August 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 41

By erika terl

PUBLI C H E ALTH

Healthy Collaborations
Good things happen when parks and health departments work together

E

Xperts in the Field oF health recommend a comprehensive approach to

san antonio parks and reCreation

obesity prevention that involves schools, parks, health departments, community programs, families, and health-care practitioners (www.cdc.gov/pcd/
issues/2010/jul/pdf/09_0184.pdf). In an economy where resources are limited, there is
strength in numbers-partnerships such as those between park and recreation agencies and local health departments create opportunities for mutually beneficial relationships that promote healthy lifestyles and livable communities.
Park and recreation agencies and local health departments are both vital to the health and well being
of a community. Working together, park and recreation agencies and local health departments benefit from increased visibility and credibility, greater
reach into a community through cross-disciplinary
cooperation, and leveraging of resources (see Parks
& Recreation, September 2008).
Dr. Anand K. Parekh, Deputy Assistant Secretary
for Health (Science and Medicine) for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recognizes the role and value of these collaborations, saying
that, " Park and recreation agencies are playing a natural and growing role in collaborating with health
professionals working toward building healthy communities. These partnerships, between park and
health professionals, provide an ideal framework
for increasing opportunities for physical activity and
thereby reducing obesity-related chronic disease.
Federal health and wellness programs serve as a
catalyst for these connections, fostering the initiation
and strengthening of these partnerships and thereby encouraging the promotion of healthy lifestyles
through recreation and access to nutritious foods. "
Indeed, illustrations of the value of collaboration between park and recreation and health organizations
can be found nationwide as more and more agencies
realize the mutual benefits of these relationships.
Park and recreation agencies have reported that,
especially in these past few years, the value of partnerships with their local health departments has
greatly increased. Collaboration between these
partners has allowed both agencies to forge ahead
even when times were tight by supporting each other in numerous ways. In Tennessee, the McMinnville

Parks and Recreation Department works closely with
the local health department as joint members of a formal community wellness initiative. The local health
department has served as content experts for staff
development programs, collaborated to promote
physical activity through fitness fairs, and provided
the nutritional education component for summer and
after school programming. Both organizations, having experienced budgetary and staffi ng constraints,
found that leveraging human capital support has
helped parks and recreation to remain a mainstay
and viable health partner in the community.
Coming together initially to prioritize public
health issues and identify resources in a community assessment initiative, the Department of Parks,
Recreation and Cultural Resources (PRCR) and the
Department of Human Services (DHS) in Arlington,

www.NRPA .ORG

AUGUST 2011

The San Antonio
Parks and
Recreation
Department, in
conjunction with
Metropolitan
Health, brings
in a whole new
era in outdoor
exercise with the
introduction of
ﬁtness equipment
stations at area
parks.

Parks & Recreation

39
August 2011 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of August 2011 - Parks & Recreation
