Health Disparities Task Force Meeting Minutes

December 20, 2007

Attendance: Marva Bohen, DeAnna Finifrock, Andrea Leinberger-Jabari,  Elizabeth Moe, Roshan Paudel, Gay Lynn Richards, Marie Tran, ,Makeisha Nesbitt,  Ephraim Olani, Kate Onyeneho, Linda Ridlehuber,  Sara Rohde, David Simmons, Jeanne Steele, Lisa Stephens, Ciara Stigen, Dai Vu, Jennifer Warren,

1. Introduction and Welcome:  Marva began the meeting with welcome and introductions.
2. Announcements:

-          Dr. Abraham Dalu:  Dr. Dalu has taken a new position in Madison Wisconsin and will no longer be able to co-chair the HDTF.  Marva will be looking for someone to share those duties.  Please let her know if you would be interested.

3. Reports from Work Groups:

-          Pap Team Projects:  Sara Rohde and Marie Tran are now co-chairing this group.  Marie reported that the Cervical Cancer Tool Kit is near completion.  This is a card that is to be used when Community Health Workers are working with women.  A woman can take the card with her to her annual pelvic exam appointment and use it to begin a conversation with her health care provider about whether or not she needs a Pap smear.  The team also reviewed a Spanish Language Tool kit develop by a graduate student working with Gay Lynn Richards.  We are looking at ways to put together about 10 of these kits for distribution.  The next meeting will be January 29 from 10:00 to 12:00 at Snelling Office Park.

-           Building Bridges:  Gay Lynn spoke about the Building Bridges project.  Work continues in Saint Cloud and the surrounding areas with Sterns Manuafacturing, Centro Hispano, and the Somali Community to provide breast and cervical cancer education and screening. 

-          Dialogue for Action: Colorectal Cancer in American Indians in Minnesota:  Marva reported that the Summit took place at Mille Lacs in September with about 70 people attending.  Everyone who attended agreed to take a small action step within the next three months.  The Minnesota Intertribal Colorectal Cancer Council (MICCC) which was formed to help plan the Summit will remain active.  This group will convene on February 13 at Mille Lacs to review what has occurred since the Summit and to begin to develop an ongoing plan.  ACS and Get Your Rear in Gear has contributed funding  which will allow us to go forward with this follow-up meeting.  We are looking at ways to develop more consistent funding to keep this project moving.

-          Community Health Workers:  Andrea Leinberger-Jabari reported on the Community Health Worker project.  A very successful conference was held in November for Community Health Workers and employers of Community Health Workers.   Additional groups are expressing interest in the Cancer Curriculum training.

-          Prostate Cancer Grant Update:  Roshan noted that they will be providing grants to those wishing to do prostate cancer screening projects particularly in African American communities.   There will be about five grants of $10,000 each.  More details to follow.

-          Colorectal Cancer Initiative:  The colorectal work group continues to focus on legislation around colorectal cancer screening.  There will be a day at the capitol on March 6.  A free colorectal cancer screening was recently offered at Fairview Southdale.  This was a pilot and participants were from SAGE.  It is anticipated that additional screen could be done with Fairview and perhaps other hospitals as well. 

-          Cervical Cancer Video:  Minnesota International Health Volunteers (MIHV) has developed a Cervical Cancer Video in Somali with English subtitles with funding from University of Minnesota Cancer Center .  The video is undergoing the last editing and should be available very soon.  MIHV has already determined that they will need additional copies and are looking for funding for this. 

-          Summit Expo:  Liz Moe is recruiting people to take part in the next Summit expo.  The presentations can be very simple.  It might be simply a display of brochures or it could be a simple poster.  Please think about presenting work in this format.  The summit will be April 22 this year.

4. Web-Based Light Smoking Intervention among African Americans:  Jennifer Warren presented information about a study she is doing using the web to provide information about smoking cessation.  She is working with Urban League and others to reach  the community. 

5. Next Meeting: March 20, 2008 10:00 to 12:00 at Snelling Office Park, Mississippi Room