About Healthy Dearborn
The Mission & Goal
The Mission: To create valuable opportunities for people in Dearborn to practice healthy lifestyles by enriching their minds, nurturing their bodies, and revitalizing their spirit.
The Vision: Dearborn, a thriving diverse community, will fully embrace a unified culture of health where everyone enjoys whole health (mind, body, spirit) with equal access to healthy foods, health care, green space and opportunities for safe and active living
The Goal: To mobilize, share and collaborate to make healthy living accessible, popular and fun for everyone!
Hundreds of Dearborn residents, employees, students and others are actively engaged in creating a unified culture of health where everyone enjoys whole health (mind, body, spirit) with equal access to healthy foods, health care, green space and opportunities for safe, active living.
Why Healthy Dearborn?
Healthy Dearborn was launched in 2015 to address Beaumont Health’s top health challenges identified through its Community Health Needs Assessment: cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes.
Community Health Needs Assessment
In 2019, Healthy Dearborn added “mental health” to its health priorities.
Because chronic diseases can be prevented through healthy eating and active living, and because research shows that health is significantly impacted by where we live, Beaumont is using a place-based approach to address these health issues.
In fact, research shows that 80% of a person’s health is impacted by social and economic factors and just 10% is impacted by what happens in the doctor’s office.
In 2017, a new report from CDC and RWJF that contained data on health at the census tract (neighborhood) level, never before available. This data reveals glaring health disparities between the east and west sides of Dearborn. As a result of this information, we dedicate additional resources to address these issues.
When?
Coalition members meet monthly. At these meetings, members develop strategic plan goals and objectives, and work throughout the year in close collaboration with student interns to implement innovative, mission-driven initiatives. Quarterly evening “conversations” are held in rotating locations.
There are many ongoing projects and events taking place that Healthy Dearborn Coalition members are highly involved in and encouraged to both enjoy as members of the community and participate in as coalition members.
Who?
Healthy Dearborn is a partnership between the City of Dearborn, Dearborn Public Schools and Beaumont Health. Now, the Healthy Dearborn coalition has more than 550 engaged members from diverse backgrounds and perspectives.
Currently, coalition members meet in six “action teams”: Healthy Foods; Healthy at Work; Healthy Environments for Physical Activity; Healthy Schools; Inclusive Health Committee, and; Health Disparities/Health Equity. Healthy Dearborn action teams are composed of a variety of stakeholders that come together to identify opportunities to address health issues through policy, systems and environmental changes that increased access to healthy foods and opportunities for physical activity at the local level.
A Research Committee, comprised of 13 researchers and professors from University of Michigan-Dearborn, Wayne State University, and University of Michigan-Ann Arbor enhances coalition work with data, research and evaluation. ACCESS is also an active Research Committee participant. The coalition benefits also from a continual roster of student interns
Notable Healthy Dearborn Achievements
Raised and/or leveraged $1.689 million for Dearborn health and infrastructure improvement efforts
The Outer Drive bike trail and a new, accessible kayak launch on the Rouge River are nearly completed
More than 60 student interns enriched their academic studies by working with you to learn about community coalitions and public health.