Resources

Resources for Healthy Communities
 

Center for Disease Control and Prevention
The nation’s federal health protection agency. Provides up-to-date research, public health information, and educational resources for the public health community.

Community Health Needs Assessments
An introduction to Community Health Needs Assessments with links to reports, plans, and data concerning health issues from Charlevoix Area Hospital, Kalkaska Memorial Hospital, Mercy Hospital Cadillac, and Munson Medical Center.

Facilitating Adoption of a Smoke Free Housing Policy for a Tribal Housing Authority
Developed by the Sault Tribe Strategic Alliance for Health Program to provide information on the resources and process of developing, adopting, and implementing a policy for smoke-free housing with a Tribal Housing Authority. The guide is intended to be applicable to public and affordable housing, and may also be useful when implementing a smoke-free policy with market-rate housing. 
 

Food Innovation Districts: An Economic Gardening Tool
Information, tools, and step-by-step worksheets for local governments, community organizations, and others working to develop food innovation districts, or business clusters of food-oriented businesses, services, and community activities.
 

A Framework for Healthy Communities in Northwest Michigan 
Identifies ways that local governments and other stakeholders can work to address community health issues.

The Health Communicators Social Media Toolkit
A guide from the CDC to help health organizations get started using social media. Introduces a wide range of social tools that can be useful for health communications, promotions, emergency responses, campaigns, and other media efforts.
 

Healthy Community Design Toolkit
A tool to encourage citizens to think about land use decisions that would make a happier and healthier community. The Planning and Health Resource Guide for Designing and Building Healthy Neighborhoods provides resources to go along with the toolkit.

Healthy Community Design website
A source of information and research linking public health to the built environment. The site offers tools to help integrate health into the community planning process.
 

Making Connections: Understanding Community Health, Safety, and Welfare in Northwest Michigan
A resource for understanding local policy, budgeting, and leadership issues and identifying solutions that can address priority community health, safety, and welfare issues.
 

Media Access Guide: A Resource for Community Health Promotion
Information on initiating and growing healthy media relationships.
 

Munson Community Health Dashboard
A list of community health indicators that illustrate how Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, and Leelanau Counties are performing on key health measures compared to national, state, and local levels.

Nonprofit Needs Assessment for Northwest Michigan
A needs assessment was developed in 2013-2014 to identify challenges for nonprofit organizations in the ten-county Northwest Michigan region, relative to resources, capacity, leadership, revenue, and other issues. The report identifies potential opportunities for addressing challenges experienced by the region's nonprofits in order to better adapt to changing trends and complex communitiy issues.  

Planning and Health Resource Guide for Designing and Building Healthy Neighborhoods
Links to other guides, checklists, audit tools, websites, pamphlets, etc. to help planners, local officials, and citizens address healthy community design and create vibrant neighborhoods. This resource was designed to go with the Healthy Community Design Checklist Toolkit.
 

Planning for Pathways: An Implementation Resource of the New Designs for Growth Guidebook  
The New Designs for Growth Guidebook recognizes that pathways are increasingly important features in new development and site design, and encourages the creation of pathways as an integral component of communities' transportation networks. This publication was developed to help implement the policies included in the New Designs for Growth Guidebook.
 

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation County Health Rankings
An interactive map of health rankings supported by extensive data that can help communities identify where they could improve. Tools and resources offer guidance to help improve a community’s health.