Gauze and Effect: Public Health Tips, Data Trends, and Stuff Worth Sharing

By Dr. Sarah Martin [Empowered by mySidewalk]

Image credit: Takemaru Hirai via Unsplash

Long-Time No See!

“But Mouse, you are not alone,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes of mice and men
Go often askew”
From “To a Mouse” by Robert Burns

Happy 2020 friends! It’s been a minute since we cranked out a health newsletter from the team. We had bold ambitions –dreams of sitting on piles of content and spinning out thoughts like cotton candy being wrapped around one of those paper cones.

But reality got in the way… and reality has been really good to us! It’s unreal to think that we had just started working with public health in 2018. Then we had record-breaking growth in 2019, and now mySidewalk’s Health Solutions are being used by hundreds of people across the country, not even INCLUDING all the partners in our other teams using health-esque data in their reports and dashboards now. The future of health equity work is bright, even when the world can seem dim and scary.

That’s why we took a little pause. We invested in a time of hard-cord hygge (pronounced hoo-ga) around here — prioritizing the care of the stories we are trusted to tell, putting processes in place to maintain quality as our quantity skyrocketed, wearing cozy clothes to work, turning up our happy lamps and snuggling under our gravity blankets.

Now that we have expanded the health team and tripled the size of the marketing team (!), we are ready to get back to it in a new and improved way. We’re here to make Health fun again (#MHFA?).

I know firsthand how hard it is to work in Public Health, and how little joy there can be. That’s why my mission for this newsletter is not only to tell you about what’s going on in the industry but also to make you laugh.

This newsletter is for the people who care a whole lot about health equity, and who also love to talk about Reality TV or the NBA. Or Fashion. Or Podcasts.

This newsletter isn’t just for mySidewalk customers (though we love you the most), it’s for anyone who wants to be inspired by the incredible things our peers are achieving. It’s for anyone who needs a fun little break in their day, this newsletter is for YOU.

So, spread the word. Every month(ish) we will be delivering stories from across the country highlighting how public health departments, health care folks, payers, foundations and NGOs are revolutionizing health and having a good time doing it.

I am so excited :-)

Xoxo,
Dr. Sarah

The Best Gift We Gave in 2019

Image credit: Kira auf der Heide via Unsplash

But first, here are the five best presents we received over the holidays, in no particular order:

• A 36 pack of Korean Sheet Masks, one of which is just called “Snail Serum”

• A vintage, decorative clock featuring a portrait of a young Billy Ray Cyrus

• Noise-canceling headphones that are so powerful, our open-concept office just got a whole lot more enjoyable
• A Kitchen Blowtorch which will be used for its intended purpose — to make Creme Brulee, exactly once a year, but will keep the kids entertained all year long
• A heavy, lavender-scented bean bag for our eyeballs

The single BEST gift we gave to our customers was an update of the new Census-ACS 5-year estimates! Get the details here.

New Year, New You (Wanna Win a Prize???)

Image credit: Annie Spratt via Unsplash

One of us over here on the mySidewalk health team is currently on a fast from snacks, garbage food, and alcohol for 7 days. This mindful reset got us thinking about what it takes to build new habits. Of course, beginning a new year is always a good reminder to examine our behavior and consider where we can improve. The problem is, actually changing those habits — do you have to completely strip away the old and go cold turkey? Or are habits best built incrementally? (This article answers some of those questions.)

But building new habits, or workflows is a constant struggle for our customers and partners. Even when you have a new, awesome thing to use (*cough cough* MYSIDEWALK PLATFORM), your muscle memory might have you opening your old software and going through the motions, simply because it is familiar.

Since building good habits is so hard, we want to help make it easier for you (and more fun). That’s why we’re turning it into a contest. So let’s start small.

Start a Habit, Win a Prize

If you have access to mySidewalk and haven’t used it in a while, it’s time to get back in. Can you make ONE map or graph with the new ACS estimates? It doesn’t matter what you visualize or how it looks –just make something. Share it on social media and tag @mySidewalkHQ, or email it to us at hello@mysidewalk.com.

Once you share your new map or graph, we’ll drop your name into our “raffle cauldron”™ for a chance to win a gift basket full of Kansas City goodness. Don’t worry, you’ve got time. We will be picking the winner live on February 27th during our amazing web conversation on how to improve your health message framing!

Need some inspiration? Check out this hot tip from mySidewalk’s Director of Health Solutions, Dr. Sarah Martin

Watch the full-sized video here

Even if you don’t have access to mySidewalk, but you still have a good habit you’re trying to build, let us know what your small step is. Document and share it and we’ll throw you in the “raffle cauldron”™ too.

[Editor’s note: Please note, the aforementioned raffle cauldronTM is actually just a plastic pumpkin head leftover from our Halloween party.]

Our Partners in the News!

Image credit: Roman Kraft via Unsplash

We admit, when we see our clients make the news and talk on TV we tend to get a little teary-eyed. So watching Catrina Peters talk about her mySidewalk Washoe County Community Health Data Snapshot, on local Nevada news made us happier than we can say!

We are so grateful to be her partner. We love how she is using the power of data to make her community healthier and share the value of her work.

3 Things We Can’t Stop Talking About

1. Our newest health customer, Denver! How over the moon are we to be able to help them with a CHA and Performance Management?!?!
2. The NYT Cooking App, which is stretching us to use our Imperfect Produce in healthier and more creative ways.
3. La Paz County, AZ (who we recently had the pleasure of hanging out with on a video chat) and the town of Quartzsite (which is apparently “the rock capital of the world”), has one of the most amazing community calendars we have ever seen. Those of us who grew up obsessed with our rock tumblers are booking tickets RIGHT NOW.