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    17Aug, 2017
    Several New Live Well Allegheny Designations

    August 17, 2017

    PITTSBURGH –  The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) announced today that one municipality, one school district, two workplaces and four restaurants have been designated as part of the Live Well Allegheny campaign during the past month. This brings the total to 49 communities, 13 school districts, 13 workplaces and 41 restaurants that are making health a priority in Allegheny County.

    “In order to reach our goal of making Allegheny County the healthiest county for all residents it takes all of us doing our part to make healthy choices where we live, learn, work and eat,” said Dr. Karen Hacker, Director. “I am so pleased to be able that these organizations are joining with us in our efforts, and thank them for each contributing to Live Well Allegheny.”

    Live Well Allegheny Community

    Mount Oliver Borough is committed to sharing information on wellness campaign events with the broader community to encourage the voluntary participation of residents, encourage multi-modal transportation of residents by providing facilities or policies that encourage walking and bike riding with a specific focus on making good connections to municipal parks and promoting and their farmer’s market.

    Live Well Allegheny School District

    The Elizabeth Forward School District’s commitment began with a community garden that is farmed by elementary students at Greenock Elementary School and a summer enrichment class called, “Little Sprouts.” The class teaches children about growing and cultivating a garden as well as how to prepare the food that they grow. They also participate in “Cooking Matters” classes with parents sponsored by 412 Food Rescue, conduct several food drives and have a “Food Cupboard” at the school that provide food items for the neediest families. Additionally, the district provides healthy lunches and snacks for students. In the future, the district plans to conduct community surveys and to expand gardens to other schools in the district.

    Live Well Allegheny Workplace

    PITT OHIO has a robust workplace wellness program that includes offering healthy food and snacks for purchase in its cafeteria and in vending machines, and makes those same options available during company meetings and events. Employees have access to comprehensive health insurance including dental and eye care and preventative care without copays. The business has also established a tobacco-free workplace policy which includes cessation services, and is creating and sponsoring employee athletic teams and activities. To underscore PITT OHIO’s focus on health and wellness, a health and wellness coordinator has been in place since October 2015. In addition to providing resources, the workplace also provides annual Health Risk Assessments, a before-work stretching program, weight-loss competitions, group challenges and walking events.

    TCV Community Services offers its employees healthy food options in vending machines, a private area for breastfeeding employees, well-lit and safe stairwells, and access to water fountains dispensers and coolers on site. Moving forward, the workplace will be considering consider a tobacco and smoke-free work campus. The organization is also exploring the integration of health and wellness policies into its organizational structure through the adoption of a healthy food policy, a policy to support breastfeeding employees, the use of financial incentives to encourage participation in health improvement activities, potential health-club discounts for employees, and will provide or ensure that employees have access to comprehensive health insurance including dental and eye care in addition to preventive care without co-pays. Employees have access to health education information and are encouraged to participate in screenings including those for body mass index, obesity, and blood pressure.

    Live Well Allegheny Restaurant

    The leadership of each of these restaurants has committed to providing healthy options for customers, information on which can be found on the Live Well Allegheny Restaurants page.

    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 in January 2014 by County Executive Rich Fitzgerald 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 Health Department Director Dr. Karen Hacker.

    7Aug, 2017
    Sharpsburg Passes Complete Streets Resolution

    On July 25th Sharpsburg Borough, a Live Well Allegheny Community, passed a Complete Streets resolution.  A Complete Streets resolution indicates that the municipality will focus on building a healthy community by making its streets safer for all types of users including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and public transit users. More information on the effort can be found here: https://smartgrowthamerica.org/program/national-complete-streets-coalition/what-are-complete-streets/.

    We talked to Councilwoman Brittany Reno about why Sharpsburg passed a Complete Streets resolution. She highlighted the fact that the community has many residents who rely on walking, cycling, and public transit to get where they need to go. Since Sharpsburg is beginning to experience more private and public investment, it is important to ensure that future development in the borough improves the overall quality of life and safety for all residents and visitors of Sharpsburg, not just motorists.

    Sharpsburg has several upcoming projects that will be important to implementing Complete Streets in the borough, Councilwoman Reno said, including a redesign for the Main Street business district streetscape. With this project, they are critically considering accessibility, safety, pedestrian experience, and traffic flow improvements.

    The councilwoman also told us that educating the community about Complete Streets has spurred positive dialogue between residents and business owners. Since most residents and business owners in Sharpsburg agree that creating safer streets for people of all ages and all methods of transportation is worthwhile, they have seen a lot of support and excitement around Complete Streets.

    We are excited to see Sharpsburg’s commitment to this initiative and look forward to supporting this Live Well Community as they take their next steps to creating Complete Streets across the municipality.