Area health professionals are on a mission to make La Crosse County the healthiest county in Wisconsin. The La Crosse Medical Health Science Consortium Population Health Committee recently launched its strategic plan to make La Crosse healthier by controlling chronic disease, injuries, and other illnesses.
The organization assembled with founding partners from Franciscan Skemp, Gundersen Lutheran, UW La Crosse, Viterbo University, and Western Technical College.
The committee wants to give individuals the tools, education, and programs needed to make the healthy choice, whether it’s addressing risk-taking behaviors or educating people on vaccinations.
“It’s not about changing our behavior, but making the healthiest choice the easiest choice. Our goal at the Consortium is to shine light on the organizations and efforts that are taking place that make healthy choices simple,” President of the La Crosse Medical Health Science Consortium Catherine Kolkmeir said.
Currently, La Crosse County ranks 14 of 72 counties in the state. By 2015, the committee wants La Crosse to rank number one.
Back in March 2007, the health committee brought forward an online regional health scorecard that tracked the health of over 20 counties. The scorecard allowed communities to follow health trends and compare statistics over the past three years.
Based on the data, four areas to improve in the county were identified as chronic disease, mental health, injury and violence and infectious disease.
The committee plans to implement several community events to raise awareness to provide the community information about staying healthy. A few such projects include gradually changing over vending machines to offer healthier snack choices and recognizing local organizations like the Changing the Culture of Risky Drinking Behavior Coalition that aims to prevent various alcohol abuse situations.
“We want to present the resources to beat illness, chronic disease, and other conditions to the community,” Kolkmeir said.
Gundersen Lutheran Preventive Care Director Brenda Rooney stated that being healthy can be as simple as eating right, exercising daily, and reducing tobacco use.
Kolkmeir asks students to look at the choices they make and try to make them even healthier. “Take advantages of services offered to you in the area, from the REC to farmers markets.”
The Health Science Consortium is a non-profit organization separated from the university that was created as a way to allow UW-L, Western Tech, and the two area hospitals to collaborate together to improve the community health.
This week, the University of Wisconsin Public Health Institute will publish the 2009 healthiest county rankings. To see how La Crosse County stands, visit the community scorecard at communityscorecard.com.
To learn more about the Population Health Committee’s plan to make La Crosse healthy visit the consortium website at home.lmhsconsortion.org. “We always welcome student input and those who want to get involved,” Kolkmeir said.
Area health professionals are on a mission to make La Crosse County the healthiest county in Wisconsin. The La Crosse Medical Health Science Consortium Population Health Committee recently launched its strategic plan to make La Crosse healthier by controlling chronic disease, injuries, and other illnesses.
The organization assembled with founding partners from Franciscan Skemp, Gundersen Lutheran, UW La Crosse, Viterbo University, and Western Technical College.
The committee wants to give individuals the tools, education, and programs needed to make the healthy choice, whether it’s addressing risk-taking behaviors or educating people on vaccinations.
“It’s not about changing our behavior, but making the healthiest choice the easiest choice. Our goal at the Consortium is to shine light on the organizations and efforts that are taking place that make healthy choices simple,” President of the La Crosse Medical Health Science Consortium Catherine Kolkmeir said.
Currently, La Crosse County ranks 14 of 72 counties in the state. By 2015, the committee wants La Crosse to rank number one.
Back in March 2007, the health committee brought forward an online regional health scorecard that tracked the health of over 20 counties. The scorecard allowed communities to follow health trends and compare statistics over the past three years.
Based on the data, four areas to improve in the county were identified as chronic disease, mental health, injury and violence and infectious disease.
The committee plans to implement several community events to raise awareness to provide the community information about staying healthy. A few such projects include gradually changing over vending machines to offer healthier snack choices and recognizing local organizations like the Changing the Culture of Risky Drinking Behavior Coalition that aims to prevent various alcohol abuse situations.
“We want to present the resources to beat illness, chronic disease, and other conditions to the community,” Kolkmeir said.
Gundersen Lutheran Preventive Care Director Brenda Rooney stated that being healthy can be as simple as eating right, exercising daily, and reducing tobacco use.
Kolkmeir asks students to look at the choices they make and try to make them even healthier. “Take advantages of services offered to you in the area, from the REC to farmers markets.”
The Health Science Consortium is a non-profit organization separated from the university that was created as a way to allow UW-L, Western Tech, and the two area hospitals to collaborate together to improve the community health.
This week, the University of Wisconsin Public Health Institute will publish the 2009 healthiest county rankings. To see how La Crosse County stands, visit the community scorecard at communityscorecard.com.
To learn more about the Population Health Committee’s plan to make La Crosse healthy visit the consortium website at home.lmhsconsortion.org. “We always welcome student input and those who want to get involved,” Kolkmeir said.
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