Get Healthy Utah News and Blog

Get Healthy Utah worked with the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute to learn more about city and town leaders’ attitudes and strategies regarding the Healthy Utah Community Designation and community health. 139 leaders from 75 Utah cities and towns responded. 

Here are some of the key takeaways:

• Many city and town leaders are interested in earning the Healthy Utah Community Designation! If you’re one, check out our website to learn more about what your community needs to do to qualify.
• The Healthy Utah Community Designation has a positive, useful impact.

• Health is a high priority for community leaders across the state. Compared to our 2020 survey, more respondents now believe that municipal governments have a role in community health.
• The Healthy Utah Community Designation focus areas (Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Mental Health) have different levels of prioritization:
  • In Nutrition, many leaders have neutral sentiments about action items, with a notable portion lacking plans for implementation. 
  • Physical Activity sees a strong commitment to both actions and their implementation. 
  • Mental Health is a critical issue across the state, and leaders want to enhance mental health resources.
• The most significant barrier communities face in implementing strategies is funding.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the survey! We appreciate your help, and we look forward to using these insights to continue improving our resources and the Healthy Utah Community designation. You can view the whole report on our website.

This fall, Get Healthy Utah partnered with Move Utah and Bike Utah to host the first-ever Connected Communities Summit! The summit, which was held September 18-19, 2024 at the Utah Valley Convention Center in Provo, combined each organization's annual event and educated participants on the theme "Building an Active, Healthy Utah." The summit pulled together diverse professionals such as policymakers, elected leaders, transportation and city planners, and public health experts--all people dedicated to the health and wellbeing of Utah's communities. 

Keynote Speakers

The summit featured a plenary panel and two keynote speakers--Chris Danley and Mark Fenton--who are experts on walkability and healthy community design.

On day one of the summit, Chris Danley, founder of Vitruvian Planning, spoke on "Second-Hand Cities: What They Are and How to Win Them Back." He made the case that just like second-hand smoke can have negative effects on health and longevity, so can poorly designed cities with insufficient active transportation infrastructure. He challenged current cultural norms like large parking lots, unsafe sidewalks and bike lanes, and disconnected neighborhoods and called for a shift in community planning and design. To view Chris's presentation slides, click HERE.

Mark Fenton, one of the nation's leading walkability experts, spoke on day two of the summit. He addressed the topic "Pilots-to-Policy: An Approach to Build More Connected Communities." He acknowledged that many communities want to build safer, more active infrastructure but often feel constrained by a lack of funding. He shared examples of communities around the nation using a pilots-to-policy approach to overcome funding limitations. With this approach, a community pilots a small, inexpensive, and temporary solution to improve pedestrian safety, gathers data about its effectiveness, then uses that data to justify and secure additional funding. To view Mark's slide deck, click HERE.

The summit also featured a plenary panel on building healthy Utah communities featuring four local experts:

• Dirk Burton, Mayor of West Jordan
• Catherine Van Tassell, Director of Behavioral Health Consulting at GBS Benefits
• Stephanie Tomlin, Trails Division Director at UDOT
• Nick Duerksen, Land Development Director of The Point

The panel was moderated by Nick Jarvis, Chief Operating Officer of the Utah League of Cities and Towns. The session featured a Q&A, project updates, and practical advice on how to build healthier, more connected communities throughout the state of Utah.

Breakout Sessions

Throughout the summit, participants had the option to choose breakout sessions from the following three tracks:

• Active Communities: How to build communities that encourage physical activity and active transportation
• Healthy Communities: How to build communities to address the health needs of residents
• Connected Communities: How to build communities that promote strong social connection and easy navigation

In addition, participants could choose to attend an innovative workshop track titled Building Communities. During the workshops, local communities in Utah presented on real-world challenges, such as slowing down traffic on rural main streets or promoting social connection among senior populations in cold winter months. The participants were then divided into roundtables to discuss the challenges, combine their expertise, and offer practical solutions.

To view the breakout session agenda, click HERE.

To view the slide decks for each presentation, click HERE.

Active Transportation Tours

Perhaps one of the most exciting parts of the summit was the opportunity to sign up and participate in active transportation tours. Eight different tours were offered over the course of the two-day conference, ranging from a downtown Provo scooter tour, to a Utah Valley Express bus tour, to a tour featuring adaptive equipment. Every participant was offered water, a snack, and an expert guide for the experience.

Get Healthy Utah Celebration

On the last day of the conference, Get Healthy Utah held a special luncheon to celebrate its ten-year anniversary! First organized by Former Lt . Governor Greg Bell, Get Healthy Utah has spent the last decade working hard to promote a healthier and more connected state. During the luncheon, Get Healthy Utah's Executive Director, Alysia Ducuara, presented on the organization's achievements and shared a celebratory video. Chet Loftis, Board Chair of Get Healthy Utah, followed her remarks with a report on Get Healthy Utah's future direction. Last, Former Governor Gary Herbert spoke to the importance of building a healthier Utah and presented Greg Bell with the Champion of Health Award, acknowledging his groundbreaking work to found Get Healthy Utah and his career-long dedication to promoting a healthier and more livable state for all.

Conclusion

The Connected Communities Summit was an innovative effort to pull together community leaders from diverse sectors and rally around the shared vision of building a healthier, more connected Utah. We are pleased to share that with over 400 attendees and two days of cutting-edge presentations, it was a great success! We would like to offer a heartfelt thank you to our partners, Move Utah and Bike Utah, for helping to make this one-of-a-kind event a reality.

Implementing a Milers Morning Program in Schools

Written by Susanne Creer, Physical Education Specialist at Terra Linda Elementary School

Milers is a voluntary morning before school walk/jog program that we did in Nevada at my children’s elementary school. This can be implemented by a teacher or the parent volunteers. When I was co-chair of this program I was a parent not a PE teacher. Another school near us also had a milers program and was run by the PE teacher with help from parents. The way we did it 10 years ago was a lot more work with paper cards and volunteers punching cards foreach lap but I have discovered a much easier way to do this program that doesn’t require nearly as much support using the technology of the EZ scan app https://ezmileageclub.com/. It is very inexpensive. This program could also be used by teachers during the day for brain breaks, students who want to run/walk laps at lunch or recess, or special events.

The students earn rewards for each 10 miles they walk or jog or whatever mile or lap increment you set up. A bigger goal could be earning a 100 miles or laps and a special reward set up for that such as a special t-shirt, medal, or trophy. The purpose of this program is to get kids moving before school and to help instill a love for physical activity and lifetime wellness. The benefits are obvious cardiovascular improvement but it also helps with social and emotional learning, mental health, goal setting, and determination. The most compelling and powerful benefit of all is that regular physical activity has been shown through many scientific studies to provide enormous cognitive benefits increasing brain function and academic achievement especially in children https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5934999/.

What also makes this morning program special is that parents, grandparents, other caretakers, and school staff can also participate. This helps to build relationships between parents and students and school staff.

How do you get a program started?

1. Choose a time that a PE teacher or parents/pta can supervise. At my school we are looking at 8:15 - 8:45 am with school starting at 9:00. Because I am new to the school we are waiting until the Spring to start our program but ideally in Utah you would want to get this program started as soon as possible in the school year.

2. Set up a course to run laps in the grass area of your school or wherever you can mark off cones for laps. Use a meter wheel to determine your mile distance which may consist of several laps to equal one mile.

3. Use the EZ scan app https://ezmileageclub.com/ with scan cards for each student participating. We are going to get lanyards with the badge slot to put the cards in so students can wear them while they run and use them year after year. The EZ scan app can be set up on an ipad sitting on a table where the students scan their card with each lap they complete. One parent or teacher ideally would be there to make sure they complete the lap but it would not be required.

4. The EZ scan will track the mileage/laps completed by up to 1500 participants so a teacher/parent can keep track of students who meet each level. 10 miles, 20 miles etc. We did ribbons in Nevada and would give it to their school teacher to present in class. It could also be a paper award or some other designated prize. Parents/PTA can help with this if they are willing to.

5. We also would have a wall in the school where each student will have a paper shoe that they color at the beginning of the year and has their name on it. As they complete each10 miles they will move down the track which will be on a wall for recognition. This is fun for the kids to see their progress.

6. When students meet a big goal that your school determines is the pinnacle you can have a special shirt made. At our school in Nevada we had students design the 100 mile t-shirt and then the kids voted on their favorite design. Each year this was a new t-shirt. Only the kids who complete 100 miles were able to get one. We also had lots of parents there to ring bells, cheer and have posters when they completed the big goal. We have also done trophies for 100 miles. The bigger award we liked to make a big deal about at school award assemblies but also on the field when it happens. Parents would be there and other teachers etc. to celebrate with them.

7. Use music outside while the kids run/walk. It creates a fun atmosphere. You can do it all the time or just on Fridays to make it more special.

8. We have done a large banner outside on the fence for Milers that had all of the sponsors for our program on the banner including parents as well as businesses that we used for prizes and other supplies. The banner itself was also donated by a business.

9. Reminder that this program could also be done during lunch recess or brain breaks or special events.

10. In Utah the mileage could possible be taken indoors into the gym before school. If that is not an option then students could do it in the first couple months of school and the last couple months of school if weather does not agree with being outside. I'm new to Utah, so we will see how that goes. Also the goals can be adjusted if there is less time to walk/jog outdoors to maybe 50 miles being the big goal.

Program Pictures

This spring, Get Healthy Utah partnered with the Utah Foundation and Guiding Our Growth to host the first-ever Healthy Communities Roadshow! The roadshow, which ran from March to May 2024, consisted of ten in-person events around the state:

• Farmington City (Davis County Region)
• Nibley City (Bear River Region)
• Ogden City (Weber-Morgan Region)
• Park City (Summit/Wasatch Region)
• Price City (Southeast Region)
• Provo City (Utah County Region)
• Sandy City (South Salt Lake Region)
• City of St. George (Southwest/Five County Region)
• West Valley City (North Salt Lake Region)
• Vernal City (Uintah Basin Region)

The events lasted two hours each and educated community leaders on resources and strategies for building a healthy community. Attendees included mayors, city councils, regional staff and planners, health coalition members, local health departments, and more. The roadshow connected leaders with their local resources and gave them the tools and knowledge needed to improve health where they live.

Partner Presentations

The roadshow events began with three partner presentations from Guiding Our Growth, the Utah Foundation, and Get Healthy Utah.

Guiding Our Growth

Utah is one of the fastest growing states in the nation, and that growth comes with both benefits and challenges. On the one hand, rapid growth indicates that Utah is an amazing place to live and many families choose to remain here for generations. On the other hand, growth can be difficult to manage and can strain our housing market, infrastructure, and natural resources.

To ensure that Utah not only grows, but grows in a way that reflects the wishes of its residents, the Utah State Legislature funded the Guiding Our Growth initiative. Residents from every county were surveyed about key issues like housing, water availability, transportation, and open space. The feedback, compiled in 2023, serves as a valuable tool to advise both local and state-level policymaking. To view the results, visit https://guidingourgrowth.utah.gov/survey-results/. 

Utah Foundation

The Utah Foundation is a non-partisan public policy research group that publishes research on the most critical issues facing our state. Last year, the Utah Foundation released three reports as part of its Healthy Communities Series. The reports were titled Healthy Communities: Enhancing Open Space, Healthy Communities: Advancing Wellness and Safety, and Healthy Communities: Cultivating Food Access.

The reports share that in order to grow most effectively, Utahns must understand and address the underlying factors affecting population health, safety, and nutrition. These reports, made available on the Utah Foundation website, are full of evidence-based recommendations for bettering life in Utah.

Get Healthy Utah

Get Healthy Utah partnered with the Utah League of CIties and Towns to create the Healthy Utah Community designation. This designation, attainable by cities and towns of all sizes, is awarded to communities that implement evidence-based health practices. To earn the designation, a community must submit a letter of commitment, organize a local health coalition, carry out projects that improve nutrition, physical activity, and mental wellness, and draft a 3-year community health plan.

To date, nearly 50 communities have earned the designation, with more applying every year. To learn more, visit  https://gethealthyutah.org/healthyutahcommunity.

Healthy Utah Community Highlight

Following the partner presentations, leaders from a local Healthy Utah Community presented on the ways their city or town promoted wellness and earned the designation. Examples include securing bonds for park and trail expansion, organizing fun community events, and prioritizing the needs of vulnerable populations like the elderly. At the end of each presentation, attendees were permitted to ask questions.

Group Discussion

Following the community highlight, Alysia Ducuara from Get Healthy Utah led the attendees in a group discussion. Topics included the assets and barriers that impact health in their local area, and the types of health policy that leaders were most interested in implementing. Answers were shared verbally in the group and through an interactive poll.

Roundtable Discussions

At the close of the event, attendees were given time to network and visit various roundtables. The roundtables featured local experts who shared resources for building healthy communities. Following the event, attendees were asked to complete an evaluation and were emailed a link to the slides and all content shared throughout the day.

Conclusion

The Healthy Communities Roadshow was a great success! A big thank you to all our regional partners and the more than 400 individuals who attended.

For those who missed the roadshow but would like to view a recording, you may access a one-hour webinar version HERE. You may also click HERE to view an eight-minute summary video.