A matter of public health
Celebrate National Public Health Week
In February, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute released the nation's County Health Rankings. According to their Web site, the rankings are based on a model of population health that emphasizes many factors that, if improved, can help make communities healthier places to live, learn, work and play. The data collected to determine these rankings is from a variety of national data sources. The data is then compiled and ranked within each state based on multiple health factors that determine a county's health. These factors include health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors and physical environment. Lake County is ranked 33rd in the state of Montana. The good news is that there is a lot of room for improvement.
National Public Health Week was April 5-11. For more than a decade, National Public Health Week has been celebrated each April to build awareness and a focus to protect and improve America's health. This year's theme, which will continue throughout the year, is "A Healthier America: One Community at a Time." The ultimate goal is to make America the healthiest nation in one generation. Georges C. Benjamin, MD, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association said, "We want to make it easy for communities to make healthy choices every day. If we commit to promoting good health in our communities, we can create a ripple effect across our neighborhoods, our cities, states, and hopefully, our nation." As the entire nation is faced with economic and health challenges, we need to keep in mind the little things we, as individuals, can do to support our community in order to build stronger outcomes. We can start small and think big. Some ideas for taking action include walking instead of driving whenever possible or replacing a sweet snack with a piece of fruit in the afternoon. Plant a tree, wear your seat belt, start recycling, quit smoking or chewing, or, even if you are having difficulty quitting smoking, commit to not throwing your cigarette butts on the ground. Little things like that can make a big impact and might even lead to bigger commitments.
Lake County Public Health Department is partnering with other community organizations (Ronan Parks Department, Ronan City Library, Salish Kootenai College, Family Matters, MTUPP, CSKT Tribal Health Department, and others) to celebrate our bike and walking paths. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 24, we encourage every resident to get out and utilize the bike path along Highway 93. Walk or bike from any starting point and head toward Pablo. There will be checkpoints alonIn February, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute released the nation's County Health Rankings. According to their Web site, the rankings are based on a model of population health that emphasizes many factors that, if improved, can help make communities healthier places to live, learn, work and play. The data collected to determine these rankings is from a variety of national data sources. The data is then compiled and ranked within each state based on multiple health factors that determine a county's health. These factors include health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors and physical environment. Lake County is ranked 33rd in the state of Montana. The good news is that there is a lot of room for improvement.
National Public Health Week was April 5-11. For more than a decade, National Public Health Week has been celebrated each April to build awareness and a focus to protect and improve America's health. This year's theme, which will continue throughout the year, is "A Healthier America: One Community at a Time." The ultimate goal is to make America the healthiest nation in one generation. Georges C. Benjamin, MD, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association said, "We want to make it easy for communities to make healthy choices every day. If we commit to promoting good health in our communities, we can create a ripple effect across our neighborhoods, our cities, states, and hopefully, our nation." As the entire nation is faced with economic and health challenges, we need to keep in mind the little things we, as individuals, can do to support our community in order to build stronger outcomes. We can start small and think big. Some ideas for taking action include walking instead of driving whenever possible or replacing a sweet snack with a piece of fruit in the afternoon. Plant a tree, wear your seat belt, start recycling, quit smoking or chewing, or, even if you are having difficulty quitting smoking, commit to not throwing your cigarette butts on the ground. Little things like that can make a big impact and might even lead to bigger commitments.
Lake County Public Health Department is partnering with other community organizations (Ronan Parks Department, Ronan City Library, Salish Kootenai College, Family Matters, MTUPP, CSKT Tribal Health Department, and others) to celebrate our bike and walking paths. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 24, we encourage every resident to get out and utilize the bike path along Highway 93. Walk or bike from any starting point and head toward Pablo. There will be checkpoints along the way where you can pick up a backpack, water bottle and passport. The passport is your ticket to a free meal as long as you stop at three checkpoints and receive a stamp. The heart of the event is the SKC Joe McDonald Health and Fitness Center where there will be many activities for the family to enjoy. The primary goal of this celebration is to get families out of the house to do things together that promote positive, healthy behaviors. You might even want to pick up some litter along the way to celebrate the spirit of Earth Day (make sure you wear gloves). No registration is necessary.
So, if you are concerned about our county's health, and you want to see us move up in the rankings in the future, do whatever you can to contribute. You may even inspire someone else to follow your lead.
For a snapshot of Lake County's health factors, log on to http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/montana/lake. And to find out more about National Public Health Week and how you can contribute to your health and the health of our community, go to www.nphw.org. See you on the path!g the way where you can pick up a backpack, water bottle and passport. The passport is your ticket to a free meal as long as you stop at three checkpoints and receive a stamp. The heart of the event is the SKC Joe McDonald Health and Fitness Center where there will be many activities for the family to enjoy. The primary goal of this celebration is to get families out of the house to do things together that promote positive, healthy behaviors. You might even want to pick up some litter along the way to celebrate the spirit of Earth Day (make sure you wear gloves). No registration is necessary.
So, if you are concerned about our county's health, and you want to see us move up in the rankings in the future, do whatever you can to contribute. You may even inspire someone else to follow your lead.
For a snapshot of Lake County's health factors, log on to http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/montana/lake. And to find out more about National Public Health Week and how you can contribute to your health and the health of our community, go to www.nphw.org. See you on the path!