Dubuque County Wellness CoalitionJuly 30, 2013
Honorable Mayor Roy Buol and City Council Members
We the members of the Dubuque County Wellness Coalition submit this letter to
encourage you to make Healthy Living and Well -being a focus and priority for Dubuque.
We believe that Healthy Living and Well -being is directly applicable to the Sustainable
Dubuque Model with direct ties to the following principles: Healthy Local Foods,
Reasonable Mobility, Healthy Air, Clean Water, and Community Design. We also
believe that Healthy Living and Wellbeing will impact Regional Economy because the
healthier residents of a city create a healthier economy (Trust for America's Health,
October, 2011, Robert Woods Foundation).
The Dubuque County Wellness Coalition was formed in 2011 to serve as an umbrella
group aimed at providing a cohesive vision for future health and wellness programs in
Dubuque and to assist with the County Community Transformation Grant (CTG).
Consisting of the largest health and well -being providers in the Dubuque area, recently
the Dubuque County Wellness Coalition helped Dubuque become a finalist for The
BlueZones application in 2012.
Although there have been, and continue to be, a number of health improvement
initiatives in the community, their effectiveness appears to be limited in both impact and
sustainability. There are many reasons for this, including funding limitations, narrowly -
focused grants, a lack of leadership to spearhead programs, a lack of authority to
implement desired changes and the lack of a guiding plan to prioritize issues and focus
resources on areas with the highest opportunity for improvement. One of the most
glaring deficiencies appears to be the lack of a central guiding body which can provide
the leadership, oversight, and management to enable the execution of a comprehensive
health improvement plan.
Currently, there are several health improvement efforts that are attempting to fill these
voids, including the Blue Zone project, the CDC /YMCA ACHIEVE Grant, and the
Community Transformation Grant. In discussion with involved parties, some consistent
issues continue to be raised as barriers to success, including limited funding, a lack of
leadership to execute well- intended initiatives, and redundancy in targeted areas for
improvement. These initiatives aim to make improvements in well -known areas of risk,
such as reducing obesity and tobacco use, improving nutrition, improving opportunities
to exercise and improving the management of chronic diseases. These are also health
risk areas that are identified in the Community Health Needs Assessment.
Dubuque has been a model of community improvement in recent years, and an
amazing transformation has been accomplished that is envied by communities across
the nation. Some of the keys that have made this happen include:
• A desire by community leaders, from both public and private sectors, to create a
positive change
• The creation of a plan that served as a blueprint for change and that was used as
a management tool to keep the various initiatives on track
• Cultivation of funding sources to sustain the initiatives
• Leadership to oversee and manage the process
This same level of success might be possible in the area of health improvement if those
same key ingredients can be added to the current mix of initiatives. More specifically, a
structure and process could be created that pulls together public and private leadership
to create a community health improvement plan that is broadly understood and
managed toward. Some specific thoughts include:
• Create a committee or board that is charged with developing an implementable
plan for community health improvement.
• Link this committee /board to the appropriate public bodies, such as the Dubuque
City Council, Dubuque County Board of Supervisors and Dubuque County Board of
Health to provide information on health improvement initiatives and to request
resolutions or other actions as needed to support the plan. Examples might include the
committee /board providing data or research information to the public bodies on where to
focus efforts for the greatest community benefit and having formal support from these
bodies provided in the way of public policy changes.
• Use information already available in from documents such as the Community
Health Needs Assessment and CHANGE tools which identify health risk areas as the
basis for a comprehensive plan
• Use a broad array of initiatives, led and supported by a broad spectrum of
individuals, to be the mechanisms of change to accomplish the desired changes in the
plan. Examples might include a wide array of weight -loss programs, nutritional
education, exercise programs, the creation of bike paths,
• Use funding from sources such as area Foundations and private donations to
support the initiatives to be implemented and possibly to fund staff to support the
leadership of these efforts
As the major health and wellness providers in Dubuque, we see first hand the impact
healthy living has on our residents. While we have made significant impact on the
overall health status of Dubuque residents, we believe with the full support of the City of
Dubuque, we can create the city of our dreams and fully fulfill our vision of having
Dubuque classified the Healthiest City in Iowa. It is believed that if significant and
sustainable health improvement in the community is the goal, the components
described above need to be created to move toward a "culture of wellness" in the
Dubuque area. Lacking these components, it seems unlikely that the future of
Dubuque's health improvements will vary from the history of short -term programs with
minimal impact.
Finally, we request that a few representatives from the Wellness Coalition be allowed to
speak to the City Council at the August 5, 2013 meeting.
Thank you,
The Dubuque County Wellness Coalition
Amber Jaeger, Hy -Vee- Locust St
Amy Hawkins, Dubuque Community Schools
Andy Gillip, Dubuque Community Y
Beverly Berna, Multicultural Family Center
Bonnie Brimeyer, Dubuque County Health Department
Brian Scheil, Hy -Vee- Dodge St
Brittany Bethel, ISU Extension
Carol Voss, Iowa Department of Public Health
Carolyn Ingram, Hillcrest Family Services
D Gaul, ISU Extension
Dan Kroger, City of Dubuque
Darrell Zmolek, Grandview Gallop
Danielle Putman, United Clinical Labs /Volunteer
Dawn Cogan, Helping Services of Northeast Iowa
Doug Hummel, City of Asbury, Deputy City Clerk
Dr. Mike White, Vanderloo & White Veterinary Hospital
Dr. Richard Fairley, Dubuque County Board of Health
Gary Guetzko, Mercy Medical Center
Janice Funke, Dubuque Community Schools
Janice Friedman, Finley Hospital
Janna Beau, City of Dubuque
Jason Neises, ISU Extension
Jason Thieme, City of Asbury
Jaya Ginter, Registered Dietitian
Jean Daoud, Community Volunteer
Julie Burgmeier, Clarke University
Julie Woodyard, Crescent Community Health Center
Katie Peterson, Iowa State Extension
Mary Rose Corrigan, City of Dubuque
Megan Horstman, Hy -Vee- Asbury
Michele Malone, Unity Point Finley Hospital
Michelle Mihalakis, Manasse House
Michelle Zurcher, Visiting Nurse Association
Nan Colin, Dubuque Visiting Nurse Association
Pat Prevenas, Tri -State Trails
Patrice Lambert, Dubuque County Health Department
Rhonda Simpson, Dubuque Community Schools
Robbyn Graves, Hillcrest Family Services
Sharon Covey, Dubuque Community Y
Stacy Larrison , Helping Services of Northeast Iowa
Susan M. Chapman, Finley Hospital