NACo’s Healthy Counties Initiative aims to enhance public/private partnerships in local health delivery, improve individual and community health, and assist counties to effectively implement federal health reform. The NACo Healthy Counties Initiative engages county officials and private sector partners across the country to:
- Take a leadership role in implementing health reform at the county level;
- Enhance coverage, access to and coordination of health care for vulnerable populations in the community, including health services in hospitals, community health centers and county jails, while focusing on cost-containment strategies;
- Promote community public health, prevention and wellness programs, including increased physical activity and healthy eating;
- Participate in the national transition to health information technology and telemedicine; and
- Offer information, ideas and solutions for county government employee and retiree health benefits and programs.
NACo’s Healthy Counties Initiative directly complements NACo President Lenny Eliason’s (Athens County, OH Commissioner) selected presidential initiative. As NACo President, Commissioner Eliason will focus on "Healthy Counties," a county by county public awareness campaign to promote healthy living and lifestyle choices in communities across the country. The initiative will provide counties with prevention and health promotion resources to develop local efforts that can reduce the incidence of chronic diseases, improve overall community health and ultimately lessen the cost burden on county health care services.
Healthy Counties Advisory Board
NACo’s Healthy Counties Initiative is guided by the Healthy Counties Advisory Board, which is comprised of county officials and staff who are health leaders at NACo and corporate partners. The public/private Healthy Counties Advisory Board assists NACo in indentifying the priorities and activities of the Healthy Counties Initiative and provides input and expertise on program implementation.
Listing of the current Healthy Counties Advisory Board members
The initiative's planned activities for the coming months include webinars and an educational forum featuring topics related to helping counties build and maintain healthy communities. Please see the Healthy Counties Initiative Brochure and the links below for more information about the initiative's activities and corporate partners.
Healthy Counties Initiative Corporate Sponsors