A healthy community has multiple prongs. The Centers for Disease Control states that a healthy community is a prepared community. According to the CDC, ìA healthy community is one in which local groups form all parts of the community work together to prevent disease and make healthy living options accessible.ìHealthy communities commonly have easy access to medical care and healthy food; are designed for healthy living at home, work and school; and provide good mental health resources. Often, this also means it is safe and easy to walk, bike and play in parks and community spaces.î The CDC also purports that high vaccination rates protect the community from diseases.Collaborations and outreachEl Paso County Public Health addresses education and health needs through collaboration with about 80 partners within the community. Susan Wheelan, director of EPCPH, said, ìWe oversee eight towns and cities. Itís a geographically large county, the most populous in the state of Colorado and growing steadily. We work with all of the cities and entities within the county, hospitals, physicianís offices, veterinarian offices, neighborhood groups, district attorneyís office, law enforcement, park and recreation and the fire department. These organizations and their people care about health and the health of the community.îAlthough the county has extensive health education information on their website, some people do not have access to the internet. ìWe do outreach, reducing barriers to provide information,î Wheelan said. ìItís extremely important that our departmentís role is to inform, educate and empower people about health issues. Through these partnerships, we work together to provide different types of outreach as it relates to informing and educating.î An example is the recent coordination with school districts and law enforcement to form a panel in a town hall format to discuss the dangers of fentanyl.Dr. Bernadette Albanese, co-medical director of EPCPH, points out the importance of addressing the whole person when it comes to health. ìYou might go to the doctor once a year or once every few years. What happens in between that time? Itís the totality of what we call social, environmental, mental health and economics.î Albanese said factors that contribute to quality of life are having a job and transportation to get to that job; having enough food and access to a grocery store; safe, comfortable and affordable housing; access to safe and affordable places to recreate; and opportunities for social connections.Healthy and safe communitiesA long-standing component of local public health is ensuring food safety through restaurant inspections and food safety training, addressing the needs of the community during disease outbreaks and providing vaccinations. The last almost three years have made people more aware of the role of the EPCPH when it comes to COVID-19 response, which includes education, testing and vaccinations. The department is also responsible for emergency preparedness. After 911, the EPCPH staff has been required to be trained as first responders. For example, the EPCPH was responsible for coordinating mental health services for those affected by the recent mass shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs.Educating people about important factors in good health plays a role in maintaining a healthy community.î What may sound like an isolated health issue, such as suicide, is a complicated problem that requires collaboration and work at many angles, Albanese said. ìThe community might come to us and say we have a problem of too many suicides. They have a preconceived notion that itís only one thing. That becomes the opportunity to educate about how complex the problem is. Letís talk about the contribution of mental health, factors that make someone depressed that might eventually lead to them having suicidal ideation, thoughts about hurting themselves. The EPCPH will collaborate with multiple organizations that focus on different demographics, such as suicide prevention coalitions to look at the data and determine the best approach for attacking the issue, Wheelan said.Kids and teensThe needs of children and teens are part of a healthy community. Michelle Beyrle, public health information officer at EPCPH, said, ìWe work to address the needs of children and teens throughout all El Paso County communities by working with youth-serving community partners and organizations. For example, we have strong partnerships with our local schools, who work with us on a wide variety of health initiatives. Through much of our coalition-based work, including the Tobacco-Free Alliance, Youth Suicide Prevention Workgroup, and Communities That Care; we work to engage and empower the youth voice through youth-led initiatives and advisory boards.îThe EPCPH has collaborated with school districts in reducing youth suicide rates through their Youth Suicide Prevention Workgroup, a collaborative of more than 90 participants, including parents, school representatives, faith community representatives, mental health and crisis intervention professionals, and members of youth-centered nonprofits. Their parent subgroup developed a guide for supporting and connecting with youth that included resources for seeking help entitled ìProtecting Youth from Suicide: Written by Local Parents for All Parents.î†In 2021-22, the school-based subgroup presented a virtual behavioral health learning series for parents. The faith-based subgroup of YSPW trained 300 youth pastors and faith community leaders in youth mental health first aid. This pilot program trained faith leaders in referring youth to professional counseling services and helped to remove financial barriers.The rates of youth suicide in El Paso County have decreased overall from 14 in 2015 to 4 in 2021 with an uptick in both 2016 and 2020 of 15.Mobile outreach and addressing drugs and tobaccoRural areas may have some unique factors that contribute to health, Albanese said. ìIs there a grocery store and how many miles away from their home is that store? Are there safe parks? Does it take an hour to drive to a clinic for a routine medical problem?îEPCPH participates in health fairs around the county as part of their outreach efforts. They recently participated in a Community Emergency Preparedness Fair hosted at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Falcon on Nov. 5. Their emergency preparedness and response team provided information, education and resources to community members on EPCPHís role in emergency preparedness as well as what residents can do to prepare.The county has a mobile outreach program to provide not only vaccinations but also information on how to eat healthy on a budget and how to get connected with programs such as Women Infants and Children. WIC is a federally funded program that addresses health in children under 5 years of age. WIC clients are income-eligible parents or caregivers who receive nutritious foods and education in topics such as breastfeeding, healthy eating and child development. They also are assisted with referrals for needed services. ìA lot of it is about what resources are available and how to increase awareness so people can access the resources,î said Wheelan.In communicating the importance of exercise, the EPCPH partners with the County and City Parks and Recreation departments to host events at parks and open space areas. If a community member reports unsafe conditions as a park facility, they work with appropriate law enforcement to remedy the situation so the community feels safe in their efforts to improve their physical health.ìOur Tobacco Education and Prevention Partnership works with community partners around several key goals: promote quitting among adults and youth; prevent initiation among youth and young adults; eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke; and eliminate tobacco-related disparities among population groups,î Beryle said. ìThis work is achieved through mobilizing cross-sectional community partners and advocates from diverse sectors including school districts, colleges and universities, local municipalities, law enforcement, hospitals and health care organizations, and nonprofits.î In November, the TEPP participated in Fox Meadow Middle Schoolís Science Technology Engineering Mathematics night by educating parents and students about the effects tobacco can have on the body. The TEPP program was a presenting sponsor of the 2022 El Paso County Fair, where it helped raise awareness about the dangers of secondhand smoke exposure.Drug take-back days have been sponsored by the county for many years in collaboration with governments and agencies within the county to provide drop-off locations for the community to safely dispose of prescription drugs.Community health improvement planEvery five years the county prepares a community health improvement plan. The 2018-2022 plan identified diabetes and mental health as areas of focus for the next five years. The goals were to reverse the upward trend of obesity across the lifespan by addressing its root causes; and decrease the incidence of poor mental health and substance use and misuse. Multiple programs were put into place to address the need to improve health outcomes.The EPCPH is in the process of analyzing the results of the five-year plan and will be reporting those as well as publishing its next plan on their website in the upcoming weeks.The State Department of Health issues a public and environmental health improvement plan. The current plan issued in 2022 outlines priorities through 2024. COVID-19 response has been and continues to be in the forefront of the state of Colorado priorities. They are also focusing on climate action and air quality, behavioral and mental health, racism as a public health crisis, and other trending issues.The health of a community is complex and cannot be achieved in a vacuum. ìI think a lot of people in the community recognize what they donít like or what theyíre concerned about or things that limit them from enjoying their lives,î Albanese said. ìWe try to be problem solvers and facilitators. We can bring ideas to act as resources to address some of these, like grants to help improve parks. But weíre not going to do it all by ourselves. There must be community buy-in. There are leaders in the community that want to step up, and we look for those relationships. First and foremost, we need to understand the issue. Then we go to work to address the problem.îHealthy CitiesAccording to WalletHub, the following are the top 10 healthiest cities in the U.S. WalletHub compared 182 cities across four key dimensions: 1) health care, 2) food, 3) fitness and 4) green space: https://wallethub.com/edu/healthiest-cities/31072The Top 10San Francisco† Seattle † † † † † † San Diego † † † Portland, Oregon † † † † † Salt Lake City † Honolulu† † † † † Austin † † † † † Denver† † † † † † Burlington, VermontWashington, DC
