Healthy Lifestyle Committee (HLC)
Choosing Health!
Committee Sponsor—Hayes Green Beach Memorial Hospital
Committee Chairperson—Maureen Hillary, RN
For the past 10 years, the Healthy Lifestyles Committee of the Capital Area Health Alliance has been developing and/or supporting programs to promote health and wellness in the tri-county area. The Healthy Lifestyles Committee includes representatives of organizations throughout the Capital Area who are dedicated to promoting healthy behaviors and well-being. Membership on the Healthy Lifestyle Committee is open to the public. The Healthy Lifestyles Committee (HLSC) reports its activities to the Board of Directors of the Capital Area Health Alliance.
Information to help you in Choosing Health!:
2011 Accomplishments of the Healthy Lifestyles Committee:
Creating a Culture of Healthy Lifestyles 2011 – May 25, 2011
Modeled after a 2007 program “Creating a Culture of Healthy Lifestyles in our Community,” this May 2011 event was attended by 90 organizations represented by over 120 health care professionals who enthusiastically shared ideas to shape the community’s future healthy lifestyle agenda. The consensus vision of the group was for the Healthy Lifestyles Committee of the Capital Area Health Alliance to facilitate a movement and campaign that draws from and enables enhancement and symbiosis of existing community programs and resources to promote healthy living and wellness in the region.
Movement Development
In follow up to the May 25, 2011, symposium, the Healthy Lifestyles Committee, with the approval of the Alliance Board, developed a plan to establish a community-wide movement and campaign. Through planning and research, “Choosing Health!®” was selected as the name of the movement.
Choosing Health!® the Movement
The “Choosing Health!®” campaign will “create a culture of Healthy Lifestyles” by highlighting the full range of existing health and wellness programs available in this region. The movement is a year-round campaign that provides existing programs a fresh platform to display their activities and invite community members to choose those programs to help people achieve their healthy lifestyle goals.
The Choosing Health!® movement focuses on four issues:
• Encouraging physical activity • Increasing healthy eating
• Preventing substance abuse • Promoting mental health
The Choosing Health!® Structure: Healthy Lifestyle Committee (HLSC)
The Healthy Lifestyles Committee, as part of the Capital Area Health Alliance, provides the organizational framework for Choosing Health!®. In their monthly meetings, HLSC Chairperson Maureen Hillary, RN, and the members concentrate on the overall design of the campaign to structure the Choosing Health!® movement and the development of an anchoring website. To facilitate establishment of the movement, a year-round series of events is being designed to highlight existing community programs that engage the widest possible range of programs, businesses, faith communities and the general public in the community-wide effort to improve lifestyles.
2011 Events and Activities Included:
• Meeting monthly as a committee and the steering body for “Creating a Culture of Healthy Lifestyles”
• “Creating a Culture of Healthy Lifestyles 2011” May Symposium for community health professionals
• Creating and using a Choosing Health!® Event Planning Taskforce
• Hosting a Fall Community Leaders’ Breakfast to describe Choosing Health!® and seek their counsel.
• Choosing Health!® Rally for 350 people and 32 organizations on October 18, 2011.
• Exploration of potential website
• Participation in the Capital Area Health Alliance Annual Meeting
Community Leaders’ Choosing Health!® Breakfast – September 28, 2011
In the first meeting, the community’s influential leaders in health care, government, business and advocacy were invited to participate to hear about the progress of launching and growing the Choosing Health!® movement. They were asked to help shape the campaign to achieve maximum effect in engaging our community members in improving health. This included providing advice about the healthy living improvements that should be targeted for Choosing Health!® More than 60 community leaders from across the tri-county area participated in the September 2011 Community Leaders’ Breakfast. After completing the first Community Leaders’ Breakfast and Choosing Health!® Rally, the HLSC is contemplating the feasibility of sponsoring and/or partnering with other organizations to offer events throughout the year to broaden and deepen the reach of the Choosing Health!® movement.
Choosing Health!® Community-Wide Rally – October 18, 2011
The 2011 rally served as a community kick-off event for the Choosing Health!® campaign. The event was an unqualified success, drawing approximately 350 participants to the Union Missionary Baptist Church for an interesting and exciting evening.
Event publicity.An invitation was issued to the entire tri-county area for this event. Thousands of Capital Area residents saw flyers and heard ads about Choosing Health!® WKAR produced a Public Service Announcement promoting the rally. The station ran the PSA frequently and shared it with other media outlets. The Lansing State Journal announced the event in its community calendar column. Many CAHA and HLSC members announced the event in their communication materials. CAHA sent a press release to all local media outlets and to a national press release posting service.
Event features. The Choosing Health!® rally brought together over 350 health care professionals and community members to learn about healthy living and resources available throughout the tri-county area. This rally included:
• A keynote address by renowned pediatrician, Dr. Stacy Leatherwood, and a motivational presentation by America’s nutrition leader, Zonya Foco, RD.
• Opportunities for over 30 community organizations and agencies to display their programs, engage community members and, sign up potential participants.
• A showcase of healthy food in “A Taste of Health”where nine area restaurants and food purveyors shared with rally participants their culinary developments that reflect healthier trends.
• 35 door prizes donated by area businesses and organizations promoted participants’ interest until the very end of the evening.
• Free transportation provided by CATA
• Sponsorship by numerous community organizations
Overall, the event had great turnout, a convenient and welcoming community location, stimulating presentations, excellent display tables with a significant range of information and resource descriptions, and a substantial mix of participants in terms of race/ethnicity, age, gender and regional origin.
Preliminary Exploration of Website
The Healthy Lifestyles Committee directed an initial assessment of issues and needs for the development and operation of a Choosing Health!® website. The HLSC established parameters around its website vision. As a result, the Alliance Board has authorized a feasibility study and plan for website development to be completed during 2012.
HLSC Activities Planned for 2012:
Participation in the Capital Area Health Alliance Annual Meeting. At its November 2011 meeting, the Healthy Lifestyles Committee confirmed its plan to showcase its work at a display table and in an annual report to the Alliance Board.
Healthy Lifestyles Planning Retreat.The HLSC will conduct a retreat to plan for 2012 to accomplish the goals of Choosing Health!® That retreat will take place in the first quarter of 2012
“Creating a Culture of Healthy Lifestyles/Choosing Health!®” Symposium – Spring 2012. Planning for this symposium is underway. The event will highlight community collaboration and initiatives and provide:
• Exchange of information and ideas about successful programs and available resources.
• New collaboration opportunities to create a culture of wellness in our community.
• An overview of what issues we should understand about integrated health
• The current status is of health behavior based on analysis of recently complied analysis from extant data sources.
The event will include a strategic planning process to enhance collaborative synergies among our community programs. The results of the strategic planning process will inform the future work of Choosing Health!®.
Community Leaders’ Choosing Health!® Breakfast. On September 28, 2010, the community’s influential leaders in health care, government, business and advocacy gathered to hear about the progress of launching and growing the Choosing Health!® movement. They were asked to help shape the campaign to achieve maximum effect in engaging our community members in improving health. This included providing advice about the healthy living improvements that should be targeted for Choosing Health!®. More than 60 community leaders from across the tri-county area participated in the first Community Leaders’ Breakfast. The HLSC is planning a second “Community Leaders” breakfast for fall 2012 to continue the process.
Choosing Health!® Community-Wide Rallies – Spring and Fall 2012. The 2011 rally served as a community kick-off event for the Choosing Health!® campaign. The event was an unqualified success, drawing approximately 350 participants to the Union Missionary Baptist Church for an interesting and exciting evening. The HLSC will work to have a Spring Rally in May, partnering with Community Partners in Health and a Fall Rally, once again highlighting the availability of community resources.
Website Development.An initial review has indicated that several Healthy Lifestyle websites are now functioning in communities throughout the U.S., such as Oklahoma City, OK, Tallahassee, FL, Calhoun County, MI, Cape Fear, NC, Tulsa, OK, and several others. An assessment of the benefits, opportunities and costs associated with implementing a website have been explored. In 2012, a committee will be assembled to explore the options, expenses and potential revenue available to establish and run a Choosing Health!® website.
Healthy Lifestyles Committee. All of the above-cited work will occur under the guidance of the HLSC, which meets monthly on the second Wednesday of each month at 8:00 am at the Michigan Health Council in Okemos, MI. You are welcome to join us in this exciting process.
For further information about the Healthy Lifestyles/Choosing Health!® Committee and/or campaign, and how you can be a part of the movement, please call the Alliance at 517-347-3377.
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