Every year, the National Association of County and City Health Officials honors local health departments for what they call “Exemplary and Innovative Programs.” This year, 39 were chosen out of 166 applicants.
The honorees included Albany County’s “Healthy Convenience Store Initiative,” Boulder County’s “Rapid Access and Treatment Retention of Young Opioid Addicts,” Columbus’s “Columbus Art Walks,” and Schenectady County’s “Know, Grow and Eat Your Vegetables: Increasing Access to Healthier Foods Among the Developmentally Disabled.”
The best part? Their online database of what appears to be almost a decade worth of both “model” and “promising” practices from around the country. My link is sorted to place model practices first, but it’s easy to browse in whatever format you please. If you sort by state, for example, you’re likely to find at least a few programs in your area. Even if you don’t find anything new in your neighborhood though, the database is worth a look as a way to gain insight into interesting programs across the country that could provide a jumping-off point for any number of local angles.
