Information: Health & Wellness: Healthy Communities Program

What is the Healthy Communities Program?

ACCE launched a new program in October 2018 to help chambers of commerce lead community health initiatives. The year-long program consists of three meetings, along with additional support between sessions. Participants will learn from community health experts and peers in the cohort. Each chamber has teamed with a community partners to participate alongside them throughout the program. Read more about it in the Chamber Executive Magazine article:

ACCE Launches Healthy Communities Program
Chamber Executive Magazine article by Will Burns (Fall 2018) - Details a new program that helps 10 chambers of commerce lead community health initiatives and demonstrate the leadership role
chambers in smaller communities can play to strengthen quality of life and support equitable prosperity.

Meeting Resources

Healthy Communities Presentation
Presentation slides and agenda from the Charlotte meeting (June 2019)

Business Education Partnerships Presentation
Presentation slides by Bridget Netter, Director, Business Education Partnerships, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce (CA) (Feb 2019)
Design Thinking Presentation
Presentation slides by WERK_strategy (Feb 2019)
Effective Community Health Story-Telling
Presentation slides by Scott Hall, Senior Vice President, Civic and Community Initiatives, Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce (MO) (Feb 2019)
An Inside Look at the Constellation Model
L.A. Compact one-sheet (Feb 2019)
Mental Health Presentation
Presentation slides by Robert Gilchick, MD, MPH, Medical Director, Maternal Child Adolescent Health Division, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Feb 2019)

The program launched in October 2018 with a meeting at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey. The meeting featured interactive exercises to introduce participants to key design thinking principles and tools for developing short- and long-term action plans.

Activities centered on gaining a greater understanding of the relationship between community health, equity and economic prosperity. Teams explored the health challenges community members face from a more empathetic perspective to identify new ways to approach their initiatives.

Presentations used throughout the process are linked below and see the box on the sidebar for more resources about Design Thinking.

RWJF Childhood Obesity Prevention Efforts
Presentation slides by Tina J. Kauh, PhD, MS, Senior Program Officer, Research-Evaluation-Learning Unit at Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (Oct 2018)
Build Inclusive, Healthy Places for All
Presentation slides by Karabi Acharya, Director of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (Oct 2018)
The Opioid Epidemic and a Culture of Health
Presentation slides by Mona Shah, Program Officer, Research-Evaluation-Learning Unit at Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (Oct 2018)

Cape Regional Wellness Alliance Presentation
Access this presentation of the Cape Regional Wellness Alliance's project and methodology.
Using Data and Strategies to Build Your Story
Presentation slides by Kitty Jerome, MA, Team Director of Community Guidance, County Health Rankings & Roadmaps (Oct 2018) - An overview of the resources available at www.countyhealthrankings.org, including community data and a library of best practice programs and policies that communities have used to improve health outcomes.

Trusted Resources

County Health Rankings & Roadmaps This link opens in a new window
The annual County Health Rankings measure vital health factors, including high school graduation rates, obesity, smoking, unemployment, access to healthy foods, the quality of air and water, income inequality, and teen births in nearly every county in America. The annual Rankings provide a revealing snapshot of how health is influenced by where we live, learn, work and play.
A collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

What Works for Health
County Health Rankings & Roadmaps evidence-based tool that helps identify policies and programs to fit community priorities.
Inclusive Healthy Places
Report by Gehl Institute in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (2016-ongoing) - A tool for evaluating and creating inclusive, healthy public places that support health equity.