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New Year Ushers in New Name for CDC’s Steps Program: CDC's Healthy Communities Program

January 1, 2009—For CDC, the first of January wasn’t the only mark of the new year. CDC announced that, from this point forward, its Steps Program (established in 2003) would officially be called the Healthy Communities Program, which more clearly conveys the focus and goals of the program to the general public.

"The name change was made to accommodate the larger scope of activities being undertaken," said Richard Roman, Acting Director of the newly named CDC program. "Also, the Healthy Communities Program now addresses a broader range of chronic diseases and includes several additional funding models and many more communities."

CDC's Healthy Communities Program has incorporated knowledge gained from the Steps communities into the program's technical support to its other communities: Strategic Alliance for Health, ACHIEVE, Pioneering Healthier Communities, and REACH U.S. The Healthy Communities Program has also expanded its national network of partners through ACHIEVE and an upcoming 5-year collaboration with state health departments. In addition to state health departments, Healthy Communities Program partners providing technical support to funded communities include the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, the National Association of County and City Health Officials, the National Recreation and Park Association, the Society for Public Health Education, and the YMCA of the USA.

In February 2009, CDC's Healthy Communities Program Web site will be launched to provide information about the program's upcoming action institutes and training, tools for community action, investments in local communities, national networks for community change, and evaluation and innovation.

For CDC's Healthy Communities Program, this is only the beginning. Future plans include an expansion of national networks to support community change and an increase in the number of funded localities across the United States that will serve as models for implementing needed policy, systems, and environmental change strategies to address health-risk factors and reduce the burden of chronic diseases and health disparities.

 

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