Metro Denver Health and Wellness Commission

Colorado has always boasted one of the nations healthiest populations. In part this results from the abundance of outdoor activities available and the attraction these amenities have had for active people from throughout America and the world. Even so, the trends in our country toward inactivity, unhealthy food, and dangerously growing obesity rates have not missed Colorado. Though we are still at the bottom of the list of states with significant percentages of obesity in the population, the percentage in Colorado is growing fast.

The mission of the Metro Denver Health and Wellness Commission (MDHWC) is to retain Colorado's leadership as the healthiest state and to slow and ultimately reverse these dangerous trends. Healthier people are more energetic, productive, and place fewer demands on the healthcare system than their overweight and obese peers; so arguably, our state’s healthy employees are better employees, healthier students are better students, healthier families make healthier communities.

The MDHWC, comprised of key stakeholders and leaders from metro area cities, health care providers, and representatives from the academic, business and philanthropic communities, is charged with drafting a strategic plan to ensure that the metro area is and remains “America’s Healthiest Community.”

Objectives:

To develop policies and strategies that can be implemented by schools, employers, and communities that will result in a measurable decline in the rate of obesity and obesity related diseases in the Denver metro region;
To identify and quantify the impact of rising health care costs on our regional economy and the economic benefit of decreasing these costs at the regional level;
To strengthen and expand the region’s economic development cluster of health and wellness related services and industry;
To develop messaging and community outreach regarding the importance of healthy eating and active living, and to promote Denver nationally as the leader in health and wellness; and finally
To grow the MDHWC to include additional partners that recognize the importance of health and wellness in our region and who can help to promote the programs and activities of the MDHWC.

During its first year, the commission developed a strategic plan to transform the metro area into America ’s healthiest community. The strategic plan outlines three major priorities for the region: Healthy Schools/Early Childhood Programs, Healthy Worksites, and Healthy Communities. In addition, we created our first annual Health of the Region Report, including the metrics to measure the effectiveness of MDHWC initiatives in upcoming years.