Community Report Cards on Health:
How Healthy Are We? Chelan, Douglas & Okanogan County Adults - Prevalence of Asthma
STEPS CDO Adult Tobacco and Asthma 8 17 07 Final
How Healthy Are We? Chelan & Douglas Counties - Prevalence of Obesity & Overweight, Nutrition, & Physical Activity
STEPS Final CDHD Prevalence of Obesity Overweight Nutrition Physical Activity 3 22 2007
Safe Routes to Schools
Safe Routes to Schools ‘officially’ got underway in the Wenatchee Valley with a Safe Routes to Schools training on March 23, 2006. Since then, the enthusiasm for the benefits of walking and biking to school has been carried forth by a variety of champions, including school administrators, teachers and PE specialists, parents, law enforcement, health and injury prevention professionals, PTA, crossing guard coordinators, city planners/engineers and community organizations.
Area schools have benefited from grant funding to improve infrastructure, ranging from sidewalks to flashing yellow beacons and speed zone signs. Students at Sunnyslope Elementary spearheaded a walkability assessment of their school and shared their results with stakeholders such as engineers and county commissioners. Elementary schools in both Wenatchee and Eastmont districts (Kenroy, Grant, Lewis and Clark, and Washington) have had enthusiastic participation in Walk to School Day events. These week long events showcase the benefits of walking and biking and how to do so safely.
A collaborative partnership between the City of Wenatchee, the Wenatchee School District and the Steps grant was key in the initiation of a Safe Routes Mapping Project. This exhaustive survey of walking conditions within a one-mile radius of all Wenatchee schools will aid the city in prioritizing infrastructure improvements and in grant seeking. Planning is underway to replicate this project in the Eastmont School District.
Safe Routes efforts have been successful in the Wenatchee Valley and future efforts will target rural communities.
Steps to a Healthier US School Workgroup Impact in the Communities it Serves
Girls on the Run is an international program that focuses on girls in grades three through five. A second program, called Girls on Track, targets middle school girls. The Girls on the Run mission is to “educate and prepare girls for a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living.” Girls on the Run features an evidence based curriculum which focuses on three components: a strong sense of self, learning to be part of a group and reaching out to the community. Not only do the participating girls work toward a 5K Run/Walk, but Girls on the Run has been evaluated and found to be statiscally significant in reducing risk behaviors in young girls.
The Steps grant funded initial Girls on the Run efforts in Tonasket. The program has been enormously successful there and is now financially sustainable. Steps is now building upon the success of this model, and an application will soon be submitted for Girls on the Run chapters that will serve Manson and Chelan. Conversations are underway in other communities as well.
Youth Teen Extreme is another curriculum model that has been successfully piloted, in this case by the Wenatchee Valley YMCA. This fitness initiative will, with financial assistance from Steps, be a part of the Rural Health Foundation Fitness Committee. The fitness committee will offer this curriculum as an after school offering to area middle schools.
Both of the above initiatives assist schools in meeting the needs of their students, in this instance, through improved fitness and self-esteem.
