Inova Health System Healthy Weight Collaborative
Inova Health System Community Health Division is launching a comprehensive wellness program to combat obesity, which they are calling a Healthy Weight Collaborative. They convened a regional leadership group and spent a good deal of time researching best practice programs. Their goal is to create local community coalitions throughout Northern Virginia using the Communities of Practice concept and are planning to use the model 5-2-1 Almost None [5 servings of fruits and vegetables; less than 2 hours of screen time (TV, computer, game system, instant messaging) per day; at least 1 hour of physical activity per day; almost no sugary/sweet foods or drinks]. The collaborative will specifically address physical activity and nutrition as they relate to obesity, in families with children through age 18 as the target audience. Inova commenced the project by designing and implementing a phone survey for Northern Virginia families, which is currently being conducted and should be completed by late January. The data collected from the survey will provide baseline data for related programs or activities.
Obesity is a complex problem that requires a multi-faceted approach in order to achieve successful outcomes. The Healthy Weight Collaborative will focus heavily on designing and conducting a major social marketing campaign, which will be supported by training, technical assistance and program materials that people can download or receive via mail and reproduce on their own.
Inova Health System Congregational Health Partnership
Inova's Congregational Health Partnership focuses efforts on improving health by recognizing that a person's well-being is influenced by the relationship between the physical, emotional and spiritual dimensions. Open to ethnic groups of any faith, Inova's Congregational Health Partnership currently assists 20 faith communities in developing their internal resources to provide health promotion and prevention activities to their members and organize health ministries within congregations. Currently they are addressing such health issues as overweight and obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. They encourage churches to do assessments through their Health Ministry to determine their own greatest needs.
Alexandria Neighborhood Health Services, Inc.
Alexandria Neighborhood Health Services, Inc.'s (ANHSI) mission is to provide comprehensive primary health care services and to ensure families in Alexandria and surrounding communities have access to coordinated and affordable community-based health and human services. Their mission was significantly expanded in 2004 to also include medical management of chronic illnesses; increased capacity for mental health counseling; dental services; and increased pharmaceutical access to discounted and free drugs.
Most of ANHSI’s healthy lifestyles related activities involve individual onsite counseling. They have recently received funding from the American Academy of Pediatrics to develop and implement a pilot project to prevent childhood obesity (focusing on 3-5 year olds).
YMCA
YMCA has several health promotion and wellness programs for adults, children and teens. YMCA PHD Program (Physical, Healthy & Driven) has been incorporated into day camps and after-school programs for youth to help address the rising obesity crisis among our young people. For 45 minutes a day, three times a week, children participate in a variety of physical activities that are designed to be fun as well as beneficial to their overall health and well-being. The program also contains an educational component and discussions on nutrition, body composition, and drug and alcohol awareness. Program participants are provided a fitness assessment with measures of body fat, weight, blood pressure, etc. They also offer the Star High Program for teens and young adults aged 14-21 to provide an opportunity to participate in activities that help give them direction. The YMCA's goal is to instill lifelong healthy practices in children while they are still young.
YMCA partners with local businesses/workplaces in Alexandria, such as the City of Alexandria and PBS, offer incentives of reduced membership fees for employees to come and work out. Personal trainers are available, one of whom worked with Mayor Euille on his recent successes, and prompted the City-wide challenge to see if anyone could lose more weight than him.
YMCA offers swim lessons, aquatic fitness and water aerobics, including for the aging population. They provide a Family Friday Night Swim Night (free) for families and offer subsidized memberships. YMCA holds annual fundraising events (raise ~$100,000 per year) with 95% of the funds going back into the community.
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