Otter Tail County Public Health employs 37 staff who work to promote, protect and perserve the health of those who live, work and play in Otter Tail County. Otter Tail County is located in Western Minnesota, three hours north of the twin cities, and 30 minutes west of the North Dakota border. Otter Tail County's population is 60,000, spread over a large geographic area consisting of 2,225 square miles of lakes, prairie, and dozens of small farming towns. Otter Tail County has a uniquely diverse population that ranges from multi-generational farm owners, to Somali, Mexican and Bosnian immigrants, to hospital workers, young families, low-income seniors, and wealthy retirees.
In the past 2.5 years, the COVID pandemic has illuminated disparities, disrupted education and work, and further divided an already polarized nation. As adults in various leadership positions made life changing decisions about shut downs, social isolation, and then later, masking and vaccinations, children and youth observed, but had very little say. They were some of the most affected, but some of the least heard or asked about their experiences. In April 2021, the availability of vaccines, which for some was met with relief and joy, was also met with more suspicion, mistrust, and fear. Healthcare workers in Otter Tail County, a rural, politically conservative region in West Central Minnesota, saw these impacts firsthand. They did what they could to combat misinformation, answer questions and worries about vaccinations without judgment, and make sure vaccination clinics were accessible, but at times these efforts felt futile against the tide of vaccine hesitation that was washing over social media and other platforms. In September 2021, after 6 months of the vaccine being widely available, local vaccine rates were at 49%, far behind national rates, COVID cases were up, at a rate of 12.58%, and there were no local mask mandates to combat the spread. Springboard reached out to staff at Otter Tail Public Health, to explore potential collaborations between the arts and public health to increase local vaccine confidence. Jody Lien, Otter Tail County's Public Health Director, shared two distinct observations about her experiences in educating the community about vaccines and COVID safety. One was her admiration for local teens, and their inclination to organize one another to practice care and solidarity by campaigning to wear masks, even though the school was not implementing any mandates. They simply wanted their activities be as normal as possible, and not go back to distant learning. Jody wondered how teens might be able to have more of a platform and voice and whether that could influence the wider community, and wished her staff had more time to explore that potential. The other challenge Jody named at the time was the isolation local healthcare workers were feeling as they simply tried to do their job and share their expertise. Unfortunately the distrust for science and healthcare practices was running deep. They felt dehumanized, having their expertise questioned, mocked or ignored completely, but even more so, frustrated that basic recommendations to keep the community safe were being largely ignored. While navigating vaccine distribution, there was also a simple need to provide support and visibility to the hardships healthcare workers were going through.. These two themes - humanizing healthcare workers, and giving teens a platform about their pandemic experience - are what guided the development of the multimedia exhibit Return to Normal? COVID Diaries from Local Youth,” facilitated by local artist organizers Naomi RaMona Schliesman and Wesley Fawcett Creigh.
This project was a unique and timely opportunity for Springboard for the Arts, Otter Tail County Historical Society, and Otter Tail County Public Health to collaborate and bring the three organization's broad range of strengths together into one project. It also felt urgent and necessary to bring the community together around our own unique COVID story, as a way to get past the fear, suspicion, and divisiveness that had taken center stage in the community, and promote trust, interdependence and reflection. PROJECT ACTIVITIES -Storytelling workshop with local partners (Springboard, Public Health, and the Museum) -Individual interviews with a local healthcare worker about their pandemic experience -Regular 1:1 meetings for project development support from Naomi and Wesley -Development of an original work of art, and a COVID self portrait for inclusion in the exhibit -Development of local radio ads promoting the exhibit -Two public receptions / open houses -Archiving the final work in the museum
Funding for this effort is made possible through a subaward from the CDC Foundation and is part of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) financial assistance award totaling $2,500,000.00 with 100 percent funding from CDC/HHS.
https://springboardforthearts.org/return-to-normal/