Woodbury Health and Wellness Collaborative

Make your New Year’s Resolution a Reality with Woodbury Health and Wellness Collaborative.

By: Mary McGuire | From the issue: January 2012

Tired of making New Year’s resolutions you can’t keep? With the help of the Woodbury Health and Wellness Collaborative, any goal can be achieved, whether it is to improve nutrition or to get your heart pumping. The organization, which has been in existence for 9 years, was formed when Northwestern Health Sciences University and the director of the Natural Care Center in Woodwinds Hospital approached local health-oriented businesses for the purpose of networking, cross-marketing, and collaborating on special events.

Kim Ball, senior community health specialist for South Washington County, picks a topic and an audience each year, and together with the group, plans initiatives to promote throughout the community. The collaborative includes Kowalski’s Market, Southeast Area YMCA, Woodwinds Health Campus and city of Woodbury Parks and Recreation, in addition to other South Washington County organizations. Creating events like the” Woodbury Do” campaign to improve physical activity and the “Woodwinds Step into the Garden” program aimed at reducing stress, are just some of the ways the collaborative has impacted the community. Says Jodi Ritacca, senior public relations specialist for HealthEast and Woodwinds, “I’m proud to be a part of the collaborative and all that we have been able to accomplish as a community as we work together to improve health and wellness.”

The collaborative is currently working on a Living Healthy Resource Guide which will include more than 100 resources for healthy lifestyles in South Washington County, many of which are either free or low cost, and organized in three categories: active living, healthy foods, and tobacco cessation. Gretchen Carlson, adult enrichment and continuing education coordinator for South Washington County Schools, has been involved since the inception of the collaborative, adding “The group brings together a wealth of experience, knowledge, perspectives and resources along with a shared passion for making a difference.”

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