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    29Jan, 2019
    Four New Live Well Allegheny Partners Announced

    January 29, 2019

    PITTSBURGH – The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) today announced the addition of the Municipality of Penn Hills, Avonworth School District, Grounded Strategies and the Azorean Café as the four newest partners in the Live Well Allegheny campaign.

    “When this campaign was announced five years ago, we hoped to see it catch on and to have more and more organizations, agencies and workplaces embrace its goals,” said County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. “Today’s numbers include 62 municipalities, 48 restaurants, 28 workplaces and 16 school districts. We are grateful for all of our partners and look forward to continuing to grow the campaign on our way to making Allegheny County the healthiest county in the country.”

    Live Well Allegheny was launched in January 2014 by County Executive Rich Fitzgerald as a comprehensive and 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 Allegheny County Board of Health and Dr. Hacker.

    “We are very pleased to announce that four additional partners have committed to making health a priority in Allegheny County,” said ACHD Director, Dr. Karen Hacker. “Almost half of our municipalities have joined the cause, but there is room for all. We encourage your community to join the Live Well effort if they haven’t already done so.”

    Following is more information about the latest group of Live Well Allegheny partners:

    Live Well Allegheny Community

    The Municipality of Penn Hills will develop indoor and outdoor wellness trails accessible to residents of all abilities, encourage walking and bike riding in the community, and implement events that encourage active living. Penn Hills will also promote smoke-free buildings, encourage physical recreation programs in the community, and utilize web sites and social media to provide information on physical activity, nutrition, stress management, tobacco cessation, and other health and wellness related initiatives.

    “I congratulate Penn Hills on their designation as the newest Live Well Allegheny community, and I appreciate their leadership in taking action to improve the health and wellness of residents,” said Council Vice President Nick Futules, who is the County Council Member representing District 7 in which Penn Hills is located.

    Live Well Allegheny School District

    The Avonworth School District will by offer unlimited fruit or vegetables at all meals, and will support local farmers as a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) a pick-up site. The school district will also encourage physical activity among students by hosting a 5k run in the spring and offer exercise opportunities after school. Additionally, Avonworth will offer health and physical education classes and social skills education through counseling programs.

    “We are thrilled that the Avonworth School District will officially become a part of this important healthy movement, and we applaud the efforts of Superintendent Ralston and the entire team at Avonworth for these proactive and important efforts,” said Tom Baker, District 1 County Council Member which includes the Avonworth School District.

    Live Well Allegheny Workplace

    Grounded Strategies will promote physical activity among employees by providing access to an area for exercise classes and physical activity on-site and will offer employees flexible work hours in exchange for physical or wellness activity before, during, and after work. The workplace will remind employees of importance of regular check-ups and health screenings and will also provide easy-to-access information about local programs and opportunities for physical fitness, community health related events, and farmers markets. In addition, organizational leaders will institute a healthy food policy, alongside a policy that supports breast feeding employees.

    Live Well Allegheny Restaurant

    The Azorean Cafe will provide vegetarian fare and half portions on select menu items, healthy side dishes and beverage options, and low-calorie salad dressings. The restaurant will also eliminate trans-fat oils and use plant-based oils in their cooking. The café is also smoke-free and provides a location to store bicycles.

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

    14Jan, 2019
    Project Destiny offers a free community health training series by ACHD, part of an initiative to improve health in the Northside neighborhood of the City of Pittsburgh

    Knowledge is important to good health, and we need accurate information to maintain a healthy lifestyle. From the types of foods to eat to questions to ask your doctor, good health requires good information. Unfortunately, when it comes to health, there is a lot of misinformation out there. TV doctors, fad diets, and internet ads promise “miracle cures” and create confusion; however, there are reputable resources available to ensure that you are getting the best health information. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health has an interactive toolkit, Know the Science, that uses interactive modules, videos, and quizzes to provide accurate and engaging health information. The website provides resources to better understand scientific topics and to help people get the most accurate health information.

    To ensure that Northside residents have access to accurate health information, Project Destiny offered a health training series to their community health workers. The community health training series was facilitated by Lorraine Starsky, Allegheny County Health Department’s (ACHD) Chronic Disease Prevention Program Public Health Nurse. The five-part training series provided information about factors that contribute to chronic disease and strategies for improving health on an individual and community level. The series covered information about diabetes, cancer, and heart health awareness, as well as resources for eating healthy on a budget.

    Project Destiny’s community health worker program is focused on improving health in the Northside by connecting residents to services. Part-time community health workers who are responsible for connecting Northside residents with available health resources and services. The community health workers go door-to-door connecting with residents to determine what services individuals and families need. Doing so provides Project Destiny with information about the factors that are impacting the health of residents in the Northside.

    The community health worker program is part of a larger project, Thrive18, an initiative to improve health in the Northside’s 18 neighborhoods. Thrive18 is part of the BUILD Health Challenge. As an awardee of the BUILD Health Challenge, Project Destiny works with Allegheny General Hospital, ACHD, Buhl Foundation, and Highmark Health using a collaborative approach to improve health. By collaborating with other organizations, Project Destiny seeks to understand and intervene in the underlying factors that impact health like housing, education, and financial stability. By understanding the factors that influence resident health, the organizations hope to improve overall health in the Northside.

    Wondering how to spot good health information? Check out our Be Choosy about Health Information guide for help!