Training on Policy and Environmental Best Practices Draws Regional Crowd
On May 24, members of local coalitions and other interested community representatives attended “Making it Easier to be Healthy in Michigan Communities: Policy and Environmental Change Initiatives,” a regional training organized by the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) and held at Washtenaw County Public Health.
This regional training provided an opportunity for community members, many of whom are already working on policy and environmental change initiatives through the “Washtenaw Steps Up” project, to obtain best practices information for increasing physical activity and healthy eating in their communities.
Attendees became familiar with the goals of the Michigan Steps Up campaign and community health assessment tools available through MDCH at www.mihealthtools.org. The state-wide Michigan Steps Up campaign aims to reduce risk factors of preventable chronic diseases by promoting increased physical activity, healthy eating, and tobacco-free lifestyles. A major focus of this campaign is creating healthier community environments and policies so that community members can more easily make healthy decisions. Numerous examples of successful strategies for creating healthy, livable environments were highlighted.
A “walking audit” during the training offered a hands-on opportunity to learn about walkability. Facilitators Lisa Grost and Adam Hines led participants through the neighborhood surrounding the Washtenaw County Public Health worksite. Supplied with questionnaires that helped to focus attention on key environmental supports or barriers for physical activity, nutrition, and tobacco free lifestyles, participants set out on foot to assess the local health environment (see photo).
Attendee Michael Steklac, City Manager for Chelsea, stated that “while Chelsea has already done a lot to improve walkability, this workshop offered a new perspective of how to “integrate healthy living” with the work I do for the city.” Jean Horak, RN, with Hope Clinic in Ypsilanti especially appreciated hearing “the practical information on how improved sidewalks and other environmental factors can support active living.”
With about 40 participants, the Washtenaw training was MDCH’s largest of the five regional trainings offered throughout Michigan. Attendees came from sixteen communities in the surrounding area, including Ypsilanti, Saline, Ann Arbor and from as far away as Mt. Clemens, Port Huron, and Saginaw. Highlighting the variety of disciplines that should be involved in fostering healthy Michigan communities, among the agencies present were schools, health systems, advocacy groups, planning organizations, and city governments.
For more information on the policy and environmental initiatives in Michigan communities, please visit the following sites:
[Photo Caption:] Adam Hines, Physical Activity Specialist with Michigan Department of Community Health leads a group on a walking audit of the neighborhood surrounding Washtenaw County Public Health.
