Community health manager named to state board

Posted Jan. 17, 2012

St. Joseph’s Community Health Manager, Raeann Mayer, is excited to carry on momentum started by Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) Mission and Ministry planning and prevention grants three years ago.

This month, Mayer learned of her appointment to the Minnesota Father and Families Network (MFFN) Board of Directors. She will represent Minnesota’s northwest region on the board during her three-year term.

Her service on the MFFN board will be an extension of groundwork initiated through CHI, St. Joseph’s sponsoring partner in Denver, CO. In 2009, CHI made violence prevention a system-wide priority and funded community efforts to address violence, relational aggression and its complexities as a key public health issue.

St. Joseph’s Community Health worked to implement multi-level programs throughout the service region such as “Media Smarts” curriculum for middle school students, the Be Kind program in Park Rapids Area Schools, mentoring support and parent and family resources.

In 2011, the MFFN brought the Fatherhood Leadership Circle to the Park Rapids region to encourage provider training, create father-friendly communities and raise awareness about the value fathers have in children’s lives. The MFFN works to enhance healthy father-child relationships and promotes initiatives, policy and education and develops the field of fatherhood practitioners in Minnesota.

This month, the Goodwill/Easter Seals of Minnesota announced that its FATHER Project will bring its program to Hubbard County.

“This has been a rewarding and meaningful initiative for me,” Mayer says. She and her team have been instrumental in generating awareness, community involvement and implementing action plans as a result of CHI’s Mission and Ministry efforts to create healthier communities.

Her position on the MFFN board places her in an advocacy role at the state level, one that serves as an extension of CHI’s healing mission. She looks forward to the prospects of being able to influence policy, legislation and public health programming.