Healthier Communities Newsletter - February 2010, Volume 11

Welcome to the Healthier Communities Initiatives Newsletter - February 2010, Vol. 11!

Creative Policy Strategy to Increase Physical Activity Introduced in Venice, Fla.

In early February, the a new strategy to encourage residents in South Florida to get outside more, even during the hottest parts of the year was introduced by the Venice, Fla., Community Health Action and Response Team (CHART), co-led by the South County Family YMCA and the Florida Department of Health. , The team began the process toward requiring the planting of native shade trees along the Intercoastal Waterway.
Venice is a city in Sarasota County, Florida with a population of 21,015. It is noted for its large snowbird population, and like other American cities, it struggles with providing opportunities for its residents to engage in healthy eating and physical activity.

Location of Venice in Sarasota County and the State of FL
The Venice ACHIEVE CHART, also known as a leadership team, is part of the larger Active Living for Life Coalition. Resulting from a series of assessments using CDC’s CHANGE tool, the Venice CHART determined that a major factor in children and adults not participating in daily physical activity was related to the lack of shaded outdoor recreational areas. As part of their Community Action Plan (CAP), the CHART decided to include policies requiring more native shade trees to be planted in select new and retroactive capital projects as a major objective.

The CHART is focusing first on the Venetian Waterway Park – a major community asset that is underutilized due to its lack of shade. This parkway is a 10 mile long walking/cycling path along the Intercoastal Waterway. The paved path is wide, uninterrupted and free of motorized vehicles: the perfect place for people to participate in outdoor recreation. Unfortunately, much of the walkway is uncovered, and to use the walkway, particularly in summer months in Florida, puts people at risk of heat illness and skin cancer, and in general, precludes individuals from healthy, outdoor activity. In the past, proposals by community groups to plant shade trees along the walkway have failed due to regulations by the Army Corps of Engineers regarding access to the waterway, and because of resistance by the West Coast Intercoastal Navigational Division (WCIND), which has concerns about expense and plant maintenance.

In early February, the Venice CHART along with the Active Living for Life Coalition asked the West Coast Navigational Division (WCIND) board to petition the Army Corps of Engineers to modify policies related to planting shade trees planted along the Intercoastal Waterway. The team submitted schematic drawings and viable plans for the purchase, installation and maintenance of the trees independent of the city or county. If the Army Corps agrees to the plantings, it will represent a major shift in their policies about foliage plantings on the Intercoastal Waterway, which extends throughout Florida.

This was the first step toward making the planting of shade trees a standard practice in Venice and the surrounding areas. The CHART is prepared to present to the Army Corps of Engineers as the next step in the process.

Venetian Waterway Park
For more information about this and other policies being introduced in Venice, please contact ACHIEVE Coach, Jennifer Tucker at jtucker@veniceymca.org.

Interested in sharing information about your team’s success in the next newsletter? Please contact Sarah Ho at Sarah.Ho@ymca.net

YMCA Supports White House's 'Let's Move' National Campaign to Fight Childhood Obesity

YMCA of the USA is supporting the White House’s nationwide campaign “Let’s Move,” an effort being led by First Lady Michelle Obama to fight childhood obesity. The First Lady’s initiative – Let’s Move – is a multifaceted campaign that will promote strategies to increase healthy eating and physical activity.
"YMCAs are committed to building communities where all kids learn, grow and thrive," says Neil Nicoll, President and CEO of YMCA of the USA, "and we join the White House and community leaders to fight childhood obesity, an epidemic that does so much harm to our children."

YMCA Healthy Family Home will be featured on www.letsmove.gov – a new Web site created as part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s childhood obesity initiative announced today. The web site provides tools and resources to help children and families adopt and maintain healthier lives. Healthy Family Home was chosen by the First Lady as a premier resource to highlight in her campaign. The link can be found on the Healthy Choices tab of www.letsmove.gov.

Click HERE for a press release from YMCA of the USA

Alexandria YMCA Hosts First Lady
The Alexandria YMCA, part of the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington, hosted First Lady Michelle Obama, Department of Health and Human Services’ Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin who announced plans today to help Americans lead healthier lives through better nutrition, regular physical activity, and by encouraging communities to support healthy choices. Click here for more

VIDEO: Click HERE to watch a video of the event.

Recent Community Evidence-based Reviews on Workplace Health Promotions
The American Journal of Preventive Medicine released this month a systematic review of findings and recommendations from the Task Force on Community Preventive Services. The review is titled “What Works in Worksite Health Promotion.” The document provides recommendations on the effectiveness of interventions that use an Assessment of Health Risks with Feedback (AHRF) when used alone or as part of a broader worksite health promotion program to improve the health of employees.

If you would like a PDF copy of the reports please contact Sarah Ho at Sarah.Ho@ymca.net

New Toolkit! Opening School Grounds to the Community After Hours: A Toolkit for Increasing Physical Activity Through Joint Use Agreements
Public Health Law & Policy (PHLP) is proud to announce the publication of Opening School Grounds to the Community After Hours: A Toolkit for Increasing Physical Activity Through Joint Use Agreements. The link to this toolkit is contained within the text below. The toolkit can be a valuable resource for people all across the state who are working to increase access to school based recreational facilities.

In many communities, where safe places to play are few and far between, schools offer a variety of recreational facilities – from gymnasiums and running tracks to sports fields and playgrounds – to meet residents’ needs. But districts often close their property to the public after hours, concerned about security, maintenance, liability, and other costs.
The good news is that school districts, local governments, and community-based organizations can share the costs and responsibilities of opening school property to the public after hours through joint use agreements. PHLP’s toolkit helps communities and school districts work together to develop joint use agreements increasing access to recreational facilities on school grounds.

You can review or download the entire toolkit below or choose a specific chapter or appendix of interest by clicking HERE

Wallace Center at Winrock International Announces Funding Opportunity through the Healthy Urban Food Enterprise Development Center
DEADLINE: Letters of Intent are due March 8, 2010
To review or download the full set of Grant Guidelines, which contain instructions for writing and submitting an LOI, further information about the purpose and goals of the Center, and greater detail on grant types, please click HERE. You may also contact us via the Wallace HUFED Center Help Line: (703) 531-8810 or via email: hufed@winrock.org.

Yale Rudd Center Soft Drink Tax Webinar - Tuesday, March 9, 2010, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm ET
The Rudd Center Director, Kelly D. Brownell, PhD, with facilitate a discussion on soft drink taxes and how they can impact obesity. In addition to updates on the latest developments in state and local policies since the July 2009 webinar, Dr. Brownell will offer an overview of the rationale, relevant science, and economic and policy considerations of soft drink taxes.

The webinar will be listen-only, but participants will have the opportunity to type questions in real time. Reserve you Webinar seat by clicking HERE. After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar

You have two options for listening in: using voiceover IP (VoIP) through your computer (which incurs no additional cost and requires speakers or headphones on your computer -- a microphone is not needed) or using your phone to dial into the webinar according to the confirmation email instructions (and will incur a cost to you based on your regular long distance rate).

Active Living Research and New Connections Grant Opportunities
PROPOSAL DEADLINE: April 14, 2010
This program supports research to inform policy and environmental strategies for increasing physical activity among children and adolescents, decreasing their sedentary behaviors and preventing obesity. Special emphasis is placed on strategies with the potential to reach children and youths ages 3 to 18 who are at highest risk for obesity: African-American, Latino, American Indian, Alaska Native, Asian-American and Pacific Islander children, as well as children who live in under-resourced and lower-income communities. Grants funded under this call for proposals (CFP) are expected to advance Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s efforts to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic by 2015.

This CFP consists of grant opportunities for specified research topics and dissertation awards. It also includes funding opportunities for New Connections grants made available through the Active Living Research program.

For more information and to apply click HERE

Each month over the next year, Y-USA will profile one of the organizations or foundations it collaborates with to highlight the expertise and resources they contribute to the healthier communities movement. This month’s profile Stanford Prevention Research Center (SPRC) & Stanford Health Improvement Program (HIP)/Stanford Health Promotion Resource Center (HPRC)

Stanford Prevention Research Center (SPRC) & Stanford Health Improvement Program (HIP)/Stanford Health Promotion Resource Center (HPRC)

The Stanford Prevention Research Center (SPRC) is an interdisciplinary research program involving several departments in the School of Medicine. The mission of the Center is to improve individual and population health by developing and disseminating effective health promotion and chronic disease prevention and management strategies through interdisciplinary research, education and community outreach. The Center conducts solution-oriented research, using mainly experimental methods, to test and disseminate disease prevention and control program and policy strategies. The Center also has been a pioneer in developing effective methods of health education and health promotion, including those for community-wide application.

The Health Improvement Program (HIP), located within SPRC, is charged with the task of promoting health and wellness to Stanford and surrounding communities. HIP has been offering health education and fitness classes to the Stanford community for over 25 years, and currently is an integral part of the new campus-wide wellness initiative called BeWell@Stanford. HIP also aids other health promotion organizations to plan, implement, and evaluate health promotion programs and services, collaborating as an advocate and consultant for health policy changes for population-based health improvement programs. In addition, HIP also provides networking and collaboration opportunities for health care professionals through the Stanford Health Promotion Network (SHPN).

The Health Promotion Resource Center (HPRC), a division of HIP, disseminates health promotion products based on studies conducted at SPRC. Much of these materials are offered online, on the HPRC website, allowing industries and organizations outside of Stanford to have access to online health risk assessments and health education classes. One such assessment, the Stanford Health and Lifestyle Assessment (SHALA), has been adapted slightly to meet the YMCA’s specific needs. This assessment is available, free of charge.

The Health Improvement Program (HIP) has a long history of collaborating with the YMCA of the USA. In 2001, HIP began development of a 10-month group behavior change program to be implemented in YMCAs along the West Coast. In 2002, the program was pilot-tested in nine YMCAs. Since then, the program has been disseminated to YMCAs across the nation. HIP continues to work with Y-USA as they continue this cultural shift as part of the Activate America® Movement.

In addition, HIP developed Living Strong Living Well, a strength-training program provided to cancer survivors that is currently being implemented in 10 YMCAs in the Bay area and additional YMCAs throughout the country.

In 2006, HIP was asked by Y-USA to write a report outlining the relationship between physical inactivity and childhood obesity. The report entitled Building "Generation Play": Addressing the Crisis of Inactivity Among America's Children was released in February 2007 in Washington DC as part of the Partnership for Play Every Day movement led by the Y-USA. The PLAY Every Day Act was introduced to Congress following the release of this report.

One of the recommendations included in the Stanford report, as well as in the Institute of Medicine’s “Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance,” was to develop a tool to assess opportunities for healthy eating and active living in communities. Y-USA, which witnessed a clear need for such a tool in its community work, initiated the creation of a community assessment tool in collaboration with Stanford, Harvard, and Saint Louis Universities, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The resulting Community Healthy Living Index is now available for use by YMCAs and their communities nationwide. An article describing the development of the tool was published in Preventive Medicine.

Currently, HIP is serving as part of an expert advisory board overseeing the evaluation of the Y-USA’s larger community effort called the Healthier Communities Initiatives (HCI). HIP is also developing a database that catalogs policy and environmental objectives and related outcomes to be used by communities participating in HCI to facilitate their community efforts. HIP also serves as a member of the Healthy Communities Roundtable (HCR) and Urban Innovations Initiative (UII), Y-USA’s national partnership components of the HCI to bring leading organizations together for expert advice and technical assistance in guiding community teams.