Building Healthy & Active Communities
Amy Stringer Hessel, MSWMissouri Foundation for Health
About MFH•Created in 2000 to receive Blue Cross Blue Shield of Missouri’s nonprofit assets
• Our Vision is to improve the health of the people in the communities we serve
• MFH is an independent, nonprofit organization focused on grant making, health policy and capacity building
One area of focus: obesity prevention
12th most obese state Half of Missouri children in poor families are overweight or obese
$1.6 billion adult obesity
Nearly 1 in 2 African American children overweight/obese
WHY ARE WE INTERESTED IN TRANSPORTATION?
Transportation Policy IS Health Policy
• Pollution
• Mental Health
• Safety
• Physical Activity
6
Achieve physicalactivity
recommendations/Meet dietary
guidelines
Community Barriers
Traditional Approach
Traditional Health PromotionOld solution: Only individual responsibility
Community Barriers
ActiveLiving/HealthyEating
Community Design Approach
Better solution: Individual in better environment
Adequate infrastructure=increased activity
GRANTEE PROJECTS
Promotion, Education
Policy,Infrastructure
Model Health Supported:Encouraging Healthy Behavior Through Changes in the Physical Environment
Columbians for Modern, Efficient Transit (CoMET)
GOAL: Triple Columbia’s Transit Service
Connecting with park and existing trails
City of Ozark: Pop. 18,500
13 miles from Springfield, MO
COLLABORATIVE OPPORTUNITIES
National and Regional Partners
Regional Partnerships:• California Convergence• LiveWell Colorado• Florida Convergence• Shaping Kentucky's Future• Maine Convergence Partners
hip• Massachusetts Convergence• Missouri Convergence Partne
rship• NH HEAL Campaign• New Jersey Convergence• Northwest Convergence
•Increase options for affordable transportation to parks and open spaces by discounting public transit, altering or expanding school bus routes, and incentivizing ride sharing.•Incorporate physical activity into the planning and design of every physical improvement to the city — from municipal buildings and new parks to streets and sidewalks.•Incorporate pedestrian and bicycle lanes into street development.•Enhance public safety near parks and other public spaces
Federal Initiatives
• Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act– Communities Putting Prevention to Work– Community Transformation Grants
• Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative– Integrated, coordinated effort to increase the quality of a
neighborhood’s (1) educational and developmental, (2) commercial, (3) recreational, (4) physical, and (5) social assets
National Prevention StrategyShift the nation from a focus on sickness and disease to one
based on wellness and prevention:
• Building Healthy and Safe Community Environments: Prevention of disease starts in our communities and at home; not just in the doctor’s office.
• Expanding Quality Preventive Services in Both Clinical and Community Settings: When people receive preventive care, such as immunizations and cancer screenings, they have better health and lower health care costs.
• Empowering People to Make Healthy Choices: When people have access to actionable and easy-to-understand information and resources, they are empowered to make healthier choices.
• Eliminating Health Disparities: By eliminating disparities in achieving and maintaining health, we can help improve quality of life for all Americans.
What Next?
• Connect with groups in your region• Preventobesity.net• State convergence partnerships• Prevention Institute
– http://www.preventioninstitute.org/• PolicyLink
– http://www.policylink.org/site/c.lkIXLbMNJrE/b.5136441/k.BD4A/Home.htm
• National Prevention Strategy– http://www.healthcare.gov/center/councils/nphpphc/
strategy/report.pdf
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