New partnerships are making a home of their own possible for hundreds of Minnesota citizens with disabilities- as over 500 people since 2009 have said welcome home to the new possibilities of independent living. 

These new possibilities have been created through the Housing Access Services (HAS), which is a partnership of The Arc of Minnesota and the Minnesota Department of Human Services. For many adults with disabilities, living at home or living in a group home is no longer the right fit. They desire the same independent lifestyles that many take for granted. HAS helps adults with disabilities navigate many of the logistical problems with reaching independence, such as finding housing, filling out paperwork and financial documents, moving in, and finding access to jobs and transportation.

Governor Dayton proclaims October Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the State of Minnesota

Breast cancer touches the lives of many Minnesotans and according to the National Cancer Institute, will affect one in every eight women, with most having no family history of the disease. An increasing number of women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. When diagnosed early, breast cancer is highly treatable and the best way to detect breast cancer in early stages is through annual screening mammograms beginning at age 40.

Financial and social barriers often prevent women from seeking screening mammograms. In addition to raising awareness, fundraising initiatives such as the Be Pink initiative, help institutions like the Park Nicollet Jane Brattain Breast Center make mammography accessible to more women in our Minnesotan community.

A new grant awarded from the FDA will ensure that Minnesota continues to lead the nation in food safety.

Minnesotans will now have new help in fighting contaminated food and food-borne illnesses that, according to the CDC, affect 1 in 6 Americans every year.

The help comes in the form of $600,000 in grant money which was awarded to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture this week by the FDA.

The money will be used to create a Minnesota Food Safety Center of Excellence which will work to: gather foodborne-illness surveillance data, provide rapid identification of pathogens, and respond effectively by removing tainted food as quickly as possible.

The three-year grants will help the Agriculture Department more quickly trace contaminated foods to grocery stores and other distribution points, and will help bolster MDA efforts to ensure that recalled products are quickly and fully withdrawn from the marketplace.

So what does this mean for the average Minnesotan?

Minnesota has long been a leader in providing care for our veterans and assuring they receive the highest standard of care. The latest addition to the Minneapolis Veterans Home is no exception; it will be only the second such facility in the country to offer day services in a Veteran-specific model of care.

Governor Dayton spoke yesterday at the dedication for the brand new facility – called “Building 19” – which is a new, state-of-the-art, skilled nursing facility and Adult Day Center. It features 100 private rooms arranged to provide a home-like atmosphere for veterans receiving care, and it incorporates the latest technology and modern amenities to enhance care.

Minnesota’s health insurance exchange will give farmers affordable health care coverage choices for their families and their employees. Farmers can select low cost health insurance for their families from the consumer exchange, or purchase coverage for themselves and their employees from the small  business exchange. Whatever the choice, farmers will see savings between 7.5 and 20 percent after federal tax credits.

Minnesota leads the country in e-prescribing, making it one of the most safe and efficient places to get your medication. E-prescribing allows a prescriber to electronically send error-free prescriptions directly to a pharmacy from the point-of-care, which decreases the risks associated with the traditional method of prescribing; research has shown that e-prescribing reduces medication error rates by almost sevenfold in community-based office practices, including elimination of errors due to illegible handwriting. 

Minnesota's success is due to its collaborative approach, which is led by the Minnesota e-Health Initiative, a public-private collaborative established in 2004 that is guided by a 25-member advisory committee appointed by the commissioner of health to provide advice and feedback on policy making related to health information technology (HIT) in Minnesota.

The rankings are put out by Surescripts, the nation’s largest health information network. For 2011 and are determined by an analysis of data that measures the electronic prescribing use by physicians, pharmacies and payers in each state. Minnesota came in first place for e-prescribing in Surescripts’ 7th annual Safe-Rx Awards. See Surescripts profile of Minnesota here.

As we celebrate our history and take pride in our nation this July 4th, the Dayton Administration and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) encourage Minnesotans to take extra care and caution while behind the wheel.

In Minnesota, July 4th has been the deadliest day on the road for the last three years, resulting in 15 traffic deaths over the 24-hour period. “The spike in drinking and driving deaths during the Fourth of July is a clear and simple reminder why Minnesotans need to plan ahead for a sober ride” says Donna Berger, director of the DPS Office of Traffic Safety. During the holiday travel period, 66 percent of traffic deaths are a result of drunk driving.

With a stated mission “to create a culture for which traffic fatalities and serious injuries are no longer acceptable,” The DPS, along with the Departments of Health and Transportation, the State Patrol, and others, have started the Toward Zero Deaths (TZD) initiative which works through “education, engineering, enforcement, and emergency medical and trauma services” to improve road safety for Minnesota citizens.

A 30-day public comment period begins today for the Department of Human Services’ (DHS) plan to reform significant portions of Medical Assistance (MA), Minnesota’s Medicaid program.

DHS wants to empower consumers when it comes to issues concerning their own health. In order to address peoples’ health needs earlier and ensure the long-term sustainability of health care services in the state, DHS has unveiled a plan – called Reform 2020 – to redesign the state’s Medicaid program to better serve Minnesotans.

“This plan will give people more choice, get them services earlier and in less costly settings and help secure the stability of our programs for years to come,” said DHS Commissioner Lucinda Jesson.

The plan encompasses three major areas of DHS’s reform efforts: serving people better in the home and community, improving integration of chemical, mental and physical health, and transforming the way the state purchases health care. The plan is a result of bipartisan legislation and part of the 2011 budget agreement and is designed to be budget neutral.