Climate impacts of Hennepin County Public Health

Responding to HIV Outbreak Among People Who Inject Drugs

This is the story of how Hennepin County Public Health and our partners responded to the HIV outbreak among people who inject drugs. 

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The making of a mental health professional

Latisha Edwards is a social worker at Hennepin County Cope, a 24/7 mobile crisis response program.

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Hennepin County Public Health 2022 annual report

Check out what Hennepin County Public Health accomplished in 2022. 

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Tackling two epidemics

The opioid and HIV epidemics cannot be addressed in isolation. As part of its opioid prevention response, Hennepin County is partnering with the Aliveness Project, a Minneapolis nonprofit that’s tackling HIV.

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Providing opioid prevention services to the East African community

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Health Care for the Homeless supports clients through the pandemic

For many people, Hennepin County Health Care for the Homeless is their only access to health care. When COVID-19 hit, staff figured out how to respond.

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Preventing the spread of COVID-19 by providing millions of masks

During COVID-19, Hennepin County provided 2.7 million masks (and counting) to our community -- with the help of over 600 community partners. Here's the "behind the scenes" story.

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Wind, rain, snow, slush: logisticians work through it all

Between January 2020 and July 2022, Public Health's logistics team has supported 187 COVID-19 testing events. They’ve also supported 516 vaccine events where 35,676 people have received 71,845 vaccines.

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Supporting vaccine events: a heart for community

Hennepin County Public Health supported more than 160 community-based vaccine events between April 2021 and today.

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Navigation center

Implementing the navigation center phone line was an important accessibility improvement undertaken by the county and a commitment to equity in the vaccine response.

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Providing essential services during a pandemic

During the pandemic, dozens of staff provided food, medications, and other essential services to Hennepin County residents who'd tested positive for COVID-19.

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COVID-19 response task force: frontline staff share their stories

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Case investigation: making public health guidance personal

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Data: backbone of the COVID-19 response

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Immunizing babies, protecting community

Due to COVID, many kids fell behind on childhood immunizations. Baby Tracks is taking innovative approaches to help.

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Hip Hop and vaccination

Through a unique partnership, House of Dance Twin Cities is using dance and music to bring people together, build trust and friendship, and promote COVID-19 vaccination.

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Mental health during the pandemic

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Bringing vaccination to community

The county has partnered with dozens of community partners to administer the COVID-19 vaccine.

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Hennepin County Public Health 2021-2025 strategic plan

The strategic plan charts a course for the future of Hennepin County Public Health and its service to the county.  

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The opioid epidemic gets worse during COVID-19

News of the opioid epidemic has gotten lost beneath COVID-19. Here's what's going on.

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Take care of each other

A message for people and communities in Hennepin County to take heart and take steps to stay healthy and safe from COVID-19.

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Contact tracing to slow the spread

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Franny Dorr, a Hennepin County epidemiologist, has spent hours on the phone, talking to people with COVID-19 and people they may have exposed.

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Being a clinician during coronavirus

Three staff at the Hennepin County Public Health Clinic describe how they've adapted their work to serve clients safely.

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WIC supports breastfeeding during COVID-19

When Avra's daughter was nine weeks old, Minnesota had its first confirmed case of COVID-19. Throughout the subsequent shutdowns, one thing's been constant: WIC.

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Strong Beginnings

Learn how Hennepin County's Strong Beginnings partnership to trying to help children get the quality childhood care they need to support optimal brain development.

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Hennepin County Public Health – 2019 Report

Check out what Hennepin County Public Health accomplished in 2019.

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Grocery store on a bus

Since 2014, the Twin Cities Mobile Market has been bringing hundreds of food items to neighborhoods and housing units where people may find it difficult to access or afford fresh, healthy food.

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Practicing mental health care in homeless shelters

Each week, Naomy provides mental health care to people experiencing homelessness in the Twin Cities.

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Make a Splash

Sisters Olivia and Sylvana had never taken swim lessons before Hennepin County's Make a Splash program. Now they’ve learned to float, kick, glide, and are starting to practice swim strokes.

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Teen voices

A paid internship at Brooklyn Center High School is empowering youth to act as peer sexual health educators and to identify health issues they can improve within their school district.

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A soldier's story

Tyrone Patterson serves in the Army and provides clinical care to people with mental illness. For many years, he’s also struggled, sometimes silently due to stigma, with his own mental illness.

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Syringe exchange saves lives

Each week, injection drug users visit Hennepin County Red Door Clinic’s syringe exchange program. The program has a surprising number of public health benefits.

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Taking strides to better health

Learn how kids, adults, and families are staying active, having fun, and connecting with their communities through the Step to it challenge.

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Chocolate Milk Day

For two decades, Dr. LaVonne Moore has been on a quiet crusade. Her passion project? Helping women all over the Twin Cities overcome barriers to breastfeeding.

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Moms helping moms breastfeed

Women face barriers to breastfeeding, especially women of color. A WIC program is trying to help by pairing breastfeeding mothers with women who have experience breastfeeding their own children. 

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Four friends fight food waste

Four friends were disturbed by how much food in the Twin Cities is wasted. So they did something radical about it.

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Addressing health equity

Moving from Zimbabwe to Minnesota gave Fadzai Manungo eye-opening insights into health equity.
 

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Community power

In 2009 an ambitious health and wellness initiative launched in south central Minneapolis. It's driven entirely by the community.

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Her story isn't over yet

In January 2016, Toni Plante's 15-year-old daughter Ana took her own life. Read this article to hear Toni's story and to learn about local suicide prevention resources.

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A tale of two nerds

From a windowless basement office, Urban Landreman and Mei Ding oversee a survey that assesses the unique health issues facing Hennepin County residents.

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Menthol manipulation

Arnetta Philips and others are leading a community campaign to show people that menthol tobacco is harmful -- and that campaign is leading to new legislation.

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The art of connection

Many people have barriers to receiving regular, preventive care. Cheryl Branch, a senior community health worker with Hennepin County Child and Teen Checkups, uses songs, humor, and personal stories to break those barriers. 

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A community conquers measles

In 2017, Minnesota was hit with its largest measles outbreak in 25 years. Here's what happened next.

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The 1-2-3 of HIV

When Robert Gillum was diagnosed with HIV in 1987, the options and outlook were much different. Today, with his HIV suppressed, he counsels patients that -- with testing and treatment -- viral suppression is possible.

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More than milk and formula

Single dad Douglas Taylor visited WIC because he was struggling to afford infant formula. He discovered more than formula.

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Prostate cancer: a daughter's story

Jeanie was 17 when her father was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Nine years later, he died from the disease.

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Early interventions pay lifelong dividends

Two-year-old Rim was displaying a variety of developmental delays. But then a connection to a statewide initiative that targets early childhood development changed everything.

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Gambling it all away

Keith started gambling in 2011. Before long he was spending 10 hours a day, most days, at the casino. Then he started using his company credit card to gamble.

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The science of food safety

Beware the temperature danger zone.

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A bike for every body

Minneapolis is one of the best bike cities on Earth. But not if you're living with a disability.

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Eating disorders don't discriminate

It's not just young women who have them.

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A tangled mind

Seven years ago, Brian Kamin's life changed forever, when he discovered that his father Mel had Alzheimer's disease. But the Kamin family experience is not unusual. Five and a half million Americans are struggling with the disease.

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Not just the baby blues

After the birth of her first son, it took Emily Larson a few months to realize that how she was feeling wasn't normal.

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Smoke out

In 2006, Polly Buttrum's apartment went up in flames. The culprit? Cigarettes. Spurred on by stories like this, there's been a nationwide trend toward smoke-free housing.

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A respite from the streets

After a hospitalization, Scott, who's homeless, would have been discharged to the streets. Instead, he was transferred to a medical respite program.

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Teens aim higher

An innovative youth development program aims to curb the teen pregnancy rate.

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Riding to recovery

Tim Bakula has battled major depression for most of his adult life. Shortly after a 2016 psychiatric hospitalization, providers offered Bakula an unusual prescription: biking.

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Bridging their way to a better life

Quaylon, a military veteran and father, used Bridging to help restart his life.

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Breaking the cycle

Pat's cycled in and out of the criminal justice system so many times he’s lost count. But this time he’s receiving a different set of supports through Hennepin County’s Criminal Justice Behavioral Health Initiative.

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Hoarding Disorder

This misunderstood mental illness affects two to five percent of the population.

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Preventable. Treatable. Stoppable.

For DeWayne Davis, a pastor at All God’s Children Metropolitan Community Church, combating the HIV/AIDS epidemic is personal. 

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Harvesting Community

At an independent senior community complex in Brooklyn Park, residents play fruit and veggie bingo and grow organic produce. And that's only part of their campaign to combat Alzheimer's and other dementia.

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Taking Control and Restarting Their Lives

The FBI ranks the Twin Cities among the top 13 metropolitan areas in America for sex trafficking. In 2013, a woman named Vosiney escaped this life and now helps others restart their lives, too.

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Preparedness Matters

Emergencies happen in a hurry. Be ready. Start now.

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Useful Learning

People with intellectual and/or development disabilities lag behind the general population in healthy eating, physical activity, and more. An innovative horticulture project is trying to help.

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A Mom Knows

When he was two, Tonio was jumbling sentences and misbehaving in daycare. Then his mother scheduled an early childhood screening.

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Prepping for Parenthood

At a Minneapolis homeless shelter, providers are teaching pregnant women about parenthood.

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Rx Roulette

Providers are overprescribing opioid painkillers and the excess supply is being used by teens and adults. Opioid painkillers can lead to addiction and overdose -- and they can be gateway drugs to substances like heroin.

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Employment Pays

These health care providers are prescribing something innovative for people with mental health and chemical dependency issues. Employment support.

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Stealthy Syphilis

This bacterial infection doesn't always cause symptoms -- and it's increasing in broader segments of the population at an unprecedented rate.

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Little Kids, Lotta Germs

Every year there are thousands of infectious disease outbreaks at childcare and school settings across America. Hennepin has resources that can help.

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Break the Silence

After a horrific sexual assault, this survivor created a forum for other sexual assault survivors to heal.

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Veggie Love

Not eating more veggies is fueling the obesity epidemic. And that epidemic is costing Minnesota $3 billion per year.

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To Have a Home

They've been abandoned, rejected, abused, neglected. Homeless youth seek shelter at night and try to build normal lives during the day.

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Ignoring Stigmas, Saving Lives

Needle exchange programs save lives and stop the spread of HIV and hepatitis.

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A Bigger World Through Books

Active minds stay healthy longer. Reading is a good Rx.

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Kayaking Therapy

For these disabled veterans, kayaking is a form of therapy.

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Take the Radon Test

It's invisible and odorless but dangerous. Are you at risk? A simple test will tell you.

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New Routes to Better Health

The Blue Line Extension opens in 2021. By 2030, it will carry 27,000 riders each day.

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Anger Management

It can be tough to control. These men are teaching other men how.

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Proactive Paramedics

Some paramedics aren't just responding to emergencies. They're preventing them.

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Books behind bars

Kris's parents never read to her. Now she's breaking the cycle -- from behind bars.

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Diapers and Diplomas

She was 14 and a freshman honor roll student. Then she found out she was pregnant.

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Orange In Motion

The Orange Bike Program boosts bike ridership and fitness in north Minneapolis.

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A giving garden

Jared Walhowe's 4,800 square-foot “giving garden” feeds hundreds of hungry Minnesotans.

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Health happens here

After Jessica LaPoint joined a workforce wellness program, her fitness skyrocketed.

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North Side Nutrition

DeVon Nolen is on a mission — to improve the health of north Minneapolis residents.

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Healing knowledge

Chia Yang knows the value of talking to a doctor. An important discovery more than 25 years ago saved his life.

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Hope from COPE

Mental health emergencies are never planned. Yet they happen. That’s why COPE exists.

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Water Safety: A Matter of Minutes

In the Land of 10,000 Lakes, there are 10,000 and 1 good reasons to stay safe near water.
One moment can change everything.

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Opioid abyss

Last year, 162 people in Hennepin County overdosed on opioids. Read about a local couple who was affected, what we're doing to combat the epidemic -- and how you can help.

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Cool When It Counts

It’s a mid-July mid-afternoon and the movie “Wet, Hot American Summer” is playing at the Uptown.

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