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| Advocates in keeping New Hampshire a healthy place to live, work, and play . . . |
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November
2019 e-Newsletter
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Inside NHPHA
A Monthly Column Written by NHPHA Leadership
Teaming Up for Collaboration and Learning
written by Joan Ascheim, MSN, Executive Director
On October 2, 2019, NHPHA, Dartmouth-Hitchcock, and the Vermont Public Health Association joined forces to host
Team Up, Take Action: A Conference on Partnering to Improve Community Health, with the theme Building Bridges between Communities and Healthcare. The conference drew more than 200 participants to the lovely Hanover Inn for networking and an exciting day of professional development.
 We welcomed
José T. Montero, MD, MCHDS, and his humor back to New Hampshire as the keynote speaker. Dr. Montero shared strategies for partnerships and leadership to address population health. Participants had opportunities to attend skills-building workshops in the morning relative to community-based participatory research, change management, health equity, and community health planning. Following lunch, Dr. Montero moderated a lively discussion on health equity and population health. Afternoon workshops focused on LGBTQ+ and quality care, health equity partnerships, food access, and adverse childhood experiences.
Read the rest of the article and see conference slides and photos here.
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Public Health Mentor Program Year 2 Kicks Off
written by Andrea Guzman, Workforce Development Coordinator
Mentor program participants shared their favorite hats during an icebreaker exercise.
We are excited to share that the second year of the Public Health Mentoring Program kicked off on October 10 at the Kimball Jenkins Estate in Concord. We have 14 mentor-mentee pairs for the 2019-2020 program, including a variety of students, early-career professionals, and people pursuing a career change, all enthusiastic about public health in New Hampshire! During the kick-off event, mentors and mentees had the opportunity to get to know one another, set goals and expectations, and attend a training by Emily Bass that focused on communication and asking thoughtful questions. The program is now in full swing. Mentors and mentees have begun their one-on-one meetings, and many are planning on attending events together. We are looking forward to our check-in event in January!
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NHPHA, NH Medical Society Presidents
Pen Op-Ed on Border Vaccinations
In late September, NHPHA President Marcella Bobinsky and New Hampshire Medical Society President Tessa LaFortune-Greenberg published an op-ed in The Concord Monitor on the importance of providing vaccinations at our nation's borders. Below is an excerpt; click here to read the entire article.
"With the recent unprecedented influx of migrant children and families at the southern U.S. border comes unprecedented challenges. A major challenge is the prevention of infectious diseases both among those seeking refuge and among those caring for them.
From Sept. 1, 2018, to Aug. 22, 2019, 898 confirmed or probable cases of mumps in adult migrants were reported from 57 detention facilities in the United States, and an additional 33 cases occurred among staff members. While approximately 150 mumps outbreaks and 16,000 cases have been reported in the United States since 2015, most often in close-contact settings, this is the first report of mumps outbreaks in detention facilities."
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New Futures 2019 Legislative Session Update
written by Lisa Vasquez, NHPHA Communications Committee Co-Chair
Thanks to the help and support of hundreds of advocates, the 2019 legislative session was overwhelmingly successful for New Futures in advancing public health in the Granite State. New Futures is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that advocates, educates, and collaborates to improve the health and wellness of all New Hampshire residents through policy change. Our collective efforts have led to the defeat and passage of critical bills and the eventual agreement on a state budget that invests in many public health priorities.
 A final budget deal was reached the last week of September, and Gov. Sununu signed it into law on Thursday, September 26. This bipartisan compromise addresses several important areas of need facing the health and wellness of Granite Staters. This includes increased Medicaid reimbursement rates, which are essential to building a workforce better equipped to address the ongoing addiction and mental health crises, support for critical programs and services including substance use and mental treatment, a comprehensive children's system of care, and early childhood supports like Medicaid home visiting.
In addition to the state budget, lawmakers acted on a number of bills impacting the health of our state. Click here to learn more about some of the standout bills that New Futures followed over the course of the session.
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Introducing Lead Exposure Data Briefs
written by Lynne Clement, Communications Specialist,
NH Division of Public Health Services
Childhood lead poisoning continues to be a persistent, environmentally mediated pediatric health problem in New Hampshire. In 2018, 635 children in NH younger than age 6 had blood lead levels of 5
µg/dL or more, which is the recommended level for public health action by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. As of April 2018, legislative changes made to NH's lead laws now require all NH children to have two blood lead level (BLL) tests, at age 1 and
again at age 2.
Read the rest of this article here.
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We Are Public Health:
Celebrating Recovery Month
written by Lisa Vasquez, MS, CPS, NHPHA Communications Committee Co-Chair
September was Recovery Month, and New Hampshire celebrated big this year with many events across the state. On August 29, across the state, an event was held to raise awareness of substance use disorder and suicide titled 10,000 Candles for New Hampshire. This event took place in Nashua, Keene, Derry, Manchester, and Concord to highlight that these issues affect everyone throughout New Hampshire. Each event presented local speakers who talked about the impact substance use, mental health, and suicide had in their lives.
Read the rest of the article here.
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Transitions & Happenings
 We are thrilled to introduce you to our new
NHPHA Workforce Development Coordinator, Andrea Guzman, who joined our staff in September. Andrea will be overseeing our mentor program, student internship stipend program, Rising Stars Initiative, and our professional development offerings. Andrea graduated from California State University, Chico, with a BS in Health Science and is pursuing a MPH at the University of New Hampshire. She spent the past few years working at nonprofits that support victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. At these organizations, Andrea did program planning for prevention education in high schools, colleges, and the community, as well as advocacy and counseling. Additionally, Andrea has experience in web design and legislative outreach. She is an avid reader, traveler, and yoga student and is excited to continue her public health career as the Workforce Development Coordinator. Please give her a warm welcome when you cross paths!
We'd also like to extend congratulations to our
board member Devinne Healy, a recent Rivier University graduate who recently completed her BSN and passed her RN exams. Devinne is excited to move forward with her career in public health, and from her service as a board member, we know she'll make a great addition. Congrats, Devinne!
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Enjoy Party Planning?
NHPHA Membership Committee Wants YOU!
NHPHA is looking for members who are interested in social events and party planning to join its Membership Committee! We're also looking for folks interested in marketing, communications, and health promotion to join the Communications Committee.
Please note that you do not need experience to join either committee. This is a great opportunity for any NHPHA member, but especially
 for student members who would like to be more involved in public health. The Membership Committee is responsible for organizing fun, social events for NHPHA throughout the year as well as engaging members like you. The Communications Committee keeps members informed in a timely manner of these NHPHA activities (and more) and supporting all of the communication activities between the Board, NHPHA membership, and those interested in public health programs and initiatives.
For more information about joining the Membership Committee, please contact the committee chair: Lisa Bujno (
[email protected]
). To join the Communications Committee, please contact the committee Co-Chairs: Lisa Vasquez (
[email protected]) or Christin D'Ovidio (
[email protected]). Thanks in advance for your help!
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Improved NHPHA Membership Database
and Website Coming Soon!
We are excited to announce that we are transitioning soon to a new, much more user-friendly membership database and updated website! We will be sending out notifications about this to our members, and you will be able to log in to your membership portal and customize it with a photo, update your mailing preferences, and more. Stay tuned for an email from us with more details!
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Membership Renewal Pins.
The committee has purchased NHPHA pins as a way to say thank you to our members when they renew. We hope you will wear your pins with pride at NHPHA and other public health events. Pins can be picked up at NHPHA events, or to coordinate a pickup, please email Marcella Bobinsky at [email protected].
Updating Contact Information. In order to communicate with our members in a more meaningful way, we will be actively collecting your personal email addresses. It has come to our attention that our communications are not always reaching you at your place of employment due to stringent firewalls. Please contact Jess Barnett at
[email protected] to provide or update your information. Then, kindly add " [email protected]" to your address book so that we may reach you with important updates.
New and Renewing Members
We'd like to welcome our new members:
Maureen Boardman, Diana Connors, Paul Janampa, Alicia Manion,
Michael Mayo-Smith, Marilee Nihan, Michael Padmore,
Jim Schlosser, and
Kimbly Wade
A special shout-out to our renewing members:
Mary Ann Aldrich; Kathy Berman; Michael Cohen; Melanie Currier; Paul Etkind; Rudy Fedrizzi; Beth Gustafson Wheeler; Dennis Holt; David LaFlamme; Master of Public Health, UNH; Kerry Nolte; Northeast Delta Dental; Erica Proto; Maureen Quinn; Patrick Roberts; Rosemary Taylor; UNH Institute for Health Policy and Practice; Nicole Viau; Martha Wells; and
Abbott Willard
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November 13, 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. - Lobbying and Advocacy: A Primer for NH Non-Profit Advocates.
What can you do as a nonprofit or public health official? What are the legal sources of lobbying restrictions? What is the difference between advocacy, direct lobbying, and grassroots lobbying? Learn the answers to these and other sometimes confusing questions through our Lobbying and Advocacy training.
NHPHA co-hosts this event with New Futures as well as speaker Kerri McGowan Lowrey from the Network for Public Health Law's Eastern Region at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law.
Click here to register.
Have an upcoming event that you'd like to have highlighted in our e-newsletter?
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Need to Renew Your NHPHA Membership?
To Renew by Mail:
Go to http://nhpha.org/membership. Choose the individual or organizational membership application to print and fill out. Send the application and check (payable to NHPHA) and mail to NHPHA, 4 Park Street, Suite 403, Concord, NH 03301.
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NHPHA would like to acknowledge and thank the following funders
for their continued generosity and support:
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For information on donating or becoming a member of NHPHA, click
here.
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Your feedback is very important to us. If you have comments, questions, or suggestions for the NHPHA e-Newsletter,
email us!
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2018 Affiliate of the Year of the American Public Health Association
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