Manistique is finalist in Roadmaps to Health competition
The City of Manistique has been selected as one of 11 finalist communities across the Nation in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation – Roadmaps to Health Prize Competition. A team of four representatives from the RWJF will conduct a site visit in the community on Monday and Tuesday, September 24th and 25th.
The Roadmaps to Health Prize recognizes and honors the efforts and accomplishments of U.S. communities working at the forefront of population health improvement. The Prize is rooted in the idea that every community is on a unique journey toward health and that communities’ stories of success are as diverse as their populations.
Up to six Roadmaps to Health Prize winning communities will be announced in early 2013 and each will receive a $25,000 cash prize. Winning communities’ success stories will be celebrated and shared broadly, in person and via web-based platforms, with the goal of raising awareness and inspiring locally-driven change across the country.
The Sault Tribe Strategic Alliance for Health Project in Manistique submitted an essay to be considered for the Prize in June 2012. SAH Community Partners involved in developing the essay and in the population-based health promotion work that is being done in the community include: The City of Manistique; Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital; LMAS – District Health Department; Manistique Senior Center; Manistique Area Schools; Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians; Schoolcraft County Chamber of Commerce; Manistique Farmers’ Market volunteers and farmers. The essay highlighted the development and growth of the Farmers’ Market, the Complete Streets, Non-Motorized Transportation Planning, and Safe Routes to School Projects, and the Coordinated School Health projects at the schools.
“This is both an honor and an opportunity for Manistique to be selected as a finalist in the Roadmaps to Health Prize competition,” stated Kerry Ott, Community Coordinator for the Sault Tribe SAH Project in Manistique. “It is an honor that the work so many agencies and individuals have accomplished in recent years to create a healthier environment for all area residents is being recognized, and an opportunity to strengthen our efforts and resources to continue to build the infrastructure and environments that help make the healthy choice the easy choice.”
The RWJF/Roadmaps to Health Team Members that will be visiting Manistique are:
- Kirstin Siemering, DrPH, RD, Social Media Lead and Roadmaps to Health Prize Manager University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute
- David Kindig, MD, PhD, Roadmaps to Health Prize Director University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute
- Kathy Sykes, MA (Senior Advisor, Aging Initiative, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)
- Michelle Larkin, JD, MS, RN (Assistant Vice President of Health Group, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)
The site visit includes a tour on Monday afternoon, a dinner meeting with community leaders in the evening, and then a 2-3 hour community interview on Tuesday morning with 15 community members. The six $25,000 awards will be announced sometime in January 2013. For more information about the Roadmaps to Health Prize, please visit http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/roadmaps/prize. For more information about the Manistique site visit, please contact Kerry Ott at 906-341-9561 or kott@saulttribe.net.