Forty Communities Receive Grants To Promote Healthy Communities
Newswire Services
February 07, 2010
Atlanta, GA -- The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD), the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA), and the YMCA of the USA (Y-USA) are announcing 40 U.S. communities that have been selected in 23 states and in one territory to advance the nation´s efforts to prevent chronic diseases and related risk factors through a locally collaborative approach. This approach, called Action Communities for Health, Innovation, and EnVironmental changE (ACHIEVE), is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)´s Healthy Communities Program and receives technical assistance from the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE).
ACHIEVE´s mission is to bring together local leaders from various sectors to build healthier communities by promoting policy, systems, and environmental change strategies that focus on physical activity, nutrition, tobacco cessation, obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. These community stakeholders represent local elected officials, city and county health officials, tribal programs, parks and recreation departments, local YMCAs, health-related coalitions, and education, business, health, planning, and transportation sectors.
State departments of health may also provide resources and information as well as linkages to other collaborators to help communities meet their goals. ACHIEVE recognizes the roles of these institutions as trusted community allies and aims to combine public health expertise from the state and local levels with the experience of the YMCA and local parks and recreation departments with expertise in providing community support and outreach.
ACHIEVE is an innovative approach that brings together all sectors of a community to spur policy change toward prevention of chronic diseases. The 2010 ACHIEVE communities will build on the successes of the 2009 and 2008 ACHIEVE communities. The ACHIEVE approach promotes health through such improvements as safe locations for physical activity and increased access to healthy food options such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains at schools, worksites, places of worship and in the general community, among others.
"The CDC is pleased to work alongside and support the efforts of the ACHIEVE national partners to make sustainable and positive community changes towards establishing healthy environments" said Dr. Wayne Giles, Director, CDC´s Division of Adult and Community Health. "Promoting healthier lifestyles and supporting healthy communities will help us meet our goal of reducing chronic diseases. Through community action and partnerships, we can create a synergy that assists people in making healthy choices where they live, learn, work and play."
The communities applied for this program and were selected after a competitive review process that included 213 applications. Grant funding will be distributed among the teams to encourage attendance at leadership conferences, including an Action Institute where community leaders can learn about effective strategies to design, implement and effect community change.
ACHIEVE´s mission is to bring together local leaders from various sectors to build healthier communities by promoting policy, systems, and environmental change strategies that focus on physical activity, nutrition, tobacco cessation, obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. These community stakeholders represent local elected officials, city and county health officials, tribal programs, parks and recreation departments, local YMCAs, health-related coalitions, and education, business, health, planning, and transportation sectors.
State departments of health may also provide resources and information as well as linkages to other collaborators to help communities meet their goals. ACHIEVE recognizes the roles of these institutions as trusted community allies and aims to combine public health expertise from the state and local levels with the experience of the YMCA and local parks and recreation departments with expertise in providing community support and outreach.
ACHIEVE is an innovative approach that brings together all sectors of a community to spur policy change toward prevention of chronic diseases. The 2010 ACHIEVE communities will build on the successes of the 2009 and 2008 ACHIEVE communities. The ACHIEVE approach promotes health through such improvements as safe locations for physical activity and increased access to healthy food options such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains at schools, worksites, places of worship and in the general community, among others.
"The CDC is pleased to work alongside and support the efforts of the ACHIEVE national partners to make sustainable and positive community changes towards establishing healthy environments" said Dr. Wayne Giles, Director, CDC´s Division of Adult and Community Health. "Promoting healthier lifestyles and supporting healthy communities will help us meet our goal of reducing chronic diseases. Through community action and partnerships, we can create a synergy that assists people in making healthy choices where they live, learn, work and play."
The communities applied for this program and were selected after a competitive review process that included 213 applications. Grant funding will be distributed among the teams to encourage attendance at leadership conferences, including an Action Institute where community leaders can learn about effective strategies to design, implement and effect community change.
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