Community members looking for help with health concerns in their counties have a new resource via the updated website of the Office of Healthy Carolinians and Health Education.
“Our website has tools, resources and lots of information that will help counties. Having access to current data and tools that will assist these counties in working on their specific health issues is very important,” Healthy Carolinians Deputy Director Debi Nelson said.
Healthy Carolinians has partnered for many years with the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (HPDP) to collaborate in community outreach and community-engaged research across North Carolina. Nelson and Lisa Harrison, new director of Healthy Carolinians, share a seat on the HPDP Steering Committee. They provided a preview of the new Healthy Carolinians website for HPDP’s academic, agency and community partners at a recent Steering Committee meeting. The committee expressed excitement about the level of county data that is now available to support research grants, programs and policy.
The goal of the Office of Healthy Carolinians is to “maintain and improve health of all North Carolina.” The organization establishes and supports local partnerships that address health and safety issues at the community level and uses community assessment to identify priority health issues and solutions.
“Healthy Carolinians is a statewide network of community members working on priority health issues in their county. It takes more than a hospital or local health department to do the work necessary to improve the health of their communities,” Nelson said.
Visitors to the new web site can learn about every aspect of The Office of Healthy Carolinians and Health Education, including information about the Governor’s Task Force, Healthy Carolinians conference, county profiles, success stories and much more.
“Bringing together communities, businesses, faith communities, medical professionals, schools, agencies, organizations and civic groups gives the communities the ability to build a single comprehensive effort,” Nelson said. “Healthy Carolinians works with counties to mobilize such efforts and provide technical assistance toward reaching improved health status.”
Becky Bush, Communications Intern