healt h + we l l n e s s Live Healthy Napa Our to by kristin miler 32 www.nAPAVA L L E Y L I F Emagaz ine.com County collaboration at work Here’s Health Recently the City of Napa earned a premier spot on CNN’s “Top Ten Healthiest Cities in the World”! Some of you may be asking, how did something so amazing happen in Napa? Were you aware that the County of Napa together with a diverse cross section of partners have guided a concerted effort to create a healthier community for the past three years? It’s true, the Live Healthy Napa County (LHNC) collaborative has produced a comprehensive Community Health Assessment which provided the basis for the first ever Community Health Initiative Plan (CHIP) for Napa County. What, you say? Who? Where and when? With over 40 community partners and growing, this diverse and unique publicprivate partnership brings together representatives from healthcare organizations, business, public safety, education, government and the general public to build strategies and create a shared vision of a healthier Napa County. Sounds amazing! But what does this really mean? How does the City of Napa internationally known for its winemaking also make it on CNN’s “Top Ten Healthiest Cities” with Melbourne, Singapore, Okinawa, Monte Carlo, Copenhagen, Jonkoping, New York City, Havana, and Vancouver? We did it through the collaborative efforts of hundreds of Napa community members. A deputized LHNC Task Force of four hit the streets running, cheerleading and encouraging our community members to tell the world why Napa inspires them to live healthy. This fabulous foursome succeeded in their task: Napa community members submitted over 50 videos to CNN. In addition to having a large number of video submissions, they were creative and eclectic: there were videos about the health benefits of wine, dog walking, 80 year old weight lifters, hula hoopers, zombie emergency preparedness advocates, breastfeeding coalitions, and community gardens for disabled adults. Videos were submitted by Girls On The Run, Porchfest, local business owners, Fire Chief Mike Randolph, and our very own Congressman Mike Thompson! What people should note about this collaboration is that here in Napa we do this kind of work on a regular basis, on and off camera. The Napa Valley Coalition of Nonprofit Agencies has over 62 nonprofit members, 21 affiliate members, and 16 honorary members who regularly participate in committees and work groups, where they advocate for change and provide a unique forum for inter-agency collaboration. Statistically speaking Napa has a long way to go before we can really claim to be the 10th healthiest city in the world. We should all be grateful to be part of a community that works so well together, shares our resources, ideas, time, and effort to create a better, a healthier place that we can all be proud of. For more information on creating change in your community or to find out about work groups that support the work of Live Healthy Napa County please visit www.napanonprofits.org, and www.countyofnapa.org/LHNC. Work leads to City of Napa being named one of the “Top Ten Healthiest Cities in the World” Napa County Hoopers was one of the local groups that submitted a video to CNN Words to live by from Live Healthy Napa County
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