New Year, New Ways to Live Well
The start of a new year is a great time to plan for the future. At Live Well Allegheny, we are reflecting on our past successes and looking forward to exciting new projects in the year ahead. The Allegheny County Health Department’s Bureau of Public Policy and Community Relations is assisting the campaign with health policy resources and will be available to work with you to achieve your Live Well Allegheny resolution goals. You can learn more about the bureau below!
Did you know that law and policy are among the most effective tools to improve health? By joining Live Well Allegheny, you have demonstrated your commitment to making your community a healthier place to live or work, not just for today but for generations to come. To start the year off right, we would like to celebrate your policy successes and support the goals of Live Well Allegheny partners. Have you implemented a health policy? Some examples are complete street policies, no smoking rules or healthier eating guidelines. Tell us about the health policies you have implemented by answering our brief questionnaire so we can share and learn from your success! Want to address a health issue in your community but don’t know where to start? We want to hear from you too! Email Maura Jacob (maura.jacob@alleghenycounty.us) with your questions.
We want to provide you with the policy tools you need to make a lasting change in your community. With this in mind, we are adding new sections to the Live Well Allegheny E-Update. This special edition is dedicated to introducing the topics and includes:
Strategies in Health Policy: This section provides information on evidence-informed policies and programs to accomplish long-term community health goals. Our first entry introduces Shared Use Policies, a tool that fosters increased physical activity.
Explore the ACHD introduces the bureaus and programming of the ACHD that support the goals of Live Well Allegheny. ACHD and Local Policy highlights the work the ACHD is doing to promote health policy in the county.
Making Allegheny County Healthier Together: This section will feature opportunities for collaboration across our many LWA partners. In this edition, we are introducing the new Live Well Allegheny Community Commitments Map.
Ronald A. Sugar, Esq., MBA
Interim Director, Allegheny County Health Department
New! Strategies in Health Policy
Shared use agreements are when governments, schools, or other organizations agree to open their facilities for use by the broader community. Agreements can be formal or informal and facility types can include playgrounds, gymnasiums, open fields, and meeting spaces, among others. By increasing access to trusted facilities, organizations can provide safe spaces for their communities to exercise and play. For more information check out the informative infographic to the left or more from ChangeLabs:
Has your community enacted a successful shared use policy or other policy aimed at physical fitness? We want to hear about it! Click here to submit your policy. Is your community interested in creating a shared use agreement but is not sure where to start? Email Maura Jacob (maura.jacob@alleghenycounty.us) with your questions.
Explore ACHD and Local Policy
Meet the Public Policy and Community Relations Bureau
The Public Policy and Community Relations Bureau provides support services for all departments in the ACHD as well as fosters new programming to address emerging public health issues. Programming within the bureau includes Emergency Preparedness, Public Information, Legal, and Overdose Prevention. In recognition of the role of law as a social determinant of health and the need to bring public health to the table with local decision-makers, the bureau is also expanding its public policy work, including:
- Increasing internal public policy capacity by
- Establishing monitoring systems for state and local policy
- Generating educational tools on the intersection of health and policy
- Engaging and educating ACHD staff, key stakeholders, and the public
- Updating ACHD regulations with an emphasis on equity and reducing health disparities
Initiating new cross-sector relationships
Lead Regulation and Increasing Lead Services
In the summer of 2017, Allegheny County instituted a new regulation requiring universal lead testing for young children beginning in January of 2018. All children in the county are now required to be tested for lead exposure at approximately 9-12 months old and again at approximately 24 months old. This regulation allows the ACHD to better monitor the lead levels of area children and to implement needed education and intervention services. To learn more about the ACHD’s comprehensive lead strategy click here. You can read the regulation here.
Making Allegheny County Healthier Together
This interactive map allows users to easily view each Live Well Allegheny Community’s commitments as well as find neighbors that are working towards the same goals. Users can view a municipality individually or can group municipalities together by commitment theme. Visit the Live Well website to view it today!
Are you interested in collaborating with other Live Well Allegheny partners? Email Hannah Hardy (hannah.hardy@alleghenycounty.us) to learn more.
This is the latest Live Well Allegheny e-update. Please find a variety of information that will be helpful to you in your efforts and can also be shared within your own networks. As always, you can find a great deal of information on our website at: www.livewellallegheny.com including partner resources which are available here.
We now have 195 community partners, 68 communities, 51 restaurants, 33 workplaces and 18 school districts united in our efforts!