It’s amazing how this season that brings more daylight hours and sunny days also inspires opportunities for renewed energy and fresh perspectives! As we continue our efforts to improve community health and well-being, like many of you, we are adapting to changing landscapes as we find ourselves well into 2025.
Much of our core work remains ongoing, and over the past year we have collaborated with Providence’s community health investment team to support the organization’s efforts to contribute to the health and well-being of the North Puget Sound community. To fully embrace and sustain these efforts, while honoring our team’s capacity, we have made the difficult decision to sunset our much-loved Edge of Amazing (EOA) annual conference.
Over a decade ago, Edge of Amazing served as the launch event for Providence Institute for a Healthier Community (PIHC). Each year, this conference highlighted inspiring stories and strengths of our community. It fostered partnerships focused on community health and well-being, and brought people together to build, bridge and celebrate our collective efforts. A catalyst for PIHC’s vision – healthier people, healthier relationships, healthier communities, created together – EOA played a pivotal role in shaping our collective impact. While it’s incredibly difficult to say goodbye, we are confident that the connections and partnerships formed through this event will continue to thrive throughout our community and in PIHC’s ongoing work. Please visit our EOA website where you can find some special memories honoring this community gathering over the years, (you may see some familiar faces!) along with additional resources.
As EOA sunsets, our partnership work has grown, particularly with the addition of managing Providence Swedish’s North Puget Sound (NPS) community health investment efforts. A few key highlights include our support for the NPS Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) and the Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP). The latest CHNA is detailed in a recent blog post and you can find additional information about both the CHNA and CHIP on the Providence website, along with more information about Community Health Investment efforts. Partnerships have always been the heart of our work, and we’re proud to bring this expertise to the Community Health Investment efforts across Snohomish County. To learn more visit our partnerships webpage.
This year, we’ve already seen more opportunities to connect in community, with a mix of both returning and new local community events. Explore events or other health education resources on our Facebook page or follow us on our new Instagram page. We’re also looking forward to strengthening partnerships with our hospital services lines, including Spiritual Health, the Breast Center and Cancer Partnership community events. To learn more about community health and promotion efforts visit this webpage.
A continued priority for us is connecting people to information and resources addressing the health and well-being needs of our communities. Our resource hub, www.Livewelllocal.org, provides a central place where the community can easily access and share local resources. As we work to improve the user experience, our community partners are more engaged than ever, actively contributing to and updating the hub, creating a truly meaningful crowd-sourced platform. You can find the latest quarterly newsletter devoted to our community partners and timely resource highlights. To learn more about the hub, including opportunities to create a LiveWellLocal.org Custom Community for your own needs visit this webpage.
As we prepare to launch the 2025 Snohomish County Annual Health and Well-being Monitor (HWBM), we are also thrilled to be partnering with Connect Casino Road, as they conclude the fielding of a My Community Health and Well-being Monitor. This initiative will assess hyper-local community needs and support future programing. Learn about PIHC Health and Well-being Monitor or the My Community Health and Well Being Monitor.
Finally, spring is a timely reminder that physical health remains the most influential factor on our county’s overall well-being score. The drivers of physical health are multifaceted, affected by many areas of well-being. Mental and emotional health, along with exercise, are key factors that significantly influence physical health ratings. Explore these insights in our recent blog post and to learn more about PIHC, our current strategic plan and 2025 goals visit this webpage.
Hopefully your own goals include time to revitalize and resource your own energy this spring with movement, play, and/or deeper connection with yourself and others.
Happy Spring!
Jess
