In August 2007, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors authorized the Department of Health Services to convene a health action council (now called "Health Action") to work on improving health and health care for all Sonoma County residents. Health Action's over-arching mission is community health improvement. Building on the interest and commitment of many community leaders, the Department of Health Services has recruited and convened a diverse, multidisciplinary group to identify priority health and health care issues and to develop specific recommendations on local approaches to promote the health of our community and improve the health care delivery system. Members of the council include government officials, nonprofit leaders, and industry groups.
In 2010 KRCB and Health Action partnered to produce a video to inspire change at the grassroots level.· To that end, the following groups/projects were documented:
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Grupo Activo (South Santa Rosa) |
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Since early 2009, residents in Roseland have organized and advocated for more trails and opportunities for safe physical activity. Group members attended planning meetings, spoke with neighbors to encourage their involvement, and shared ideas about what they would like to see in the community. As a result of this advocacy, the parks’ master plan includes specific features requested by the community, such as turf for soccer fields, play areas for families, and safe trails for children and families. |
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Nuestra Voz (Boyes Hot Springs) |
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Nuestra Voz is all about leadership development among disenfranchised residents, so that they can lead community health improvement. Among their successes are a broad team of community leaders who have begun and are running three community radio shows, a multi-generational community theater group, advocacy efforts such as CX3 and school menus, community building/physical activity opportunities through iWALK, yoga, martial arts, zumba, soccer and salsa dancing, nutrition education in partnership with promotores de salud, and community gardening through the Coalition. Recent activity includes development of the Springs Coalition Community Garden with support from iGROW and 50 wine barrel gardens that went in to the Springs Village as part of the 350 Garden Challenge. |
| Harmony School Lunch Transformation, Occidental/Freestone |
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With active participation, encouragement and support from parents, Harmony Union School District in West Sonoma County developed a wellness policy to encourage healthier food on campus. In addition, the district has committed to improve the quality of their school lunch program by preparing all meals on site, using the highest quality ingredients affordable. They developed new menus, set up the infrastructure to include garden recipes that highlight seasonal produce from the one-acre organic school garden and local farms, and eliminated from their menu any products with high fructose corn syrup. |
| Roseland Children's Center, Roseland, CA |
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The idea that grew to become the Roseland Children's Health Center began with a group of parents, teachers, principals and school superintendents from the Bellevue, Roseland and Wright School Districts in 1993. They saw first hand that many of the children who were performing poorly in school were the same children who were often absent due to chronic asthma and untreated infections, or who suffered from the effects of poor nutrition such as iron deficiency anemia and severe dental caries. The group took its concerns and its desire for improved health care and partnered with community agencies, health care providers and local businesses to form the Healthy Start Consortium. Soon, word went out to the community that a clinic would be needed to provide health services to the local school children. |
