Healthy Lifestyle La Plata taking multi-pronged approach to a “healthy community”

DURANGO, Colo. – While the adage, “You are what you eat,” may indeed be valid, in the bigger scheme of things, individual health is profoundly affected by the communities in which we live. Along those lines, Healthy Lifestyle La Plata is in place to help make La Plata County the healthiest county in Colorado.

In an era where healthcare costs continue to rise, the best option may be to do all one can to remain healthy. Eating well is an obvious choice, but when an entire community steps forward to encourage healthy options where citizens live, work and play, the overall “health” of a community does indeed rise. From workplace wellness and multi-modal transportation, to encouraging local farming and food supply, Healthy Lifestyle La Plata is endeavoring to make a difference. “In about 2005, the Colorado Department of Health and the Environment and specifically the Colorado Physical Activity and Nutrition – COPAN – program wanted to work on fighting obesity,” said Jeanine Justice, coordinator, Healthy Lifestyle La Plata, noting that according to the U.S. Surgeon General, obesity is the single greatest public health threat to the nation. “So they got together with Kaiser Permanente and Colorado Health Foundation and (by the end of 2006) developed LiveWell Colorado, a statewide initiative.”

 

While Colorado is among the leanest states, with 45.1 percent of adults maintaining a healthy weight, the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Colorado is rising, putting a large portion of the population at risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, hypertension and asthma.

“We are only one of two states in the nation doing this kind of obesity-focused state initiative,” said Justice, citing California’s “Thrive” as the second. “The rest of the country is looking at us.”

LiveWell Colorado has identified communities throughout the state to receive funding to promote various “healthy living” programs. Initially, 11 were identified, with Durango only one of three rural communities. With a $150,000 implementation grant from LiveWell (secured by a local volunteer coalition of health and wellness professionals), Justice could be hired to lead the local effort. Formerly a part of Mercy’s Wellness Center, she had been teaching nutrition at Pueblo Community College.

“I saw the ad and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this has my name on it,’” said Justice who took on the Healthy Lifestyle La Plata challenge nearly two years ago. Unlike many non-profits that spend much of their time fund raising, Justice’s job is about spending the grant money from LiveWell Colorado. She recently received notification of the $250,000 2009 funding.

“The communities have done so much with the money,” said Justice, lauding both Kaiser and CHF for the generous donations. “Once we have money in the communities, we can pay for programs, bring people in, pay contractors.”

At its core, “the mission of the Healthy Lifestyle La Plata coalition is to improve the health of this community by providing opportunities, developing programs and establishing policy on healthy eating and active living. The coalition will empower La Plata County residents and visitors to become the healthiest community in America.”

Healthy Lifestyle La Plata, which operates under the 501(c)(3) non-profit charter of SUCAP, has organized its efforts with three sub-committees, each coordinated by two co-chairs and overseen by Justice: Healthy, Local Foods; Worksite Wellness; and Active Community Environment.

“It’s a huge umbrella. We’ve been really busy,” said Justice, explaining that Healthy Lifestyle La Plata is under a five-year grant cycle. “We have such as short time span that we’re doing this, we really have to jump in. Some people don’t like that, but once we let people know that this is a state initiative and we have money right now… We don’t want to take over anything. We just want to support what’s going on right now and work with other organizations that have been around for a long time.”

As a result, Healthy Lifestyle La Plata’s logo (indicating its involvement) has been popping up across the county, in example, Durango’s “Buy Local” campaign and as a co-sponsor of the Tour de Farms and inaugural “Homegrown” Festival. The Healthy, Local Foods group has recently concentrated on the “Farm to School” program, coordinating efforts to get locally grown, healthy food into the schools.

“It’s going gang-busters,” said Justice, praising local rancher Jim Dyer for spearheading the project. “For example, 9-R just bought all of their ground beef from Foxfire Farms for the next two years. The key thing is that if the farmers know that somebody is going to buy their product, they will grow it. So it’s been very good. We’ve been able to increase general production in our area by promoting this one program.”

Additional activities to improve nutrition in the community include supporting garden programs in the schools, budgeting and nutrition classes for lower income citizens, production and business classes for aspiring farmers, encouraging local foods on restaurant menus, working with grocery stores to highlight fruits and vegetables and more.

The organization has also sponsored the EBT, or electronic balance transfer machine, at the Durango Farmer’s Market, which allows those with food stamps to shop at the market for healthy, local foods.

The Worksite Wellness committee is actively working with local businesses to further health and wellness in industry. The group DAWN, Durango Area Wellness Network, is now in place, bringing businesses together to collectively support efforts.

“We put on a worksite wellness conference every year to bring in new resources, keynote speakers,” said Justice of educational efforts. “We’re also working with the County to lead by example. The County has a great worksite wellness program and they support their employees with classes, partial health club memberships… They really do a lot of good things.”

The Active Community Environment committee follows “Smart Growth” and “Complete Streets” principles, and tends more toward policy and support of the efforts actively underway, such as the Safe Roads Coalition. Healthy Lifestyle La Plata is also able to write grants to further funding, and recently has done so for “Safe Routes to School” in coordination with Trails 2000, Durango School District 9-R and the City of Durango.

“We want to encourage children and their parents to get more physical activity by walking and biking to and from school,” said Justice.

Healthy Lifestyle La Plata is endeavoring to address essentially every age group within the community, from a Senior Sneakers exercise class at the new Bayfield Senior Center to working with Mercy Regional Medical Center and San Juan Basin Health’s breast-feeding educational programs.

“There are so many projects, it’s hard to talk about them all,” said Justice, noting that LiveWell Colorado will embark on a statewide “branding” and marketing effort in 2009, to raise awareness of the initiative across the state.

In 2007 Governor Bill Ritter was quoted, “By coordinating healthy eating and active living initiatives among public, private, nonprofit, foundation, business and community sector efforts, LiveWell Colorado will seek to deliver programs and services that are efficient, cost effective and have measurable impact.”

LiveWell Colorado has a comprehensive web site, http://www.livewellcolorado.com that offers ideas and options for individuals and organizations, and tells more about each of the now 23 LiveWell community programs across the state.

To learn more about Healthy Lifestyle La Plata’s local efforts, or become involved, contact Justice directly at [email protected].

 

 

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