Healthier Somerset recognizes achievements at annual meeting

myCentralJersey.com
Rebecca Perkins, Healthier Somerset
December 25, 2017

Healthier Somerset recognized 11 municipalities for their support of farmers markets and “Complete Streets” at the coalition’s Annual Meeting and Recognition breakfast Dec. 19. Farmers markets and Complete Streets were the focus of Healthier Somerset’s 2016-2017 New Jersey Healthy Communities Grant for Bridgewater, Green Brook and North Plainfield.

North Plainfield was the first to adopt Complete Streets in 2016; their farmers market was in place then as well. Bridgewater and Green Brook both opened farmers markets this year and passed Complete Streets resolutions as well. These municipalities will receive grant funding to further transportation projects in their towns.

In 2017, Healthier Somerset celebrated seven years of working collaboratively to improve the health and well-being of all who live and work in Somerset County. Here are some of the year’s highlights:

READ: Healthier Somerset: Culture of health in Bound Brook, South Bound Brook

READ: Healthier Somerset supports ‘Complete Streets’

READ: Healthier Somerset: Eat more fruits and vegetables — it matters

  • Healthier Somerset completed Year 2 goals of the 2016-2019 Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP), identifying the major health needs in Somerset County (mental health and addiction, obesity, chronic disease, and access to care) and adopting strategies to address them.
  • Healthier Somerset completed Year 2 activities of a New Jersey Culture of Health grant, a four-year, $200,000 grant that aims to create a culture of health in Bound Brook and South Bound Brook.
  • Healthier Somerset recognized 16 companies through our “Healthy Workplaces” Recognition Award in June.  The program recognizes employers who demonstrate their commitment to a healthier worksite by implementing worksite wellness programs that improve the health and well-being of their employees. Recipients earn a bronze, silver or gold designation based on the length of their program and the number of activities provided.

With Somerset County’s rebranding as a “vibrant connection,” health and wellness play an even more important role in our economic future. Healthier Somerset is the only New Jersey health coalition to actively link health and wellness to local economic development and policy. We are a healthy community, which is key to our quality of life, and health and wellness are also key to our economic development efforts, driving much of our business attraction and retention programs.

We actively work to make Somerset County the healthiest county in the state. We are ranked second in healthy behaviors, and third-healthiest county overall. Achieving the top ranking will support our economy as well as our health and quality of life.

Healthier Somerset is the only organization in Somerset County where everyone with an interest in health — nonprofit organizations, businesses, and government — comes together to share information and work together. We invite you to our monthly coalition meetings, which are held from 8:45 to 10:30 a.m. on the third Tuesday of each month at Steeplechase Cancer Center at RWJ Somerset in Somerville. All 2018 meeting dates and more are on www.healthiersomerset.org. Healthier Somerset wishes you all a happy and healthy new year!

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