250254 Incorporating Healthy People 2020 Policies into the General Plan

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Keith Woodcock, AICP, MCRP , Community Development Department, City of Delano, Delano, CA
The City of Delano, population 53,000, is a culturally diverse city located in the Southern San Joaquin Valley of California. The City is 70 percent Hispanic. Employment is predominately agriculture. The City faces many challenges that have adverse health consequences: An unemployment rate of 34 percent, Median Family Income is only 55 percent of the US Median, Over 50 percent of our youth are overweight, Over 55 percent of persons over 18 have less than a high school education. These factors are linked to the Health Determinates identified by the US Health and Human Services in Healthy People 2020. In addressing these challenges, the City of Delano believes that there is a close correlation between the quality of the Built Environment and Public Health. As a result, the City initiated an update to its General Plan to develop a Healthy Delano and Wellness Element. This Element incorporates policies to implement Healthy People 2020, thereby changing the DNA of the City to improve public health outcomes An important focus of the element is to support active living and access to fresh foods. Extensive community outreach has been conducted including PhotoVoice, Street Faires, charrettes, and other community events to learn and incorporate residents ideas into the Element.

Learning Areas:
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Other professions or practice related to public health
Program planning

Learning Objectives:
Describe how policies addressing health determinates and indicators from Healthy People 2020 can be included in the community's General Plan

Keywords: Community Development, Community Planning

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the person directly supervising the development and implementation of the "Healthy Delano and Wellness Element" to the City of Delano General Plan
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.