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National Heart Month
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February marks National Heart Month and the HEAL Cities &
Town's
Campaign is celebrating by sharing tips and tricks to keep you heart healthy this winter. While we may indulge a bit this Valentine's Day, let's keep the rest of the month heart healthy by sharing resources and activities to help our communities keep on track of those ever distant New Years resolutions.
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Tips and Tricks for a Heart HEAL-thy Month:
- Remember to eat a balanced and healthy diet full of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and proteins. For a few simple ways to get started, check out a tips to "Eat smart for a healthy heart."
- Stay active and keep your body moving. How much physical activity should you be getting? Check out this infogrpahic from the American Heart Association with simple heart healthy recommendations.
- Spread the health love by hosting a community event such as a health resource fair, 5K walk/run, healthy food fair, or staff skill training event to educate your community about heart health and resources available in your region.
- Help promote workplace wellness at your office by sending out a staff email or newsletter with a few quick facts, tips for staying healthy in the workplace, and health resources for your region. Need some inspiration? Send out this infographic with "23 fast facts about the heart."
- Don't forget to help spread the news by sharing information and resources about living a heart healthy lifestyle. Whether you're sharing information from your personal or municipal media account, help spread the news using the #AmericanHeartMonth.
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Upcoming
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I
s it summer yet? While we may be a few months off, the HEAL Campaign is gearing up for the upcoming municipal league annual conference season
. The Maryland Municipal League and the Virginia Municipal League Conferences provide us with an opportunity to award our cities and towns for all thier hard work
implementing policies that encourage healthy behavior change.
Attention Maryland Municipalities:
The Application for the
Summer Maryland Municipal League Conference will be sent out in the March HEAL Cities & Towns Newsletter. We will also send out a reminder email to our HEAL contacts and provide further information on our website. Please stay tuned for upcoming updates!
T
his month, w
e encourage you to begin taking
stock of any new HEAL policies and practices your municipality has implemented to get your employees and residents eating healthy and moving more. Use the HEAL Policy Assessment Tool to help identify which policies you're municipality has in place or is looking to implement in the future. Find the assessment
here
. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list. If you have a question about whether a policy or practice qualifies for our recognition program, HEAL staff are available to help.
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Spotlight Cities & Towns
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Hopewell, Virginia
The City of Hopewell, Virginia is working on programs and policies to improve park infrastructure, build a community garden, and provide free fitness classes to residents. Read how the City is working with the community to create an environment that fosters healthy behavior change. Find the article
here.
Interested in having your city or town featured in an upcoming Spotlight article? Please send a request to Julia Groenfeldt, HEAL Program and Communications Associate, at J
groenfeldt@institutephi.org
or 202747-3455.
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| Tools and Resources |
Webinar | Walking Together
America Walks will be hosting a webinar on how how to start a walking program. They will share resources available to help start new programs and best practices from experienced walking champions. The webinar will be held on February 14th at 2 PM EST. Register
here.
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Webinar | Farmers Market Legal Toolkit
Join this webinar (TODAY - February 1, 12-12:30 PM EST) from the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems to learn about legal resources, best practices, recommendations, and case studies for farmers market leaders. Learn how to find resources to address questions such as business structure, nonprofit requirements, legal implications for SNAP retailers, and injury liability. Register for the webinar here.
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Resource | Community Garden Checklist
Interested in starting a community garden in your city or town? Winter is a great time to start dreaming about all the fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables you want to plant this spring. While starting a garden can seem like a big project, with the right tools, resources, and community support you can make it happen. Check out this
Community Garden Checklist from Let's Move! to help you get started.
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Resource | Workplace Wellness
Interested in starting an employee health and wellness newsletter for your municipal staff? While we always encourage you to use our resources or forward the HEAL Newsletter to your staff, we also encourage you to think about starting your own! A newsletter can be a great way to highlight health tips and share community events. This blog shares health resources for workplace wellness and employer based health health programs. For more resources, check out the Well Steps blog.
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| About Us |
 HEAL is a project of the Institute for Public Health Innovation in
partnership with the Maryland and Virginia Municipal Leagues and funded by Kaiser Permanente, founding partner.
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