Crow Wing Energized Movement

A Grassroots movement to improve health and wellness in our community by making the healthy choice the easy choice.

Our Movement

Crow Wing Energized is a community grassroots movement that was formed in 2013 as a united approach to improve health and wellness in our community by making healthy choices essential. It is led by Essentia Health – St. Joseph’s Medical Center and Crow Wing County Community Services, in collaboration with Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP). The goal is to improve health and wellness in our community through collaborative solutions with multiple community stakeholders focused on efforts that can create the greatest community good with our available resources. Every three years, Essentia Health conducts a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) to systematically identify, analyze, and prioritize community health needs.

Deliverables

  • Improve Crow Wing County health outcomes and health related costs.
  • Communicate progress both internally and externally.
  • Support goal group efforts and alignment with the county wide strategic plan.
  • Document history of health and wellness movement.

Guiding Principles

  • Collaborate towards solutions with multiple stakeholders (e.g. schools, worksites, medical centers, public health) to improve community health.
  • Build trust through collaboration with community members experiencing health disparities.
  • Prioritize sustainable evidence based efforts around the greatest community good.
  • Create clear, specific, realistic, and action-oriented goals to improve priority health indicators.

Steering Committee

The Steering Committee serves as an advisory board for the CWE staff to improve health and wellness in our community. The Crow Wing Energized steering committee will have four main goal groups that will help with implementation and be driven by partnerships within these collaborating goal groups: Healthy Choices, Mental Fitness, Workplace Wellness, & Community Connections

Todd Defreece

Essentia Health, Senior Vice President of Operations

Gina Heyer

Crow Wing County Community Services, Community Health Manager

Russel Habermann

Essentia Health, Community Health Program Manager

Karen Johnson

Crow Wing Energized, Community Health Specialist

Steve Barrows

Crow Wing County Commissioner

Julie Christensen

Nystrom Counseling & Essentia Health

Kathy Cottew

Essentia Health, Workforce Development

Shane Riffle

Brainerd Family YMCA, Executive Director

Carolyn McQueen

University of MN, Extension Nutrition Educator

Renee Richardson

Brainerd Dispatch, Associate Editor

Jessica Schwartz

Essentia Health, Substance Use Disorder Program Manager

Jon Aga

Lakes Area United Way, Executive Director

Teresia Mortenson

Knute Nelson, Age Well Care Manager

Jane Vortherms

Essentia Health, Nurse Retentionist

Traci Moreland

Essentia Health, Nursing Professional Development Practitioner

Kalsey Stults

Crow Wing County, Public Health Nuisance Educator

Kari Horak

Crow Wing County, Human Resource Specialist

Crow Wing Energized Support Staff

Karen Johnson

Crow Wing Energized, Community Health Specialist

Kelli Johnson

Crow Wing Energized, SHIP Coordinator, Community Health Specialist

Kara Schaefer

Crow Wing Energized, Community Health Educator

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