Building Healthy Communities

Project Title

Columbia County Obesity Prevention

Grant Amount

$19,520

Priority Area

Building Healthy Communities

Date Awarded

October 8, 2014

Region

Capital Region

Status

Closed

Website

http://www.columbiacountyny.com/depts/health2/

To help foster statewide implementation of prevention activities, the New York State Department of Health issued the Prevention Agenda 2013–17 to address disease prevention and reduce health disparities.

All 58 local health departments were required to submit a Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) to the State outlining their strategies to advance the Prevention Agenda. To help energize the implementation of these CHIPs, the New York Health Foundation (NYHealth) is awarding grants to health departments with the most innovative and feasible projects to improve the health and wellbeing of their communities through the Advancing New York State’s Prevention Agenda: A Matching Funds Program to Implement Community Health Improvement Plans initiative. The Prevention Agenda offers NYHealth a timely opportunity to build upon its work in diabetes prevention by helping support initiatives that tackle the root causes of diabetes and other chronic conditions, such as obesity and smoking. NYHealth awarded the Columbia County Department of Health (CCDOH) a grant to participate in this initiative.

CCDOH used funds to focus on the Prevention Agenda priority area of preventing chronic disease. It collaborated with community partners to decrease obesity/overweight in schoolchildren, with a goal to decrease obesity among public school students by 5% in three years. CCDOH worked with public schools and daycare centers to implement more daily physical activity during the school day through a range of activities, including incorporating physical activity into the wellness policy and physical education plan; training teachers on implementing daily physical activities; offering afterschool activities such as dance and running clubs; and implementing options for active, safe walking and biking to and from schools.

See a full list of recipients.