Local Leaders Focus on Health Priorities
June 24, 2011 (Sheboygan) An enthusiastic crowd of local community and healthcare leaders nearly filled the Wombat room at UW-Sheboygan on Wednesday morning. Healthy Sheboygan County 2020, a local initiative seeking to make positive changes in health and lifestyles, hosted the event which presented recent health related data for Sheboygan County.
Sheboygan County Division of Public Health staff and Healthy Sheboygan County 2020 members provided information about national, state and local health planning and discussed how health is impacted by where we live, learn, work and play. Phil Duket, Drug Free Communities Support Project Coordinator and co-chair of Healthy Sheboygan County 2020 spoke about recent accomplishments of the initiative, mentioning projects driven by Healthy Sheboygan County 2020 like prescription drug drop off sites, Family Health and Fitness Day, and crisis line and suicide prevention messaging through billboards and print media.
Jean Beinemann, a program supervisor at the Division of Public Health and co-chair of Healthy Sheboygan County 2020, presented data ranging from the county's birth rates and leading causes of death to areas that impact health like air quality, diet and exercise, alcohol and tobacco use and access to medical and dental services. The event touched on a need to find ways to engage the community to create opportunities for Sheboygan County residents to make healthy choices. Beinemann stated in her presentation, "It's time we expand the way we think about health to include how to keep it, not just how to get it back"..
Those in attendance provided insight into the community's strengths by looking at what is important to the health of the community, how the Sheboygan area identifies its quality of life, and targeted in on areas to focus local efforts to improve that way of life. The top priorities chosen by the audience included: improving dental access, identifying resources for mental health needs, health promotion and outreach focusing on health literacy, enhancing prevention efforts towards alcohol and other drug abuse, and battling rates of obesity.
Wisconsin Public Health agencies are required to develop a Community Health Improvement Plan every five years that addresses health concerns in the agency's jurisdiction. The Division of Public Health will be working on this plan now through September.
Healthy Sheboygan County 2020 is a community based program that was convened by the health department and has been in existence since1993. Currently it consists of three community groups focused on activity and nutrition, alcohol and drug abuse, and mental health. Those interested or seeking more information on Healthy Sheboygan County 2020, please visit www.healthysheboygancounty.org or call the Division of Public Health at (920) 459-4382.
