2020 Health Summit Going Virtual to Take the HEALTHIER TOGETHER Movement to Another Level
While the COVID-19 Pandemic continues to bring new challenges that effect many of our day to day functions, HEALTHIER TOGETHER volunteers were determined to convene another Health Summit. Thanks to Zoom where there's a will, there's a way.
On Thursday, October 29th, community leaders joined together with over 100 other community members to participate in the 2020 Health Summit online.
Our 90 minute Summit was a great opportunity to share the work of those alliances and coalitions committed to improving outcomes within the six strategic focus areas of Chronic Disease Prevention, Community Safety, Education, Maternal & Child Health, Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders. Besides allowing us to shine the light on the work of these great volunteers, it also gave us an opportunity to bring a little more light to building new paths forward in 2021 for achieving a shared vision.
"Our County's local public health system is committed to working together with other public, private health, and human service partners to realize that shared vision for improved health and quality of life for all our communities."
—Chairman Mark Kern
Rev. Rob Dyer and the 1st United Presbyterian Church hosted the event.
St. Clair County Chairmen Mark Kern giving opening remarks.
Sharing Our 2019-20 Progress
Moving Forward with Help from Our Friends
"Hope is the ability to hear the music of the future, faith is the courage to dance to it today."
The success of those items listed above would not have been possible without the countless hours of dedication, planning and expertise provided by so many over the last two years. The HEALTHIER TOGETHER movement is indebted to those organizations and individuals who heeded the 2017 Health Summit call to action to practice the principles of Collective Impact; and, those who also joined the journey to keep moving forward after the 2019 Health Summit to become All In for Impact.
These same Collective Impact principles were woven together by each of our 2020 Summit speakers to emphasize and give clarity to HEALTHIER TOGETHER's tagline of Hope and Progress for All.
Our host, Rob Dyer, set the tone, with a reminder that there is no better time than now - in the middle of a Pandemic - to convene a Health Summit to engage more local grassroot citizen involvement. St. Clair County Chairman Mark Kern gave us a wonderful historic perspective as he emphasized the need for long-term shared leadership. Carol Daniel, from KMOX TV, facilitated a session to engage leaders and other participants around current accomplishments, challenges and next steps. Carol's challenge to the Summit participants was to be bold; and, to make a mind-shift to think outside ourselves so that the depth and wonder of a movement such as HEALTHIER TOGETHER can make a genuine impact on transforming communities that have been overwhelmed and underappreciated for generations. This type of BOLDNESS is essential to the dynamic nature of our incremental, but intentional approach along two interdependent paths:
1. A path of support for groups working towards a shared vision of improved health and quality of life within any of the identified strategic focus areas; and,
2. A path of support for communities willing to engage in a more targeted and intensive Collective Impact approach to health and quality of life improvement.
Carol Daniel facilitating the Summit discussion.
Dr. Robert Farmer sharing the work that has been done along with the work planned for the future.
Pastor Charles Rogers discussing the importance of ongoing projects within the Washington Park footprint.
Participants of the HEALTHIER TOGETHER 2020 Summit attended via Zoom, enabling us to practice safe social distancing.
Participants to the 2020 Health Summit came from all over St. Clair County and the metro east.