Des Moines, IA – On Saturday, May 9 at 11:00
community members and health leaders will be gathering at the Western Gateway Park
across from the downtown Des Moines Public Library to announce the 10 health priorities
that Polk County will dedicate time and resources to over the next 10 years. The
plan is called Healthy Polk 2020 and was developed during a two year planning effort
to build a community-owned agenda for a healthier Polk County.
“Every 10 years the Polk County Health Department facilitates a process to develop
a community health plan for Polk County. For 2020 Polk County created a community-owned
plan by asking community members what issues are important to them rather than relying
on statistics alone”, said Chris McCarthy, Healthy Polk 2020 chair.
The Healthy Polk 2020 planning committee gathered input from over 2,300 community
members through community conversations, an online survey and phone interviews.
The process was finalized in February when community members held a caucus to vote
on the final 10 priorities and establish work groups for each priority.
“We know, from the research we need to address lifestyles and behaviors, the social
and physical environment and socio-economic factors as well increasing access to
health care, to create a healthy community. And, we will, said, Mr. McCarthy.
Community members are invited to come pick up a copy of the Healthy Polk 2020 plan,
get a free t-shirt and enjoy free refreshments and fresh spring air. Individuals
will also have the opportunity to get involved in one of the Healthy Polk 2020 work
groups.
Mr. McCarthy said, “The event on May 9 will be a celebration of the hard work that
was put into developing the priorities and will provide work groups a chance to
put their action plans into motion to start building a healthier Polk County.”
People will be able to download copies of the new Healthy Polk 2020 Plan from the
Healthy Polk web page (www.healthypolk.org)
after May 9th.
Healthy Polk 2020 – Have your say.
Every ten years, people who live and work in Polk County have the opportunity to
participate in the development of a community health plan, Healthy Polk, which guides
the use of community resources to support improved health and quality of life for
the subsequent decade. Healthy Polk, with assistance from the Polk County Health
Department, has launched the third such effort, Healthy Polk 2020.
The Healthy Polk 2020 planning team expects to reach 10,000 Polk County residents
by the end of 2008, through community conversations, paper surveys, phone surveys,
and on-line surveys. These efforts will focus on finding out how people envision
a community in which all people are healthy, what is being done to move us toward
that vision, and what else needs to be done. The community conversations have begun
and will continue through the fall. All of the people who participate in a community
conversation and/or take a survey will be invited to attend a “Community Caucus”
where participants will “vote” on what Polk County’s health priorities should be
for the next 10 years.
Once the plan has been completed and released tentatively scheduled for April, 2009,
Healthy Polk, will monitor our community’s progress and provide regular updates
to the community. The Healthy Polk 2020 data team will develop indicators of success
that will be used to measure progress towards the health priorities that are identified
during the voting process. Healthy Polk will continue to convene Town Hall meetings
twice a year and serve as a catalyst for change by identifying areas that warrant
greater attention. Healthy Polk will also facilitate the organization of new work
groups, task forces and campaigns to ensure all Polk County residents are healthier
in 2020 than they are today.
Polk County Health Chartbook
How healthy are Polk County residents? How can that health be maintained and improved?
Good information is needed to answer these questions and to take effective actions
to improve health. This Polk County Health Chartbook brings together health information
about Polk County residents from a variety of sources to begin to answer these questions.
In some instances, where data on Polk County alone is not available, information
is provided for Iowa as a whole. To put Polk County information in context, comparative
information from Iowa and the country often is provided as well.
Read more in the
Polk County Health Chartbook
Fact Sheet
Healthy Polk 2020 Official Sponsors
More information
Healthy Polk 2010 Recognizes Supporters
DES MOINES, Iowa — At each of their meetings, the Healthy Polk
Planning Committee accepts nominations for a "Healthy Polk Recognition Award". The
awards are given to people or organizations as recognition for their work to make
the Healthy Polk vision a reality. Please
click here to see the list of people and organizations who have received
the award.
If you would like to nominate someone for a Healthy Polk Recognition Award, please
complete and return this Nomination
form.
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Base-line study of the current level of childhood overweight
in the county
In November, 2006, Healthy Polk 2010 held a town hall meeting to discuss childhood
overweight and its impact on the citizens of Polk County. As a result of this community
discussion it was determined there was a need for a base-line study of the current
level of childhood overweight in the county. Click here to view the Final Study.
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Body Mass Focus Group Final Report
A total of two focus group sessions were conducted which represented parents with
elementary aged students from the Des Moines metro area schools. Group 1 had nine
(9) parents from West Des Moines, Saydel, and S.E. Polk schools and Group 2 had
ten (10) parents from the Des Moines Community School District. The focus group
sessions were held on, Thursday, April 2, 2008 at Harvest Research Center located
in Des Moines, Iowa.
read more....
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