Active and Healthy Communities | Vermont Department of Health

Active and Healthy Communities | Vermont Department of Health
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Translations for you
Active and Healthy Communities
Burlington
WIC (Burlington)
Family and Child Health
Active and Healthy Communities
Worksite Wellness
School Health
Immunizations
Infectious Disease
Community Prevention Programs
Tobacco Prevention
Emergency Preparedness
Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Prevention
When the place where we live makes it easy for everyone to exercise and eat well, fewer people will suffer from injury, cancer, diabetes, stroke, heart and lung disease. Our goal is to help shape our communities to support health and well-being. To do this we:
promote safe, pleasant and accessible places for all people to walk, roll or bicycle
promote use of public transit
ensure access to healthy and affordable food
ensure safe, quality housing
We work with community organizations, municipal and regional planners, schools and health care providers. We begin with conversations to learn what is important to our community. From there, we find ways to weave in health and wellness improvements that fit the priorities of our towns, such as economic development. All Vermonters will thrive when our living conditions help to eliminate differences in health for different groups of people.
Use the
Public Health Data Explorer
to learn about health and wellness where you live.
My Healthy Vermont
My Healthy Vermont
offers free workshops to help you prevent or manage chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and chronic pain.
How We Can Help
There are many ways that the Burlington office can help shape a healthier community. We can:
share examples of language that promotes health with cities and towns in order to strengthen regional plans.
provide a Safe Routes to Schools Regional Expert to provide support to schools.
provide public health data and information to inform planning.
provide education about why sidewalks and healthy foods options in local markets are important.
connect you with useful resources and provide examples of similar work done in other communities to help you on your way.
look for funds to help town officials and organizations support health-promoting efforts
Local Highlights
Healthy Community Design
Our office supports municipal staff, elected officials, and community members on healthy community design activities such as:
Using health data to inform decision-making.
Development of health supporting language in land use and transportation planning documents.
Conducting healthy community design public engagement during the planning process.
Helping municipalities implement
healthy community design recommendations
The Burlington Local Health Office supported the following healthy community design efforts:
ECOS Plan
Chittenden County Active Transportation Plan
Plan BTV Walk/Bike
Jericho Town Plan
- collaborated with the Planning Commission to include a health chapter in an update of the town plan.
Health Impact Assessment
A Health Impact Assessment studies the potential impacts to health of decisions about policies or programs. We have conducted
Health Impact Assessments
on four projects in our district:
North Avenue Corridor Study in Burlington
Milton Corridor Study
School transportation policy in the newly consolidated Essex Westford School District
3-4-50 Prevent Chronic Disease
What does 3-4-50 mean?
3 behaviors
– lack of physical activity, poor diet, and tobacco use – lead to
4 chronic diseases
– cancer, heart disease and stroke, type 2 diabetes, and lung disease – that are the cause of more than
50 percent of all deaths in Vermont
This understanding inspires us to take action. Communities that are built to support physical activity, safe walking and biking, use of public transportation, and easy access to fresh foods are essential for good health.
See how Vermont Cities & Towns support health
Related Resources
Active Living and Healthy Eating
- Vermont Healthy Community Design Resource
Examples for Creating Healthy Communities: Physical Activity, Healthy Eating, Tobacco, Alcohol & Drug Abuse Prevention (link is external)
- Vermont Healthy Community Design Resource
Complete Streets: Guide for Vermont Communities
- to assist towns with examples
3-4-50 Prevent Chronic Disease
Physical Activity & Nutrition in Vermont Communities
Health in All Policies Scorecard
Environmental Health in Vermont
Chronic Disease in Vermont - Data
Trail Finder
VT State Parks
Free Falls Prevention Resources
Hunger Free Vermont
Safe Routes to School
CounterBalance
- a campaign directed towards the tobacco industry’s influence on youth
Melissa,
Chronic Disease Program Specialist
802-324-9430
[email protected]
August 22, 2025