Summer Solutions
Summertime in Colorado is unlike anywhere else. The Rockies transition from snowy playgrounds into campsites, mountain bike trails and hiking paths. Cul-de-sacs become basketball courts, inline skating rinks and testing grounds for new training wheels. And weekend dinners move outside as Coloradoans make use of their backyard grills. With more days of sunshine than any other state, Colorado’s summers truly inspire a culture of wellness.
How do we capitalize on this environment to encourage Colorado communities to implement changes that will provide even more opportunities for healthy eating and active living? This issue is focused on the smart, simple, synchronized solutions we can all implement to make the most out of Colorado’s culture of wellness.
With the summer buzzing with activities, now is the time to look for simple solutions, maximize our time and connect with our partners to synchronize actions. Why reinvent the wheel when others already may have a solution to a hurdle you face? Ask others for assistance in our discussion forum.
As you read through this issue, think about the simple solutions you’ve implemented in your own environment that may inspire others. Let us know about your solution and we may highlight it in an upcoming issue of the LiveWell Colorado Times.
This summer, focus on simple, strategic solutions and remember to take the time to live well!
Regards,
Maren Stewart
President and CEO, LiveWell Colorado
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LiveWell Colorado Announces Upcoming Webinar, "Keys to Sustainable Community Change: Highlights from the LiveWell Colorado Community Initiatives Report"
LiveWell Colorado will host this webinar on Friday, July 10, 2009 at 9 a.m. MDT. Register now!
The webinar will offer an overview of LiveWell Colorado’s Community Grants program. Panelists will discuss processes and procedures utilized in the implementation of this program and offer best practices and insights for successful community grant program management.
Based on knowledge gleaned from community implementation, panelists will demonstrate how LiveWell Colorado put public health theories into practice. Illustrating concepts with real-world examples, this webinar will explore keys to effective technical assistance, comprehensive evaluation and sustainable change.
The free, one-hour webinar will feature Corina Lindley, MPH, community health manager, Kaiser Permanente, Khanh Nguyen, senior program officer - healthy living, The Colorado Health Foundation, Stephanie Stevens, community coordinator, Colorado Physical Activity & Nutrition Program and Bonnie Leeman-Castillo, PhD, senior evaluation manager, Kaiser Permanente Colorado.
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Ask Your Senator to Co-Sponsor the Safe Routes to School Reauthorization Bill
On May 21, 2009, five senators joined together to introduce the Safe Routes to School Program Reauthorization Act (S. 1156). S. 1156 would expand funding for SRTS to $600 million per year, include high schools, simplify regulatory compliance to improve project delivery, and strengthen research and evaluation. All of these changes will make SRTS grants more widely available, and help more schools and communities across the country make it safer for children to walk and bicycle to school and get into healthier, greener habits.
Please take just five minutes to contact your two Senators to ask them to show their support for the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program by co-sponsoring the legislation. To do so, follow this link.
For more details on the legislation, including a summary of the bill's provisions, a list of supporting organizations, and the text of the legislation, please visit http://www.saferoutespartnership.org/national.
LiveWell Colorado Communities
LiveWell Pueblo Walkability Challenges Impact Local Planning Decisions
Pueblo Active Community Environments (PACE), a task force of LiveWell Pueblo, conducted two Walkability Challenges this past year. In October 2008, the first walking challenge was held in downtown Pueblo. Nearly 25 people participated in three afternoon walkability assessments, walking from City Hall to Mineral Palace Park, two landmarks in the downtown area. Read More
Statewide Scan of Child Care Providers’ Perspectives on Childhood Obesity Prevention Reveals Trends, Needs and Opportunities
Because a large number of young Colorado children are cared for, for at least part of the day, by child care professionals, public health teams from Metropolitan State College and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment deemed it important to better understand child care providers’ perspectives on obesity prevention. Between November 2008 and January 2009, 84 child care providers from different parts of the state were interviewed about their current childhood obesity prevention and health promotion efforts and needs. Read More
Colorado School Nutrition Programs Offer Simple Solutions for Healthier Kids
Healthful meals in the lunchroom plus integrated activities in the classroom equals healthier kids. This is one of the lessons learned through two of Colorado’s top school nutrition programs: the University of Colorado Denver’s Integrated Nutrition Education Program (INEP) and Denver Public Schools’ SuperFoods Program. Read More
A Unique Higher Ed Solution: The UC Denver Health and Wellness Center
"We’re doing something that’s never been done before," says James O. Hill, PhD, director of the University of Colorado School of Medicine’s Center for Human Nutrition about his group’s newest venture. We recently spoke with Dr. Hill about the UC Denver Health and Wellness Center, a project that aims to foster a new culture of health promotion and disease prevention within the Anschutz Medical Campus and across Colorado and the nation. Read More
U.S. Congress Introduces Legislation to Promote Worksite Wellness
Worksite wellness advocates have long promoted employee health programs as having a considerable return on investment. In fact, a recent study found that workplace wellness programs return $2 to $10 for each dollar invested within 12 to 18 months. Worksite wellness could soon deliver an even greater return on investment should legislation recently introduced in the U.S. House and Senate become law. Read More
Share Proactive Messages about the Health Risks of Obesity with Patients
It’s become a critical aspect of the medical profession - proactive patient communication. In short visits with patients, the medical community is under pressure to cover a lot of ground. With obesity as the single greatest public health threat to our nation, LiveWell Colorado turned to Eric K. France MD MSPH, chief of preventive medicine and the co-director of population and prevention services with Kaiser Permanente Colorado, to discuss this topic. Read More
Health Impact Assessments: The Process and Benefits
According to the World Health Organization, Health Impact Assessments "provide decision-makers with information about how any policy, programme or project may affect the health of people. HIA seeks to influence decision-makers to improve the proposal. WHO supports the use of HIA because of its ability to influence policies, programmes and/or projects. This provides a foundation for improved health and well-being of people likely to be affected by such proposals." Read More
How Lottery Dollars Lead to a Healthier Colorado
Some Coloradans know where their $1 goes when they grab a scratch-and-win lottery ticket at the gas station. Many do not. We recently sat down with Eric Bergman, Director of Government Relations & Outreach at Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), who shed some light on Colorado’s commitment to building a healthy environment by putting lottery dollars to work. Read More
Forming a Food Coalition: The San Luis Valley’s Solution
LiveWell Alamosa, in partnership with a number of other organizations in the San Luis Valley, has recently developed a local foods coalition. The group is currently in the process of improving, expanding and refining the group’s efforts. Liza Marron, LiveWell coordinator for LiveWell Alamosa and Valley-Wide Health Systems, has been instrumental in this process. She offers the following overview of the group’s progress to date - a process that can be duplicated in nearly any setting. Read More
HEAL Policy Solutions: An Overview of the New York State Legislative Session
Last month, the LiveWell Colorado Times offered an overview of Colorado’s healthy eating and active living legislation. To keep you informed about what’s going on around the country, we’ve listed an overview of the bills proposed in one of the states that is leading the way in HEAL-related legislation - New York. Read More
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The Colorado Health Symposium
July 30-August 1, 2009
More information
*Not all events are sponsored by LiveWell Colorado, and inclusion in the newsletter does not constitute an endorsement by LiveWell Colorado.
LiveWell Colorado
is a non-profit organization committed to providing every Coloradoan with access to healthy foods and opportunities for physical activity in the places they live, work, learn and play. For more information, please visit livewellcolorado.org.
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