Mahoning County Public Health outlines five-year "Creating Healthy Communities" plan for Struthers

Mahoning County Public Health officials told the Struthers City Council on April 20 that the county has the five-year Creating Healthy Communities grant and will work with the city to expand access to healthy food and opportunities for physical activity. Ryan Teacock, Mahoning County public health commissioner, introduced the presentation and said the department wants to raise local awareness of services and programs.

The grant aims to "prevent and reduce chronic disease by collaborating with communities to improve access and affordability of healthy foods, as well as increase opportunities for physical activity," Lisa Slokovich, a community health education specialist with Mahoning County Public Health, said. Slokovich described strategies the county has used in Sebring and plans to pursue in Struthers, including farmer's markets, healthy food retail and pantry support, park and playground repairs, active-transportation planning and public-transit education tied to WRTA services.

Why it matters: council members and the presenters said the work targets long-term health outcomes and can bring implementation dollars, not just planning. "We were awarded the Creating Healthy Communities grant at Mahoning County Public Health, for the next five years," Slokovich said, adding the program focuses on policy, systems and environmental changes.

Teacock said a Sebring pilot helped the county scale strategies to other communities and that the department brought printed flyers to distribute to residents. Slokovich said the city completed a healthy eating and active living assessment after working with a planning committee the mayor formed; she said the county hopes to take part in a large community event this summer to gather resident input.

Slokovich listed potential measures the grant could support in Struthers: repairing playground equipment, building or expanding a farmer's market and community gardens, improving pedestrian and bike infrastructure, developing safe routes to healthy food, and working with food pantries to add fresh produce. She said the county also intends to coordinate with local schools; she mentioned Superintendent Pete Perron and the district nutrition specialist as partners in the assessment.

Mayor Catherine Chacon Miller thanked the presenters and the council for the opportunity to participate in the assessment. Mahoning County Public Health officials said they will take feedback from the planning committee and the wider community as they move toward implementation.

Next steps: the presenters said the county and the city will continue assessment work with the planning committee and host outreach events this summer to collect resident priorities and design specific projects.