Get Healthy Utah News and Blog

Get Healthy Utah, in conjunction with the Utah League of Cities and Towns, is pleased to announce the newest Healthy Utah Community designees. Six cities and towns qualified this spring: Mapleton, Orem, Saratoga Springs, Smithfield, South Jordan, and West Point. 

Mapleton

Mapleton offers its residents many community events and amenities that support healthy living.

There is 6.1-mile trail system through the community, and the city developed a masterplan to further expand the trail system over the next five years. To encourage residents to get outside and use it, the city hosts an annual "Chalk the Walk" event where residents gather at the trail to decorate its path with colorful chalk creations.

To support access to healthy food, Mapleton hosts a farmer's market every Monday during the summer and hosted a food drive to support their local food pantry. Senior lunches and a senior gym are also available for residents to use at their Senior Gym Center.

To promote general wellness and good mental health, the city hosts a "Burn Bright" event each holiday season. Community members can right down their bad habits and put them in a box. That box is added to the old community Christmas tree, then burned as a community bonfire. Following, residents are encouraged to record their New Year's resolutions on goal plaques. 

Orem

Orem City is busy doing many things to support health in their community! To support physical activity, the city offers  free and low-cost community sports programs for adults and children, addressed active transportation connectivity gaps between key destinations, and adopted an ordinance that requires all new subdivisions to provide sidewalks and lights.

To support access to healthy food, Orem established a farmer’s market that accepts SNAP benefits, actively promotes enrollment in SNAP, WIC, and other food access programs for those in need, and implemented a new worksite wellness strategy around healthy eating among city employees.

Orem City also prioritizes mental health by training first responders on mental health crises and suicide prevention, hosting senior lunch gatherings, and beautifying several social gathering spaces including its local parks.

Saratoga Springs

Saratoga Springs is proud to offer its residents many opportunities to live a healthy lifestyle. Recently, the city added an important trail segment that connects the northern and central trail systems in the community, and each year they host a "Get to the River" campaign that encourages residents to recreate along the Jordan River and its scenic pathways.

To promote food access, the Westlake High School manages a food pantry for families in need, and the city's ordinances allow for backyard animal husbandry.

Mental health is also important to Saratoga Springs. Their Communities that Care coalition hosts a social media campaign every May to destigmatize and raise awareness for mental health challenges, and the Saratoga Springs Police and Fire Departments host annual trainings on mental health crises and suicide prevention to help keep community members safe.

Smithfield

Smithfield works hard to make sure every resident has access to fun ways to stay healthy! The city offers many adult and youth sports programs and even offers a youth scholarship to make sure no child is turned away if they can't meet the costs. They also have a joint-use agreement between the Cache County School District and their local community recreation center, making sure youth have access to sports facilities.

To support access to food and good nutrition, Smithfield runs a food pantry out of one of their city buildings and provides cooking, nutrition, and gardening classes at their library and recreation center.

To promote social connection and good mental health, Smithfield provides a senior citizen luncheon every week and partnered with Blomquist Hale to offer mental and physical wellness workshops to city employees. 

South Jordan

South Jordan offers several fun and exciting ways to stay physically active! Every year, they offer the SoJo Race Series, a year-round series of kids runs, 5ks, and 10ks. They also host a Winter Fitness Challenge where residents can set and meet exercise goals during the cold winter months and report back to receive prizes.

To promote healthy food access, South Jordan has a weekly farmer's market during the summer, passed ordinances that make it easy for local residents to operate their own produce stand sell home-grown fruits and vegetables, and partnered with the Salt Lake County Aging Services to offer weekday lunches for seniors in the community.

South Jordan also makes strong efforts to support mental health and safety. They offer onsite and remote wellness classes to their employees, handout free gunlocks to community members, and set up local medication disposal boxes.

West Point

West Point plans ahead to make sure its residents have opportunities to be physically active! The city contributed financially to the building of a new Jr. High School, guaranteeing use of the gym, exercise equipment and office space during non-school hours for various community recreation activities. They also joined surrounding communities to create the North Davis Active Transportation Implementation Plan in a regional effort to make bicycling, walking and other forms of active transportation safer and easier for Northern Davis County residents.

To support access to healthy food, West Point chose one person from each of its departments to serve on the Healthy West Point Team whose purpose is to promote healthy eating and raise awareness among employees about its benefits. Their city codes also allow for backyard farm animals and bee hives, providing increased access to fresh eggs, dairy, meat products, and honey.

West Point has also made strides to support social connection and mental wellbeing. The city hosts a monthly senior lunch for older community members and is increasing awareness of mental health resources with signage, social media posts, newsletter items and emails to residents.

Get Healthy Utah partnered with the Utah Worksite Wellness Council and Utah Community Builders to host the second annual Utah Business of Health Event! The event took place on February 7th, 2024 at the Zions Bank Technology Center in Midvale. Event sponsors included GBS Benefits and Nivati.

The purpose of the event was to bring together business leaders from across the state to discuss the importance of promoting good health among employees, particularly mental health. Over 80 individuals attended, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the quality of speakers!

Keynote Speaker: Nikki Walker, Director of Community Engagement and DE&I at Domo

Nikki gave a moving address about the importance of supporting employees through mental health crises. As a high-level professional, she shared her own experience dealing with depression and anxiety, and her need to request professional leave while overcoming thoughts of suicide. She highlighted key resources provided by her employers that made her recovery and reintegration into her workplace a success, and challenged attendees to increase their own awareness of and empathy towards employees who may face similar mental health challenges.

Panel Discussion

Moderator: Stephanie Larsen, Health Equity (Get Healthy Utah Board Member)

Panelists: Catherine Van Tassell, GBS Benefits; Danielle Valdez, Huntsman Mental Health Institute; Sentari Minor, evolvedMD

Catherine Van Tassell, Danielle Valdez, and Sentari Minor addressed questions from moderator Stephanie Larsen on ways to create a workplace environment that supports mental health. Catherine Van Tassell shared the science behind resilient mental health and emphasized the role that exercise, healthy eating, and adequate sleep can play in reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression. Danielle Valdez shared the importance of engaging company leadership in efforts to support mental health and advocated for effective campaigns that increase employee’s awareness of mental health resources. Sentari Minor highlighted workplace policies that help to prevent burnout and excess stress among employees, including paid self-care time and compassionate, wellbeing-focused interviews with managers. Following the discussion, the panelists took questions from the audience.

Roundtable Discussion

Attendees concluded the event with roundtable discussions, discussing what was learned during the event and sharing mental health needs and strategies found at their own companies. Participants spent the time networking and answering the following questions:

• What is your organization currently doing to prioritize mental health in the workplace?
• What would your organization like to do to prioritize mental health in the workplace?
• What resources and support are needed to prioritize mental health in the workplace?

Conclusion

Participants left feeling motivated to promote employee mental health and were equipped with the resources and strategies to make a difference. We are grateful to everyone who attended and for the amazing partners, sponsors, and speakers who make this event possible!

Want to Improve Mental Health in Your Workplace? Try These Strategies:

• Talk about mental health! Bring it up with leadership, ask how your employees are doing personally and professionally, or start a campaign at your organization highlighting the resources you offer.
• Encourage at least one self-care practice every day!
• Offer new training to leadership and employees! Mental health first aid, QPR, and more.
• Revisit your work culture. Do employees have psychological safety?
• Implement policies and strategies to improve wellbeing. These can include flexible work schedules, time and resources to access care, standing desks and walking pads, and starting a community engagement program.
• Be a good human. Practice compassion and be an active listener!

Chet Loftis

R. Chet Loftis is the Managing Director of PEHP Health & Benefits, a public sector health plan that covers over 170,000 members. He is also the new Board Chair for Get Healthy Utah.

Good things don’t happen by chance. They require passionate and capable people who envision what could be, help others see the same, and work through the obstacles, complexities, and challenges to produce something of value.  

Get Healthy Utah is a thing of value—a gift, truly.   For the last 10 years, it has sought to unite the community around improving the health and wellbeing of all Utahns. As far as causes go, it may be hard to find a better or more important one, especially given the direction of current demographic trends.  

None of this would be possible without Greg Bell, who founded Get Healthy Utah and has served as Chair from its inception. Greg is a giant in our community. Someone that so many of us look up to and seek to emulate. Get Healthy Utah represents Greg’s commitment to make a positive, lasting impact on our community. A commitment that has taken shape and form as others have joined the cause with their energy and insights.

We live in a great place of good people and natural beauty. It is an honor to be part of a collective effort to improve the health and wellbeing of all Utahns. To feel pride in what has been done and to look forward to the opportunities ahead. Good things don’t happen by chance.

Morgan Hadden

Morgan is the Program Coordinator for Get Healthy Utah. She graduated from Utah State University with a B.S. and M.P.H in Health Education and Promotion. 

Chances are, your city or town is busy doing a lot of great things. Municipalities are often responsible for basic needs like keeping the water running, the roads clear and functioning, and providing police officers and firefighters and other public safety support. Our cities do a lot, and in many ways, they are the unsung heroes that protect our quality of life.

That’s why Get Healthy Utah, in partnership with the Utah League of Cities and Towns, created the Healthy Utah Community designation. Launched in 2020, the designation recognizes cities and towns that go above and beyond to improve their residents’ wellbeing. To date, 43 communities have been designated.

How to Earn the Designation

To earn the designation, cities and towns must demonstrate a strong commitment to community health. The mayor must sign a letter of commitment, the community must organize a health coalition, and several evidence-based health strategies must be in place throughout the city or town. The number of strategies needed depends on population size, but no matter what, they must improve access to healthy food, mental health resources, and opportunities to be physically active.

The designation is valid for three years, so the city must also create a three-year health plan that will help them get redesignated. City leaders look at health data for their residents, identify areas of high need, then choose new strategies to implement that will meet those needs. If they are successful in implementing the new strategies, then will qualify for redesignation when it’s time.

Who Can Earn the Designation

Any city or town throughout the state of Utah–no matter their population size–is eligible to apply for the designation. In certain instances, unincorporated areas like census-designated tracts or metro townships can also apply, but in these instances, we recommend reaching out to Get Healthy Utah first to confirm eligibility.

Smaller areas like neighborhoods, or larger areas like counties, can play a role in helping a community qualify. However, the current designation can only be awarded on a city or town level.

Benefits of Earning the Designation

The Healthy Utah Community designation is valuable for several reasons. First of all, the application process helps city leaders make their community a better place to live. It encourages the mayor to prioritize health, creates a coalition that leads to sustainable outcomes, and provides a list of evidence-based strategies that can be implemented to improve overall wellbeing.

Then, once the designation is earned, communities are recognized in front of statewide leaders at the Utah League of Cities and Towns Conference. The designation provides a way to communicate to both residents and other communities around the state about improvements being made. Local efforts too often go unnoticed, and the designation gives statewide recognition for amazing work.

And if that’s not enough, the Healthy Utah Community designation also qualifies cities and towns for mini-grants provided by Get Healthy Utah! The grants are flexible and can be used to improve outdoor infrastructure, provide recreational opportunities, or improve access to nutritious food and mental health resources.

Apply Today!

So don’t wait! The benefits of earning the Healthy Utah Community designation are numerous, and every city and town across the state is eligible to apply. To start your journey, visit www.GetHealthyUtah.org/HealthyUtahCommunity and email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for a fillable application. The application deadlines are March 1st and August 1st of each year.