What is National Public Health Week?
Communities across the nation will be celebrating National Public Health Week by
“creating a healthy country one community at a time.” Creating a healthy community
is more than increasing access to clinical services and programs, it’s making everyone
responsible and getting everyone involved.
We believe healthy communities are built one neighborhood, one project, one initiative
at a time. To celebrate the many successful projects already taking place in Polk
County, the Health Department has started a list of community-based projects that
improve the health of where we live. These projects include things like community
gardens, mentoring programs, exercise groups, and recreation development. The projects
are shown on a map of Polk County and further information and how to get involved
can be found by clicking on the red star. The Polk County Health Department will
continue to collect these projects and publicize them throughout the year. If you
are involved in a community-based initiative that is trying to improve the health
of our community, email your information to
sarah.tompkins@polkcountyiowa.gov to get added to the map.
By identifying existing projects in Polk County more people will have a chance to
get involved in making their community a healthier place for everyone to live in.
National Public Health Week News Release
Des Moines, IA – On Monday, April 5, 2010 at 3:30pm Polk County Health Department
will kick-off National Public Health Week in Polk County at Runnells Elementary
School, 6575 SE 116th St in Runnells. Activities for the day will include roping
off garden plots, planting seeds, signing people up for the Garden Club and learning
more about other activities that people can get involved in. National Public Health
Week (April 5-11) activities are being held throughout the state and the country.
The theme of National Public Health Week is “Building a healthy country, one community
at a time.”
“We believe healthy communities are built one neighborhood, one project, one initiative
at a time. We want to celebrate our successes and encourage more people to get involved,”
said Terri Henkels, Polk County Health Department Director.
The kick-off event will highlight one such initiative, “Grow It Forward.” Community
gardens and greenhouses have been established at Runnells, Four Miles and Clay Elementary
Schools that will provide healthy fruits and vegetables for the preschool programs,
elementary school students, Southeast Polk families, and local food banks. Grow
It Forward will also encourage physical activity as students and families engage
in the planting and maintenance of the gardens throughout the calendar year. Grow
It Forward will educate students about the nutritional value and health benefits
of a garden.
“Creating a healthy community is more than increasing access to clinical services.
It means doing more than increasing programs and services. It’s making everyone
responsible and getting everyone involved,” said Ms. Henkels.
According to the research, only 10% of health can be attributed to clinical services.
Lifestyle and behavior choices account for 50% of a person’s health. Twenty-percent
is related to the social and physical environment and 20% is connected to genetics.
“We know from the Healthy Polk 2020 planning process we have work to do. But, we
have also identified 10 priorities to strive towards (www.healthypolk.org). Through
National Public Health Week we want to highlight the existing work, acknowledge
it is not enough and encourage more people to join the “movement,” said Ms. Henkels.
To help make community members more aware of projects that they can be involved
in the Polk County Health Department is creating a web-based inventory and map of
projects that have a positive impact on our local community. In addition, to the
community garden in South East Polk over 40 other projects have been identified
and included on the map. People involved in, or know of, a project that contributes
to a healthy community and that others can get involved in, should contact Sarah
Tompkins at sarah.tompkins@polkcountyiowa.gov
and tell her what they are doing (and be added to the map).