Martin, Tenn.–Members of the Healthier Henry County Committee attended the Healthier Tennessee West Regional Conference held at UT Martin late last week. As we reported earlier, Healthier Henry County received a $5,000 state grant to promote its activities.
In photo, from left are: Tina Umstead and Lori Stambaugh (Henry County Medical Center), Jennifer McFarland (Henry County Coordinated School Health), Stacey Levine (West Regional Director for Healthier TN) and Rachel Matlock (Henry County Health Department).
Healthier Tennessee Communities, the grassroots initiative of the Governor’s Foundation for Health and Wellness, conducted three regional conferences in September for community leaders who are participating in the program. The series began with the East Tennessee conference in Knoxville, followed by one in Arrington in Middle Tennessee, and ended at the University of Tennessee at Martin in Upper West Tennessee. More than 300 community leaders with varied backgrounds in business, education, local and state government, and health care participated in the 2018 conference series. Attendees represented communities that have earned or are working towards “Healthier Tennessee Community” designation and also neighborhoods and college campuses now participating in the program. “We are grateful for the passion these wonderful, hard-working volunteers have for making their communities healthier,” said Richard Johnson, CEO of the Governor’s Foundation. “Their level of knowledge and diverse backgrounds are invaluable as work is done to engage more citizens locally in the effort to improve the health of Tennesseans.” The Healthier Tennessee Communities initiative takes a “where we live” approach to improving Tennesseans’ health by engaging citizens and local leaders in cities, towns, counties, neighborhoods and college campuses across the state. The Foundation launched the Healthier Tennessee Communities initiative in March 2015 with nine pilot communities. Today, more than 90 communities, neighborhoods, and college campuses are participating in the program, and 58 are currently designated. More information about the program, including a list of participating cities and counties and access to other Healthier Tennessee resources, is available at healthierTN.com.
Photo courtesy of Rachel Matlock.
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