The Baker County Health Department, Healthy Baker, Inc. and the Health Planning Council of Northeast Florida are hosting a presentation on Monday, April 11, 2011 to present the Baker County Health Assessment report to the Baker County community. The press conference will be held at the Baker County Health Department and will start promptly at 11:45 AM.

Healthy Baker, Inc. represents an ongoing partnership between the Baker County Health Department (BCHD) and a coalition of key community stakeholders from around the county who collaboratively work toward a mission to improve the health of Baker County residents by focusing efforts on multigenerational prevention and health promotion activities that identify, coordinate and promote health resources within the community.  

"At a time when our nation is facing critical health care issues, people are becoming much more aware of the impacts of lifestyle, physical and economic environments on the health of the community.  The Health Planning Council's report gives the local organizations involved in providing health care services to the people of Baker County a better understanding of the community's health care concerns and needs, as well as providing a plan of action to help address those needs," stated Kerry Dunlavey, Administrator for the Baker County Health Department.

The Health Planning Council (HPC) served as the convener for the community stakeholders participating the process.  The HPC also helped collect and analyze the data throughout the assessment.  Significant key issues and themes were recorded and updated throughout the process based on empirical evidence and community discussion.   Key issues were then consolidated and prioritized based on the scope and severity of need, as well as the availability of resources to address them.   The partnership then worked to develop appropriate and realistic goals and strategies pertaining to each priority issue.   This report presents a summary of the key health issues along with recommended goals and strategies developed through this process.   The Healthy Baker consortium will work in close partnership with BCHD to ensure continued progress toward the goals listed in this report.

This assessment and plan is the product of a collective and collaborative effort from a variety of dedicated health and social service providers along with other invaluable community stakeholders from across all regions of Baker County.   It is hoped that the findings from this community health assessment and plan will serve to guide the Healthy Baker members, as well as all health and social services providers in the county, in their program development efforts over the next 3-5 years.  This health assessment will also help the Baker County Health Department in preparation for accreditation.

The Health Planning Council of Northeast Florida has been addressing the healthcare needs of Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, St. Johns, and Volusia counties (Region 4) for more than 40 years under a variety of federal, state, and local health planning initiatives. We strive to meet Florida's healthcare challenges through planning, research and evaluation initiatives that target local healthcare needs and affect health policy. 

ELM's Steve Lovett Appointed to the

Health Planning Council of Northeast Florida

Steve Lovett, planner, landscape architect and founding partner of ELM (Ervin, Lovett and Miller), has been appointed to the Health Planning Council of Northeast Florida as its newest board member. Lovett's appointment to the board was officially confirmed in mid-March by the Jacksonville City Council.

"We are proud to welcome Steve to our board," said Health Planning Council Executive Director Dawn Emerick, Ed. D. "As an experienced landscape architect and urban planner, he understands how livable, walk-able communities are created and how well-planned communities benefit and improve health."

The Health Planning Council of Northeast Florida's Mission is to develop regional, unbiased research and evidence-based initiatives that promote healthy communities, lifestyles and improve accessible, quality health care.  

Recent studies and reports about the link between design and public health indicate that renewed integration between the disciplines is "essential in restoring and enhancing the health and vitality of the nation's places and people." Article: Urban Planning and Public Health at CDC. To address the link between communities and health, the Health Planning Council also recently added a certified urban planner to its staff to help the region integrate health into traditional planning. Lovett's appointment enhances these efforts.

"I'm proud to be asked to serve the Health Planning Council of Northeast Florida," said Lovett. "As a planner and small business owner I'm eager to share my knowledge and expertise with this important organization."

The Health Planning Council of Northeast Florida is a private, nonprofit corporation created more than 40 years ago serves as one of 11 regional health planning councils in Florida. It is the repository of planning, information, research and evaluation for healthcare issues and strives to meet the challenges of the region with initiatives that target local healthcare needs and affect health policy.

Lovett is a planner & landscape architect with 20 years of experience in a broad range of public and private projects and clients in diverse environments throughout the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, and South America including: urban design and community planning, park and recreation design, open space and landscape master planning, transportation corridors, master planned and golf course communities and destination resort development.  

Lovett is a member of the Jacksonville Section of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), Florida Chapter. He is also an active member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), the Institute of Classical Architecture/Classical America (ICA/CA), the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Business Development Leadership Task force of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, JaxPride Board of Directors, the Riverside Avondale Preservation Society (RAP), and is active in collaborative efforts with the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

About Ervin Lovett Miller

Ervin Lovett Miller (ELM) is a leading environmental design practice that creates sustainable, inspired places for people. The firm's leadership, innovation and collaborative spirit is applied to the disciplines of planning, architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, interiors and environmental graphics. ELM's commitment to design, sustainability and a multidisciplinary perspective brings value to national and international mixed-use, urban, commercial, residential, destination resort communities, retail, education and civic projects.

For more information about Ervin Lovett Miller, visit www.ervinlovettmiller.com or call (904) 296-8066.

Healthy Communities Institute Wins the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Developers' Challenge

Healthy Communities Institute (HCI) announced today that it has won the Developers Challenge award from the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The company's Healthy Communities Network (HCN) was recognized for its key indicator and tracking capabilities, which assists public and private organizations at the state and local level to achieve benchmarks for the federal Healthy People 2020 initiative. Assistant Secretary Dr. Howard Koh and Chief Technology Officer Todd Park from HHS were on hand for the awards in San Diego, California.

"Technology is a core component of this administration's drive to measurably improve the overall health for U.S. citizens over the next decade. Providing key stakeholders with the tools required to make effective policy and strategy decisions is critical towards reaching these goals," said Deryk Van Brunt, DrPH, HCI CEO and Associate Clinical Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley. He added, "We're delighted to be recognized for our innovative and affordable cloud-based solutions that gives community organizations ready access to the most currently available data for their specific communities."

The HCN is of particular interest to elected officials, health directors, hospitals, non-profit community health improvement organizations, schools, economic development, environmental groups, and others striving to achieve the Healthy People 2020 goals.

The HCN provides:

A dashboard of over 100 local health and quality of life indicators to help communities conduct health needs assessments, and meet Public Health Accreditation Board assessment requirements.

A database of 1500+ promising practices to help plan evidenced-based community health improvement programs and policies.

The award winning Healthy People 2020 Tracker to help communities track their progress towards meeting HP 2020 health goals, and provides resources to help communities achieve locally-defined health goals.

HCI's web-based systems now cover more than 25 million lives in the U.S. and continue to expand.

About HCI

Healthy Communities Institute (HCI) is headquartered in Sausalito and Berkeley, CA and works with hospitals, health systems, coalitions and health departments to improve community health. The company's multi-disciplinary team is comprised of healthcare information technology veterans, academicians, health informatics experts, epidemiologists, urban planners, and Internet developers. HCI began its work in 2002 in concert with the growth of the Healthy Cities Movement co-founded at the University of California, Berkeley.

Over the past year, HCI has been working with the Health Planning Council and over 20 regional investors to develop a regional web-based dashboard known as Northeast Florida Counts!  The dashboard will include over 175 indicators covering topics including health, education, economy, public safety, and social environment.  There will also be resources including over 1500 promising practices as well as local and national news and reports.  Northeast Florida Counts is set to be released in early May 2011.