Obama, former President present 5,000th Point of Light this week
By William C. Powanda
Vice President
Griffin Hospital
With President Obama honoring former President George H.W. Bush and the 5,000th Point of Light on
Monday I thought it was worth mentioning that Healthy Valley
was honored as the 1,531st Point of Light on Dec. 16, 1999.
Healthy
Valley, launched in 1994, was Connecticut’s first healthy community
project and received recognition and awards as a model for other
communities across the country. Healthy Valley 2000 was about mobilizing and engaging the community to identify and solve its problems and to build on existing strengths and resources.
Total community involvement is critical to success and much was committed to communicating to the community.
Communication efforts include a formal Annual Report, a periodic newsletter, news releases and speaking engagements.
During
its development it was a grassroots initiative involving over 175
stakeholders.
The Community’s goal was to use research, quantitative data and a broad-based visioning and participatory process to identify and gain consensus on priority community needs and problems and identify resources to address them.
The five priority areas identified by Healthy Valley were and are: Arts and Recreation, Community Health, Community Involvement, Economic Development and Education. An additional initiative was the development of the Electronic Valley web site.
The Community’s goal was to use research, quantitative data and a broad-based visioning and participatory process to identify and gain consensus on priority community needs and problems and identify resources to address them.
The five priority areas identified by Healthy Valley were and are: Arts and Recreation, Community Health, Community Involvement, Economic Development and Education. An additional initiative was the development of the Electronic Valley web site.
To improve quality of life
The
mission of the Healthy Valley project was to improve the health and
quality of life of residents by making the Valley a better place in
which to live, work, shop and enjoy life.
Underlying this mission was a commitment to maintain Valley unity through regional cooperation; work to enhance community image and pride; better utilize the Valley's unique resources, especially its two major rivers; and to embrace cultural diversity.
Even though the Healthy Valley project gave the overall health of the Valley a grade of B+, the initial Healthy Valley research identified that colon cancer, breast cancer and prostate cancer deaths were significantly higher than the state average as a result of low rates of screening and primary care access.
The initial research has evolved into the Community Health Profile which now is produced bi-annually by the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center.
Initiatives launched
Based on the initial research, Griffin launched and continues a series of initiatives involving multiple community organizations and agencies to increase mammography screening rates with positive results in five of the six Valley towns.
The Komen Foundation last year identified Shelton (and Naugatuck) as the only Valley towns with breast cancer mortality rates among the highest in the state.
Healthy Valley was designated “A Point of Light” by President Bush and was cited as a model for the nation by the U.S. Public Health Service.
Additional history about Healthy Valley is available at http://www.valleycouncil.org/healthy/
Underlying this mission was a commitment to maintain Valley unity through regional cooperation; work to enhance community image and pride; better utilize the Valley's unique resources, especially its two major rivers; and to embrace cultural diversity.
Even though the Healthy Valley project gave the overall health of the Valley a grade of B+, the initial Healthy Valley research identified that colon cancer, breast cancer and prostate cancer deaths were significantly higher than the state average as a result of low rates of screening and primary care access.
The initial research has evolved into the Community Health Profile which now is produced bi-annually by the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center.
Initiatives launched
Based on the initial research, Griffin launched and continues a series of initiatives involving multiple community organizations and agencies to increase mammography screening rates with positive results in five of the six Valley towns.
The Komen Foundation last year identified Shelton (and Naugatuck) as the only Valley towns with breast cancer mortality rates among the highest in the state.
Healthy Valley was designated “A Point of Light” by President Bush and was cited as a model for the nation by the U.S. Public Health Service.
Additional history about Healthy Valley is available at http://www.valleycouncil.org/healthy/
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