Healthy Communities Partnership
The Penny George Institute oversees the Healthy Communities Partnership - a three-year program to screen, assess and improve the health of residents in 13 communities throughout Minnesota and Western Wisconsin. The program's aim is to help prevent deaths and chronic diseases related to poor nutrition, inadequate exercise, smoking and hazardous drinking.
Hospital representatives, primary care doctors and others from community health resources are working together to:
- create resource guides of all community health and wellness services to ensure that residents have access to a full range of programs
- develop and test innovative programs to improve community health.
Allina Health is investing $5 million in the project through the George Family Foundation.
Each community's program includes the following core components:
- the creation of a continuum of wellness support
- development of a community health index
- biometric testing of residents
- health risk assessment of residents
- the connection of residents to local resources
- rescreening of residents every twelve months
- a program ambassador to coordinate program activities
- a wellness care guide to support and advise participants.
Community partners include:
- Baldwin Area Medical Center, Baldwin, Wis.
- Buffalo Hospital, Buffalo, Minn.
- Cambridge Medical Center, Cambridge, Minn.
- Cuyuna Regional Medical Center, Crosby, Minn.
- District One Hospital, Faribault, Minn.
- FirstLight Health System, Mora, Minn.
- Grand Itasca Clinic and Hospital, Grand Rapids, Minn.
- Hutchinson Health, Hutchinson, Minn.
- Regina Medical Center, Hastings, Minn.
- Ridgeview Medical Center, Waconia, Minn.
- Rice Memorial Hospital, Willmar, Minn.
- River Falls Area Hospital, River Falls, Wis.
- Riverwood Healthcare Center, Aitkin, Minn.
