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    28Feb, 2017
    Steel Valley School District, Seven Mon Valley Communities Commit to Live Well Allegheny

    February 28, 2017

    PITTSBURGH – The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) today announced that the Steel Valley School District is the latest school district to be designated as a Live Well Allegheny School and that the Township of Elizabeth, Borough of Glassport, City of McKeesport, Borough of Munhall, Borough of Port Vue, Borough of West Homestead and Borough of Whitaker are the newest Live Well Allegheny Communities.

    “This is exciting news,” said County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. “These communities have always been known for their willingness and ability to work together to benefit their residents, and I have no doubt that their involvement with the Live Well Allegheny campaign will help those Mon Valley communities, and their citizens.”

    The Steel Valley School District passed a board resolution committing to Live Well Allegheny and has  pledged to make a commitment to a comprehensive healthy schools program, offer fresh fruits and vegetables at all meals and provide 2% milk instead of whole milk, utilize web sites and social media to provide information on physical activity, nutrition, stress management tobacco cessation and other health and wellness initiatives, and promote drinking water.

    Four of the Mon Valley communities are part of County Council District 9. The Township of Elizabeth, Borough of Glassport, Borough of Munhall and Borough of Port Vue are all encouraging participation in voluntary wellness campaigns for employees and residents, promoting smoke free buildings and perimeters and develop walking maps and outdoor wellness trails that are available to residents. Elizabeth Township recently was also awarded silver certification as part of the Sustainable Community Development Network.  

    “We are excited to welcome our new school and community partners to the Live Well family” said Dr. Karen Hacker, Director of the Allegheny County Health Department. “It is very rewarding to see the continuing momentum we have in our efforts to build healthier communities and improve the opportunities for our residents”

    Part of County Council District 11, the City of McKeesport will promote recreational programming that encourages physical activity, designation of smoke-free children’s play areas in partnership with Tobacco Free Allegheny, further development of the William Lickert Jr. Memorial Walking Trail in Renziehausen Park, and utilization of the city’s web site and social media to increase awareness of wellness opportunities offered. The Borough of West Homestead has committed to sharing wellness information, developing walking maps, encouraging multi-modal transportation, promoting farmers’ markets, promoting smoke free buildings and perimeters, and utilizing web sites and social media to provide wellness information.

    In County Council District 8, the Borough of Whitaker committed to share wellness information with residents, encourage involvement with community and volunteer activities and to promote smoke-free buildings and perimeters.

    The communities are also in the footprint for participation in the Live Well Allegheny Mon Valley Initiative that is supported with funding from the Jefferson Regional Foundation.  Its key objectives include increasing the number of people with access to smoke-free and tobacco-free environments, healthy food and beverage options, and physical activity opportunities. Partners include the Allegheny Health Network, the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, the Steel Valley Council of Governments, the Human Services Center Corporation, Tobacco Free Allegheny, Just Harvest, Allegheny County Economic Development and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.

    Participants in the Live Well Allegheny campaign work with Health Department’s staff. While monetary resources are not part of the initiative, participating workplaces can receive materials, information and collateral items to promote the campaign and their individual efforts to live well.

    Live Well Allegheny was launched by the County Executive in January 2014 as a comprehensive, innovative strategy on wellness that embraces a broad concept of living well to include physical health, mental wellness, personal and community safety, prevention and preparedness, and much more. The effort is being led by the Board of Health and Dr. Karen Hacker.

    16Feb, 2017
    Newest Live Well Allegheny Restaurants Announced

    February 14, 2017

    PITTSBURGH – The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) today announced that four more restaurants have received the Live Well Allegheny Restaurant designation. They are:

    Spirit Restaurant, 242 51st Street, Pittsburgh 15201
    Apollo Café, 429 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh 15219
    Tender Bar + Kitchen, 4300 Butler Street, Pittsburgh 15201
    Shab’s Grill, 339 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh 15222

    Each of the restaurants has indicated the intent to work with the county to accomplish the goals of the Live Well Allegheny campaign, and has outlined the steps the facility intends to take. At a minimum, the leadership at each establishment has committed to eliminated trans-fat oils, being smoke-free, and not selling tobacco products. Each has also committed to four additional action steps that are responsible business practices, and will provide healthy options for patrons. Finally, each has also received various designations as part of the Sustainable Restaurant Program. To learn what each restaurant is doing to “live well,” visit the Live Well Restaurants page.

    “We are glad to welcome these restaurants into the Live Well Allegheny family. They are providing great healthy options for the residents of our county” said Director Dr. Karen Hacker.

    2Feb, 2017
    Bringing Together Community Partners to Build a Culture of Health

    February 2, 2017

    PITTSBURGH – On January 10, 2017, we kicked off the Live Well Learning Collaborative with an in-person meeting that was open to all Live Well Allegheny members and partners. The Live Well Learning Collaborative convenes participants and share the what, where, why, and how of implementing health initiatives. Eighty-five participants representing 47 different Live Well Allegheny partners attended. The purpose was first to discuss Health in All Policies and how to apply it to different organizations, to showcase Live Well Allegheny partner initiatives and to encourage participants to identify future action steps for their organizations.

    There were three different sessions during the Learning Collaborative meeting. During Session # 1, attendees engaged in a presentation from the Health Department Director Dr. Karen Hacker and staff members about using a Health in All Policies approach to their organization.  They also heard from Chris “Steel” Edmonds from the Athletic Trauma Unit about his journey to health as a former NFL player.

    In Session # 2, participants had an opportunity to learn from other Live Well Allegheny members that have collaborated to successfully implement health initiatives. Lastly, participants had an opportunity to think about the future of Live Well Allegheny in Session # 3. Working in small groups, participants completed activities to provide feedback about priorities for the Learning Collaborative and brainstorm new ways to reach our goal of becoming the healthiest county in the United States.

    The Learning Collaborative will build capacity for Live Well Allegheny members by providing information at upcoming events, webinars, and newsletters. To learn more about the event, please check out the page on our website.

    Interested in hosting a Live Well Learning Collaborative workshop in the future? Please contact Erica Bryson at [email protected] or (412) 247-7964.