December 2007 January 2008 Issue |
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APHA Home » The Nation's Health » Current Issue » December 2007/January 2008 » State/Local » |
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Healthy living a community affair for residents of Fall River, Mass. by Kim Krisberg In terms of the leading indicators of good health, the coastal town of Fall River, Mass., isn’t doing so well. Collectively, the people of Fall River have higher rates of smoking, obesity and heart disease than their Massachusetts neighbors — but with great obstacles also come great opportunities. That is the hope driving the Healthy City Fall River initiative, which began more than four years ago with the help of more than 1,000 of Fall River’s residents. Today, there are hundreds of activities under the Healthy City umbrella, dozens of projects addressing the city’s top health priorities and an entire community of businesses, government and public agencies lending their support. Most importantly, the effort is creating an enduring infrastructure aimed at supporting healthy behaviors, according to APHA member Mike Coughlin, Fall River’s director of health and human services. “The possibilities are endless,” Coughlin told The Nation’s Health. “I’m really optimistic about being able to show solid improvement and positive outcomes just a few years from now.” |
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![]() Fall River kids play tug-of-war at a July 2007 summer festival — one of the hundreds of Healthy City-related activities. Photo courtesy David Weed |
While Fall River was no stranger to community health campaigns, Coughlin said, Healthy City was seen as a way to “ramp things up” and continue building on previous successes. To begin, Coughlin and his colleagues organized more than 30 community “visioning” sessions in the summer of 2003, attracting more than 1,000 residents to voice their top health concerns. From more than 1,000 participants came more than 1,000 recommendations on how to bring better health to Fall River, said David Weed, PsyD, coordinator of Healthy City Fall River. Finally, residents were asked to vote on their top five health priorities, of which the results were safety and substance abuse; environment and recreation; health education; adult education, job training and employment; and community planning and housing. | ||
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* Printed in The Nation's Health, December 2007/January 2008 Issue, available online to APHA members. | |||
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