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Collaborating with Health Stakeholders

Alliance for Biking & Walking Mutual Aid CallWednesday, March 26, 2014

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Bicycling, walking, and public health all go together. On this Mutual Aid Call, stakeholders rom the public health community shared how advocates and agency staff can communicate, collaborate, and partner with health stakeholders to increase physical activity and wellness.

Advice from Lisa PortelliProgram Director, Winter Park Health Foundation & Board Member of Bike/Walk Central Florida and the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce

About health foundations

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Health oundations are generally created when a hospitals or health plans are sold rom a non-profit to a or-profit company. Most began about 20 years ago, but some are still being created. A percentage o the assets o these health sales must remain housed in a non-profit, so the unds become oundations.

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Tere’s no handbook or all health oundations and their ocuses. Some are place-based, while others are national. Some are larger than others.

Grantmakers in Health

lists health oundations around the U.S.

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Te Winter Park Health Foundation is a smaller oundation with $100 million in assets and $3-5 million in community grants each year. Te Foundation does not issue request or proposals or accept applications or unding; rather, Foundation staff become involved in the community and find ways to insert health into other non-profits’ work.

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Tere is no standard approach or how to work with health oundations. Tey generally understand the connection between built environment, community planning, and health. Policy work is important or their mission: good, health-oriented policy engenders healthy behavior without sustained unding.

Projects supported by the Winter Park Health Foundation

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Bike/Walk Central Florida was ounded by Winter Park Health Foundation. Te Foundation asked people to submit ideas to make communities healthier. One idea was to improve the roads and help people be more civil to each other on the street. In response, the Foundation worked with the

Florida Bicycle Association

to convene a regional advocacy organization.

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Winter Park Health Foundation supported

Best Foot Forward

, a program to reduce pedestrian atalities. Te Foundation provided unding or police officer overtime at various police departments to issue warnings and then citations to drivers who did not stop or a person in a crosswalk. Te program enjoyed positive press or the police departments and succeeded in increasing the percentage o automobiles that stop or pedestrians by 48% on roads under 35 mph.

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Te Foundation has also unded training or regional and city transportation planning staff, to help agency staff with proessional development or active transportation.



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Additional ways to work with health partners

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Health Impact Assessments (HIAs), research tools that analyze the health implications o a certain plan or initiative.

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Food policy councils

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Parks and trails

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Sae Routes to School workshops and programs

About the Minnesota Department of Health

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MDH receives state and ederal unds or health improvement efforts. As part o the Agency’s ocus on physical activity, they und local public health agencies across the state to work on walking and bicycling.

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In communities, MDH sees active transportation as the most successul and sustainable way to increase physical activity behaviors in the general population. Other state health agencies may ocus on physical activity more generally, and not emphasize transportation inrastructure.

Projects supported by MDH

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MDH provides inormation to advocacy groups interested in advancing saer places to walk and bike. Te American Heart Association and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield o Minnesota’s Center or Prevention worked with the

Minnesotans for Healthy Kids Coalition

to pass legislation to boost Sae Routes to School unding in 2013. Te state health department can help advocates by connecting them with health improvement efforts and staff in particular areas o the state.

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MDH ofen works with the

Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota

. Te agency helps und the Bicycle Alliance’s bikeable community workshops, in conjunction with the Minnesota Department o ransportation. MDH also assists the Bicycle Alliance in providing technical assistance to local communities working on bike audits and

Bicycle Friendly Communities

applications. MDH would also like to work with a statewide pedestrian organization, but unortunately there is no such group currently.

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MDH supported creation o curriculum or walking and bicycling. Tis curriculum was created by the state bicycling non-profit on a contract rom the Minnesota Department o ransportation. Te Walk! Bike! Fun! Curriculum is available or use on the

Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota’s website

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Advice from Amber Dallman Physical Activity Coordinator, Minnesota Department of Health (MDH)



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Local public health agencies throughout the state have staff that can support saer places to walk and bike. One example o local public health involvement is with the City o Alexandria’s

downtown reconstruction of state aid highway

. Local public health staff worked with other community partners – including the chamber o commerce – to build support or incorporating bicycle inrastructure through downtown and providing a connection to a state bicycle trail nearby.

How to work with state departments of health:

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Give your local public health agencies a call! In urban areas, they can be municipal; in more rural areas, they tend to be county level.

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Ask who’s working on physical activity promotion. Advocates can always start with their state physical activity person – state staff can connect you with the right local staff.

Additional examples of partnerships with health providers:

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Seattle Children’s Hospital

provides their employees a subsidy i they bike or walk to work. Te Hospital also has a major institution master plan, much like a city master plan, and worked with advocates to connect the Hospital to nearby communities with biking and walking inrastructure.

Feet First

led a walking audit, while

Cascade Bicycle Club

surveyed nearby residents to see where they’d like to see improvements. As a result, the Hospital committed to new inrastructure around its campus, including neighborhood greenways and protected bike lanes. Te hospital earned gold level business status in Cascade’s Biz Cycle program.

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Te

Kaiser Center for otal Health

in Washington, DC holds events to encourage innovative thinking or active transportation. Te Center or otal Health has hosted numerous meetings or national partnerships, as well as local meetups or developers on how to utilize open data on transportation and health. Staff rom Kaiser Permanente are also working with a local neighborhood as a convener in the design process to transorm a ormer automotive bridge into a civic space that accommodates walking and biking.

Advice for advocates:

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Health providers should be a part o your outreach. Invite people rom the Hospital – they might have planner or transportation person on staff. Tey can attend your events and be inormed about what you’re doing in the area.

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Don’t orget about doctors! Some doctors have been writing walking perscriptions or health, but bring them into your conversations. Tey can be a great advocate not only in terms o encouraging their patients to walk or ride a bike, but serve as a convening voice in the community.

Recap: Advice from Christy Kwan Outreach Coordinator, Alliance for Biking & Walking