Healthier Colorado – "We’re not done listening"

“We just completed our statewide tour to introduce our organization (Healthier Colorado) to folks around their state and gather their perspectives on how to get Colorado healthier. The tour has taken us to eight cities all across the state of Colorado, from the Eastern Plains, to the Western Slope, to the San Luis Valley, to the Front Range. In each city, we met with local community health advocates and leaders. We met with elected officials, health care providers in hospitals and clinics, school administrators and health activists. We talked about some of the great work they're doing to improve the health of their communities, as well as some of the challenges they're facing.

While each one of these communities is unique, some common themes emerged over the course of our trip. All across the state, people said they want to continue to advance the quality of our healthcare system while also reducing the rise of costs and to make our system as efficient as navigable as possible. We heard widespread concern about components to support healthy living, including access to affordable and healthy food as well as physical infrastructure and school curriculum to support physical activity. A desire for better cultural competency was cited in the interest of better communication with the Latino community. Finally, rural communities described challenges that were particularly pronounced in their communities, including access to health care providers.

Enlightened by these conversations, we're exploring new ideas for campaigns to improve public policy at the state and local level. Even though our statewide listening tour has concluded, we are still very much in listening mode. We always want to hear your ideas about how we can #GetCOHealthier. Check us out on Twitter, on Facebook, and on Instagram, and let us know your ideas. It will take all of our voices and ideas to make Colorado as healthy a state as we can be.” [Source: Healthier Colorado]