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.