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Food and Health Network - Great News and Save the Date

Rural Health Policy and Advocacy Resources

Getthere Job Opening - Mobility Management Transportation Advocate

Population Health Improvement Program Update

Rural Health Service Corps - Update and Position Openings

Sharing Great News

Good news from the Food & Health Network! After a successful pilot year FaHN will be expanding our Fruit & Vegetable Prescription Program (FVRx) to reach even more participants across three counties thanks to funding through Care Compass Network Innovation Fund awards. The expanded program will continue to work with primary care practices, and partner with RHN's Community Health Workers and Chronic Disease Self-Management Program to reach even more participants. We're also excited to be expanding our work to support community food projects involving volunteers through another round of NYS Volunteer Generation Fund. Stay tuned for more updates on both of these programs throughout the year!  

Farm to School - March New York Thursday Menu

The NY Thursdays Farm to School Menu includes a Cheeseburger made with NYS beef, roasted Beets & Carrots from Main Street Farms, Oven Roasted Potatoes from Headwater Food Hub, a fresh Apple from Russell Farms, and Low Fat Milk from Byrne Dairy.

Upcoming Event - Save the Date

For more information, email Erin Summerlee or watch the Food and Health Network Facebook page for registration details.  

Many of you saw Rural Health Network SCNY's advocacy outreach over the past few weeks regarding Governor Cuomo's proposed  2018-2019 budget, which includes a 20% funding cut to rural health and prevention programs. This proposed reduction in funding is in addition to the 21% cut that was implemented, last year. 

We reached out to you through our organizational  Newsletter, our  Mobility Management SCNY program, our  Food and Health Network SCNY program, and through email. We posted on our social media sites and our  website, as well.  Please take five minutes today to watch a video we developed that illustrates the impacts of a nearly 40% cut over two years on core funding from the New York State Health Department.  

We would like to thank you all for your attention to this potentially disastrous proposal. For those of you who forwarded our messages, sent letters, contacted your elected officials, and responded to us to show your support, we thank you! To those who acknowledge the importance of making our voices heard on behalf of the people and communities we serve, we appreciate you!

Assemblyman Christopher Friend met with Jack Salo, Executive Director RHNSCNY and Kristin Pullyblank, Supervisor of the Rural Health Education Network of Schoharie, Otsego, and Montgomery counties in Albany on February 13th.

In addition to reaching out to all of you, we were busy! Over the past few weeks, we visited Albany and met with Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo and Assemblyman Christopher Friend, and we met in Binghamton with Senator Fred Akshar and Assemblyman Clifford Crouch. The value of this level of advocacy cannot be understated, and we realize how lucky we are to be able to contact and meet with our elected officials and request their support. 

The deadline for the Senate and Assembly one-house budgets is  March 15. Please be on the lookout for more information as we learn the outcomes of NY State budget discussions. 

Rural Health Network of South Central New York (RHNSCNY) seeks a full-time Mobility Management Transportation Advocate (MMTA) to work in Mobility Management of South Central New York's (MMSCNY) GetThere Call Center, a one-stop transportation assistance center, providing case management, information and referral services, trip planning, travel training, and transportation education services. View the full post here.  Application Deadline is March 21, 2018.

Online Application for MMTA Position.

Why it's good for business

Studies have found that a mentally healthy workforce is linked to: 

                Happier Employees          Accident Reduction
                Lower Medical Costs        Lower Absenteeism

                Higher Productivity           Lower Presenteeism

                Lower Sick Pay Costs      Higher Business Performance

How you can help

1) visit  www.workplacewellnessny.org to download a copy of the Workplace Wellness Toolkit

2) Contact your Population Health Coordinator to schedule a time to meet and discuss the best way to implement the most valuable Toolkit components into your workplace. 

3) Work alongside your Population Health Coordinator to begin a path to a health workforce in your county. 

As we move into March, most of our AmeriCorps members have settled into their positions, and have started to have measurable impact on their communities. They have also continued to improve upon their professional development, with members Cristina Quinn (Promise Zone), Carol Youngs (Cortland Area Communities That Care), Helen Frazer (Southern Tier AIDS Program), and Lexi Lyons (Southern Tier AIDS Program) attending MHAST's Mental Health First Aid training. 

RHSC still has part-time positions available at Rural Health Network, Southern Tier AIDS Program, and United Way of Broome County. We will also have full-time VISTA positions starting over the summer with Rural Health Network, Chemung County Habitat for Humanity, Promise Zone, and Schuyler County Coalition on Underage Drinking and Drugs. For more information about these positions, please click here . Also, stay tuned for news on upcoming summer positions focused on food security in Binghamton and Elmira! 

2016 Impact Report	Community Health Services
Food and Health Network	Rural Health Service Corps
Mobility Management of SCNY	How You Can Help