Delaware County Public Health Services

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)  awarded 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 offered NYHealth a timely opportunity to build upon its work in diabetes prevention by helping support initiatives that tackled the root causes of diabetes and other chronic conditions, such as obesity and smoking. NYHealth awarded Delaware County Public Health Services (DCPHS) a grant to participate in this initiative.

Delaware County Public Health Services (DCPHS) used funds to focus on the Prevention Agenda priority area of preventing chronic disease. It worked to create a Complete Streets project targeting low-income adults and children in rural areas, with at least one municipality implementing this policy. DCPHS formed a workgroup of local hospitals and other stakeholders to help establish safer walking environments that promoted healthy activities and allowed residents to access medical care, grocery stores, pharmacies, and other needed resources through a Complete Streets project. It also helped medical providers at clinic locations implement a Prescription Trails program, which identified walking routes that are safe and accessible to patients and families. Health care professionals assessed their patients for readiness to start or maintain a walking program, and then wrote tailored prescriptions based on their current physical condition.

See a full list of award recipients from this initiative.