2013 Ounce Conference Participants Tweeted Their Love

Yesterday marked multiple firsts for the Ounce of Prevention Conference! Record attendance. Four concurrent plenaries. First social media campaign. In our first live-tweet event, conference attendees tweeted photos, questions, reactions and presenter quotes in real-time using the hashtag #Ounce2013. Instant gratification! Here are some of our favorites.

Thanks #ounce2013 for a great event and this awesome award. pic.twitter.com/fcHQIhJ0XK
— HHSI Prevention (@HarborHealthEd) October 22, 2013

#CommunityOrganizing for #HealthEquity: Building&Sustaining Leadership in #CommunitiesOfColor #ounce2013 http://t.co/A2kRF1sJx8
— MAPublicHealthAssoc (@MAPublicHealth) October 22, 2013

Public Health is Everyone's Business: Interview with Elecia Miller

Elecia Miller

Elecia Miller, of the Lawrence Mayor's Health Task Force, is longtime and dynamic member of the Ounce of Prevention Conference Planning Committee, involved in crafting the Healthcare Reform and the Integrated Chronic Disease Prevention plenaries. Here, Elecia reflects on her work and the on this year's conference.

What do you want participants to learn at the conference?
I often hear “how does what I do affect Public Health?”, or “what does that have to with me?”  Public Health is everyone’s business, no matter who you are. Think of the impact of smoking bans in public places, or immunization requirement for all residents and then ask those questions again. I am hoping that the conference keynote and plenaries will bring some of that thought process home.

New Perspectives on Community Partnership: Interview with Laura Hillier

Laura Hillier

Laura Hillier directs Community Partnerships at the School of Education at Merrimack College.  As a member of the Ounce of Prevention Conference Planning Committee, she has helped design plenary topics and workshops that address health equity and social justice. Elecia Miller interviewed Laura about her experience with the Ounce of Prevention Conference.

What do you want participants of the conference to walk away with?

My hope is that participants walk away from this conference with two things. First, a new perspective or a new way of looking at an issue they currently address in their work. It could be a better understanding of the administrative challenges that their organization will experience in the face of implementing payment reform, gaining a better perspective of how a community-based agency can collaborate with a primary care organization, etc. I imagined it as not just gaining new knowledge, but changing the way they see the issue or service they provide. Second, I hope they leave the conference with one specific action they can take to strengthen the work they do and the communities they serve.

Registration is Open!

Registration is now open for the October 22nd Ounce of Prevention 2013 Conference: Many Paths to Healthier Communities
Click here for event summary and to register!

This year’s conference will focus on four themes:

• Health Care Reform & Primary Prevention
• Integrating Primary Health & Primary Care
• Community Organizing for Health Equity
• Climate Change & Public Health

Wondering How to Navigate the Current Prevention Landscape? These four topics offer a roadmap

The October 22, 2013 Ounce of Prevention Conference will focus on four distinct but complementary themes, which will be explored in plenaries and workshops throughout the day. The planning committee has been working diligently to craft conference content that will help participants better understand and navigate the ever-changing prevention landscape. Here is a sneak preview of our plenary topics and descriptions. Stay tuned for details about presenters, workshops and more.

Plenary Titles: 

● Steering the Health System Upstream: Health Care Reform and Primary Prevention

● New Partnerships for Systems Change: Integrating Behavioral Health and Primary Care

● Community Organizing for Health Equity: Building & Sustaining Leadership in Communities of Color

● Climate Change and Public Health: Cross-sector Collaboration and Community Resilience

Reflections on the Ounce of Prevention Conference: An Interview with Clara Savage

Clara Savage

Clara Savage, Director of Common Pathways, is a long-time member of the Ounce of Prevention Conference Planning Committee. Her contributions to the conference have made a major impact over the years, especially in the areas of community inclusion, health equity and the connection between health care and public health. Clara, a graduate of the MassForum for Healthy Communities, frequently references and is guided by the Healthy Communities Principles.

How did you get involved in the Ounce of Prevention Conference?

Through Cathy O’Connor and Peter Lee when I attended the MassForum for Creating Healthy Communities about 8 years ago. Based on the Healthy Communities Principles, we all have to come together and learned from each other. With the Ounce of Prevention Conference we have the opportunity to come together and talk about common issues. It’s a great opportunity for anyone interested in public health to learn, get training, hear about lessons learned, and learn about the latest issues.

Interview with MDPH's Rachel Tanenhaus: Making Accessibility a Priority at the 2013 Ounce of Prevention Conference (Part 2)

Thanks to the hard work of the Ounce of Prevention Accessibility Committee, this year’s conference is shaping up to be the most accessible one ever organized.  Here's part 2 of our interview with Rachel Tanenhaus, an active member of the Accessibility Committee and Program Coordinator at MDPH’s Health and Disability Program, which is part of the Office of Health Equity.

(Here's part 1 in case you missed it!)  

Rachel Tanenhaus and her guide dog Salem

What are some frequent challenges that people with disabilities experience at conferences and how can this be improved?

The first question is always, "Can I get there?" A lot of us don't drive, and many conference sites are located far from public transit. Affordability is another big issue, since many people with disabilities are unemployed or have low incomes for other reasons. Of course there's always the question of whether someone can get in the door and navigate around the conference site, including the restrooms. Communication issues are huge, since most conferences focus on imparting information and networking -- if you have trouble seeing or hearing and there are no interpreters or accessible formats for printed materials or people aren't verbalizing their Power Point slides -- that makes it really hard to get much out of a conference.

Interview with MDPH's Rachel Tanenhaus: Making Accessibility a Priority at the 2013 Ounce of Prevention Conference (Part 1)

Rachel Tanenhaus

Thanks to the hard work of the Ounce of Prevention Accessibility Committee, this year’s conference is shaping up to be the most accessible one ever organized.  

We recently caught up with Rachel Tanenhaus, an active member of the Accessibility Committee and Program Coordinator at MDPH’s Health and Disability Program, which is part of the Office of Health Equity.

Tell us about some of the ways this year’s Ounce of Prevention Conference will be more accessible than past conferences.

I think the whole approach is different. We've got the Ounce of Prevention Accessibility Committee working on every aspect of the conference from the word go, so that's a huge change. We're also going to be providing accessible transportation from a nearby public transit station, since Marlborough is a little hard to get to for folks who don't drive. The conference will integrate accessibility features ranging from a quiet room for folks on the autism spectrum or with sensory processing issues, to reserved seating at the keynote and in breakout rooms for people who need to sit up front, to accessible formats for all printed conference materials. As the event gets closer, we'll educate venue staff and conference volunteers on disability etiquette, and we'll be asking presenters to observe certain guidelines in order to enable everyone to enjoy their presentations.

Request for Nominations!

Peter R. Lee, MPH

Deadline extended to August 23!

Every year at the Ounce of Prevention   Conference, we distribute awards to outstanding organizations and individuals who provide superior prevention efforts in Massachusetts.  There are two award categories--the Peter R. Lee Healthy Communities Awards and the Commissioner's Leadership Award.

 

We invite you to nominate any worthy Massachusetts-based organizations for these awards. In future blog posts we will highlight past award winners, and also discuss the amazing legacy of Peter R. Lee, who transformed the Healthy Communities movement in Massachusetts and across the country.

Announcing Our Keynote Speaker—Jeff Levi!

We are thrilled to announce that the Keynote Speaker for the 2013 Ounce of Prevention Conference will be Dr. Jeff Levi, Executive Director of Trust for America’s Health (TFAH).

Dr. Jeff Levi

Dr. Levi oversees work on a range of public health policy issues, including an annual report assessing the nation's public health preparedness, investment in public health infrastructure, and response to chronic diseases such as obesity. Dr. Levi is also a professor at The George Washington University's Department of Health Policy, where his research has focused on HIV/AIDS, Medicaid, and integrating public health with the health care delivery system. He has also served as an associate editor of the American Journal of Public Health, and deputy director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy. Dr. Levi received a BA degree from Oberlin College, an MA degree from Cornell University, and a PhD degree from The George Washington University.