(PASADENA, CA – Nov. 8, 2010) – Huntington Memorial Hospital has become the first hospital in the country to partner with Healthy Communities Institute (HCI) in offering a one-stop, online source of publicly available data about community health. The website, known as Healthy Pasadena (www.healthypasadena.org), is designed to help community members and policy makers learn about health-related issues and local resources so individuals can make informed, healthy lifestyle choices for themselves and their families.
“Making healthcare accessible to the community not only means providing great care within our hospital, but also means reaching outside our walls with efforts like Healthy Pasadena to offer access to important health information,” said Jane Haderlein, senior vice president at Huntington. “Healthy Pasadena provides essential information to the community while giving us and other local healthcare providers the kind of data and insight necessary to remain continually responsive to community needs.”
The new website was born from the desire to have a repository for information and data that assists public health departments, local administrators, hospitals and community coalitions with strategic and community planning. In addition, it can help local residents connect with a wide range of health resources in the community. HCI has developed a network of similar sites throughout the country, helping communities assess the health and wellness needs in their areas and supplying abundant resources to address those needs.
“Huntington Hospital is the ideal partner in launching our first-in-the-nation hospital-based site, and we were delighted when they accepted the challenge,” said Deryk Van Brunt, DrPH, HCI’s president and chairman. “As one of the great hospitals in the region and the leading healthcare provider in the city, Huntington’s sponsorship provides Healthy Pasadena a marvelous platform for medical information and resources from which the entire community can benefit.”
In addition to healthcare-related information, Healthy Pasadena provides a calendar of community events as well as news, articles and statistics regarding the social, educational and economic elements of the community. Visitors can compare the San Gabriel Valley’s health status to that of Los Angeles County and the state of California and learn best practices and protocols for addressing heath-related issues. They can also identify local resources for health and social services throughout Pasadena and Greater Los Angeles.
Visitors can learn statistics about everything from the area’s mean household income to the acreage of local land used for farming. There is also information about air quality, cancer rates and crime, plus more than 100 “indicators” that address topics including public safety, transportation, voter turnout and more. Healthy Pasadena even provides a page where visitors can take content information from the site and fill in fields to create their own personal report – ideal for school or business.
For more information call 626-397-5464.
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