"Creating a Culture of Healthy Lifestyles 2015"

On November 19, 2014, the Capital Area Health Alliance held its annual Community Leaders Breakfast - "Creating a Culture of Healthy Lifestyles 2015". About 70 attendees were welcomed to the event by Margie Clark, MSN, RN, GNP, Chairperson of the Board of the Capital Area Health Alliance and Dean of Health and Human Services at Lansing Community College.

Since the first convening of community leaders to discuss how Creating a Culture of Healthy Lifestyles can become the norm for the Capital Area 5 years ago, the process has grown to include:

• over 100 community organizations,
• a new trademarked brand “Choosing Health!®” that is being adopted throughout the region,
• over $500,000 in grants and in-kind contributions,
• numerous events to inform the community about available healthy living resources, and
• outreach via print, broadcast and social media that has reached hundreds of thousands of area residents promoting physical activity, good nutrition and the State of Michigan’s 4 x 4 plan.

All of this is possible because CAHA is an alliance of partners who are the collaborators making this movement successful. The Alliance then updated attendees on the accomplishments of the Choosing Health!® movement over the past year, including:

• partnerships with restaurants and groceries to promote healthy eating,
• the Let's Walk initiative,
• Choosing Health!® rallies, and
• connecting community resources with the database of partners on the CAHA website.

(Download the slideshow presentation HERE.) Next, representatives of eleven area organizations were given the opportunity to present briefly on their organization’s healthy lifestyle programs. Finally, Mary Anne Ford, of Mary Anne Ford Consulting, led a discussion focusing on opportunities for advancing the Choosing Health!® movement.

For more information on the Choosing Health!® movement, please visit the Choosing Health!® page.

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Learn About Past Leadership Events:

Creating a Culture of Healthy Lifestyles 2104 and Community Leaders Breakfast—September 25, 2013.
This event was attended by over 100 community leaders in health care, government, education, business and advocacy who enthusiastically shared ideas to shape the community’s future healthy lifestyle agenda. Attendees were invited to participate to hear about the progress of launching and growing the Choosing Health!® movement.
 
They were asked to help shape the campaign to achieve maximum effect in engaging our community members in improving health. They also learned about the 2013 Michigan Health and Wellness 4 X 4 Grant. The consensus vision of the group was for the Healthy Lifestyles Committee of the Capital Area Health Alliance to facilitate the Choosing Health!® movement to enable enhancement and symbiosis of existing community programs and resources to promote healthy living and wellness in the region through collaboration, outreach, and branding, and incorporate the 4 X 4 Tool in further implementation.