2021 Annual Report

2021 was filled with emotional highs and lows as the community navigated a second year of COVID-19. Early in the year, we celebrated the arrival of incredibly effective and safe COVID-19 vaccines, first for adults, then for children.

Later in the year, we were thrown a curveball with the highly contagious delta and omicron variants, resulting in a rapid surge in infections. Minnesota’s hospitals experienced significant strain as intensive care units filled and emergency departments overflowed, overwhelming care providers.

The one thing that was consistent was our staff’s commitment to our mission: to engage the community in promoting, protecting and improving the health of all. Staff answered the call to help keep our community safe by serving as trusted and innovative partners who respond to community needs.

Trusted: Schools, businesses and other stakeholders relied on our subject matter expertise to help make sound decisions. Trust from the diverse communities we serve allowed us to provide more than 20,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine in 2021.

Innovative: Public Health staff administered vaccines on a level that we had never done before. The result was hosting 130 vaccine clinics, including many mobile clinics in the community. We continue to pivot and adjust how we provide public health services to thousands of community members.

Responsive: In early 2021, we proudly vaccinated first responders from across Bloomington, Edina and Richfield, so that they could stay safe while serving the community. It was incredibly rewarding for our team to serve health care personnel, food service workers, teachers, child care providers and other essential workers.

I invite you to explore the stories below to see how our staff, partners and community answered the call in 2021.

In 2021, Public Health provided more than 20,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to the community. This achievement resulted from collaboration between the cities of Bloomington, Edina and Richfield, volunteers, and community partners, to ensure effective vaccines got into the arms of community members.

Vaccination is the foundation for responding to COVID-19. It is the most important tool we have because it reduces a person’s risk of getting sick and dramatically reduces their risk of being hospitalized or dying. According to the CDC, in February 2022, unvaccinated people aged five years and older had a  10 times higher risk  of dying from COVID-19 compared to people vaccinated with at least a primary series.

As of March 2022, the vast majority of residents ages five and older in the communities we serve are fully vaccinated. This includes 83% of Bloomington residents, 86% of Edina residents and 81% of residents in Richfield.

There are many  health benefits of breastfeeding  for new mothers and their babies. Breastfed babies have a lower risk of asthma, childhood obesity, ear infections, sudden infant death syndrome, Type 2 diabetes, and more. And new parents who breastfeed are less likely to develop Type 2 diabetes, ovarian cancer, and certain types of breast cancer. Despite these well documented benefits, many individuals face barriers that prevent them from starting to breastfeed, or limit how long they can continue doing so, such as the absence of peer support. Peer breastfeeding counselors, or “Peers,” help families have healthy beginnings by providing education and support. Peers are a reassuring presence for clients during life’s ups and downs. This was especially true during COVID-19 when many people felt isolated. Peers offered new parents a lifeline during a difficult time.

Peer Counselor Ramla Ibrahim worked with a new mom who was uncomfortable leaving her home due to not knowing English. The client’s husband worked long hours on the road, leaving her with few options for activities outside the home. “I relied on my own experience…my husband works long shifts. I know that if I am home alone with the kids too long, it can be stressful,” said Ramla. “I recommend my clients have ‘me time.’ If you are healthy and well, you can take better care of your kids.”

Ramla suggested the client enroll in free English as a second language classes at an adult education center. The client took several classes, increasing her skills and confidence. Today, she works as an assistant at a day care center – a place where she brings her own children for care. “I meet clients where they are at,” said Ramla. “These are long-term relationships.” Peer breastfeeding counselors are available to participants of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, known as the WIC program.

COVID-19 has brought social and racial inequity to the forefront of public health. The pandemic has unequally affected many racial and ethnic groups, putting them  more at risk of getting sick and dying from COVID-19 .

In 2021, lower vaccination rates persisted in some of the BIPOC communities we serve, particularly in Black and Hispanic communities. Lower rates are due to a variety of factors, including systemic racism, historical trauma and less access to health care.

Working with community partners who serve the BIPOC community was critical to the City’s COVID-19 response. These leaders were trusted messengers within their communities.

Examples of our collaboration included:

• Distributing weekly emails with COVID-19 and community resource information in multiple languages to more than 350 community leaders, including those from BIPOC and faith communities;
• Delivering Vaccine 101 presentations from Public Health’s vaccine champions to BIPOC community leaders;
• Translating invitations to Public Health’s vaccine clinics so that diverse communities, including Public Health clients, had the same access and information as other community members; and
• Responding to vaccine concerns raised by community partners with a “COVID-19 vaccine myth-buster” series.

One of the results of these efforts was closing the gap in vaccination rates in the Hispanic community. Community leaders from organizations such as La Red Latina de Educación Temprana, HACER, and Bloomington Public Schools’ Office of Outreach and Equity provided invaluable leadership and support in this work.

At the same time, disparities remain. As of spring 2022, there is still a 12-point gap between the percentage of Black residents in Bloomington who are fully vaccinated (64%) and the percentage of fully vaccinated white residents (76%). In Richfield, this disparity is even greater, with 54% of Black residents being fully vaccinated, compared to 77% of Richfield’s white population – a 23 percentage point gap. Public Health will continue to work with trusted community organizations and partners to reduce and eliminate such disparities.

Sid Frankson was a member of the Bloomington community for 20 years. City staff knew him as a kind and gentle soul, regularly visiting Creekside Community Center for social activities and to offer help wherever needed. “Sid contributed to the community in a lot of unique ways. Despite not having a permanent place to live, he gave back as he could and brightened many people’s lives,” said Public Health Nurse Ann Sattler. In the fall of 2021, Sid received some devasting news: he was terminally ill due to metastasized cancer. One of the first people Sid told was Bloomington Public Health Nurse Ann Sattler, a trusted contact whom he met through free health consultations offered at Creekside. Ann immediately reached out to community partners she knew well from her work in Public Health. Together, they connected Sid with a variety of supports so that he could have a dignified end of life. Supports included food assistance from Loaves & Fishes, compassionate care and housing through Presbyterian Homes and hospice care from Moments Hospice. On October 30, 2021, Sid passed away peacefully at Presbyterian Homes, with family at his side.

This is just one example of how Public Health, City staff and community partners are making a difference in people’s lives – at every stage. The care that Sid received at the end of his life would not have happened without the existing relationships between several organizations.

Testing is a key public health tool in responding to COVID-19, along with vaccination, masking when recommended, social distancing, and other tools.

In 2021, access to free COVID-19 tests varied, while demand remained high due to the delta and omicron variants. Seeing the need for local testing options, Public Health worked with the Minnesota Department of Health (State) to bring critical resources to the community. These efforts made testing more accessible for people who live and work in Bloomington, Edina and Richfield.

Public Health coordinated with the State, the Minnesota National Guard, Creekside Community Center and Vault Health to bring free, state-run testing services to the following sites:

• Ridgeview Elementary School, November 2020 to mid-January 2021
• Creekside Community Center, January 15 – June 25, 2021
• Former Bloomington motor vehicle office, August 30, 2021 – Present

Additionally, the State made free testing available at the MSP airport in response to the high demand in the area.

COVID-19 testing was provided at no cost to individuals at all state-run community testing sites, eliminating a significant barrier for individuals without insurance or financial means to pay for testing elsewhere. Testing was also open to anyone who believed they needed a COVID-19 test, removing another potential deterrent.

When Public Health Nurse Afaf Saleh first met with Musu*, she was anxiously awaiting the arrival of her first child. Like many new parents, she was trying to figure out how to best care for her newborn. Outside of her husband, Musu lacked a support network to help with this.

Afaf assessed that Musu and her infant daughter would be a good fit for the Maternal Early Childhood Sustained Home-Visiting Program, known as  MECSH . The program’s approach creates a partnership between a client and the visiting nurse, delivering services to enhance maternal and child outcomes. “Families always have their own goals for their children,” said Afaf. “We give the family education and skills so we can positively add to the development of the child.”

Recently, Musu had been using a skill taught by Afaf to aid with infant brain development. During a recent family walk, she described everything she was seeing to her daughter, such as, “Look at the sky, it is so blue!”

Musu’s husband paused to ask her what she was doing. She explained that this was another skill she had learned from Afaf. After hearing so many of these stories, and seeing his wife’s excitement, he adjusted his work schedule so that he could join the home visits, too.

“She is honing her skills and helping her baby’s development, while also showing her husband what to do,” said Afaf. “It brings a lot of joy to me…when a family is wanting to learn and improve together, it means they see a lot of benefit in the services we provide.”

Afaf’s visits with all three family members have a different dynamic – in a good way. Now she has both parents’ perspectives on their daughter’s development. “The baby is now further along developmentally than most babies of the same age,” said Afaf. “Her understanding of communication, how her brain is developing…you can clearly see the benefits of the education we are giving and the skills we are teaching.”

*Name has been changed to protect privacy.

View more examples of the impact we made in 2021 across Bloomington, Edina and Richfield. 

Special thanks to the Bloomington, Edina and Richfield city councils for their generous support and investment in public health. 

The Bloomington Public Health Division (Public Health) provides health services across the cities of Bloomington, Edina and Richfield. This relationship has been in place for more than 40 years, since 1977. Public Health provides direct services to individuals and families, and promotes data-driven policy and systems change informed by its client-based work.

The work of Public Health connects with many of the City Council’s seven strategic priorities, including the priority of Inclusion and Equity. Staff serve everyone in the community with an emphasis on vulnerable populations. This includes individuals with less resources, immigrants and refugees, individuals from Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, and individuals with functional or access needs.

In 2021 Public Health served more than 26,000 individuals across Bloomington, Edina and Richfield, including 10,000 individuals who received COVID-19 vaccines. Clients receiving other direct services are primarily young children, new parents and older adults. They are also disproportionately people with lower incomes and individuals from BIPOC communities. For example, in 2021, 87% of clients of the Bloomington Women, Infants and Children (WIC) clinic were individuals from BIPOC communities. In the 2019 American Community Survey, 69% of Bloomington’s population identified as white and non-Hispanic.

We remain committed to promoting, protecting and improving the health of all, with a focus on reducing health disparities and advancing racial equity. 

1900 West Old Shakopee Road, Bloomington, MN 55431

952-563-8900; MN Relay 711

 publichealth@bloomingtonmn.gov   

 blm.mn/publichealth 

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