February 26 - 6:30 p.m.
Forest Lake City Hall
220 N. Lake St
Sign up to speak at this location

Mankato
Thursday, February 19th - 6:00 p.m.
Mankato Intergovernmental Center-Mankato River Room
10 Civic Center Plaza
Sign up to speak at this location

Rochester
Thursday, February 19th - 6:00 p.m.
Rochester Community and Technical College-Heintz Center Commons Area
1926 Collegeview Road SE
Sign up to speak at this location

Willmar
Thursday, February 19th - 6:00 p.m.
Kennedy Elementary School
824-7th Street SW
Sign up to speak at this location

Click here for more information the toll of tobacco in Minnesota
Click here for more information about the town hall forums

Please let me know if you attend a forum and raise the tobacco tax idea so we can track our progress. Email me at bethany.snyder@heart.org.

Capitol Rotunda Goes Red

Friday, February 6, 2009, the Capitol Rotunda was a sea of red as volunteers and legislators celebrated National Wear Red Day and the introduction of the Women’s Heart Health Promotion Act.

Representative Phyllis Kahn and Senator Patricia Torres-Ray are leading the efforts to ensure that more uninsured and underinsured women are able to access heart screening to prevent heart disease, the leading killer of women in the state of Minnesota. The Women's Heart Health Promotion Act would increase funding to the state program that provides screenings for low-income and uninsured women across the state of Minnesota. This program currently screens about 1,000 women and could be expanded to at least 15,000 to truly make an impact and save lives if the Women’s Heart Health Promotion Act becomes law.

Apply for SHIP Funding!

Statewide Health Improvement Program RFP Available

The Minnesota Department of Health is soliciting applications for grant funding to reduce tobacco use and exposure and prevent obesity in Minnesota, through implementation of specific policy, systems and environmental interventions in four settings: schools, community, worksites and health care.

Please see Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP) Request for Proposals for more information.