A goal worth fighting for

By JULIE RAEFIELD-GOBBO
News staff writer

In spite of a local and national growing obesity crisis and daunting statistics about lack of health insurance for many families, an enthusiastic coalition of health and recreation advocates is planning to beat the odds in Hood River.

The Healthy Active Hood River County Coalition is working to assist the Hood River Public Health Department in conducting an assessment of Hood River County in order to help residents improve their health status today, and enjoy longer, healthier lives for years to come.

“The coalition’s work and the assessment process are all about turning the healthy choice into the easy choice for our community,” said Lauren Fein, coordinator of the community assessment.

“Part of the current health crisis stems from unhealthy choices being the norm. We want to change that norm. We think Hood River is a place that can succeed in changing a whole community’s expectation toward health,” Fein said.

To reach that goal, the HAHRC Coalition will be conducting a series of site visits throughout the county to find out what local schools, businesses, organizations and health care sites prioritize as health challenges and good health practices.

These interviews will document what the organizations currently do to address issues of physical activity, nutrition, chronic disease management, tobacco use and leadership in creating changes in these realms. 

To obtain this clear picture of the county’s health status and needs, the Hood River County Health Department received a Healthy Communities grant from the Centers for Disease Control.

The grant funds focus on reducing the burden of chronic disease in our community through developing health policies, environmental-level changes and system-wide norms.

The assessment process is known as Community Health Assessment aNd Group Evaluation, or CHANGE, and will be complete by January 2011. 

The coalition’s membership includes schools, public health workers, clergy, community organizers, health care workers and local foods advocates as well as representatives from parks and recreation, city planning and the community.

Many of the coalition members will be serving as volunteer site visitors. The coalition is also seeking additional volunteers from the community who would be willing to be trained as visitor-interviewers. 

Following the assessment, the HAHRC Coalition will engage in a visioning process to set priorities for action using the data collected in the assessment.

Anyone interested in joining the coalition or becoming a site visit interviewer may contact Lauren Fein, community health coordinator, at  LaurenMFein@gmail.com.