HEALTHY COMMUNITIES

1. Safe and Healthy Communities is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating and ensuring safe, healthy, sustainable, and equitable communities for all. Through their collaborative approach and broad public health expertise, they aim to enhance decision-making and public health outcomes within the realms of planning, transportation, housing, the natural environment, social connectedness, services, programming, and policies. To learn more about Safe and Healthy Communities, please visit them at https://www.safeandhealthycommunities.org today! Health impact assessments are often defined as "the evaluation of a person's health condition, focusing on the relationship between that person and their environment." In other words, it can be said to be a comprehensive overview of a person's health status. Assessing your health impacts is not just a matter of determining whether or not you are healthy but also ascertaining what your specific health impacts might be. In order to make the right decisions for your health, it is important to know them. This can be achieved through an impact assessment. An impact assessment determines your direct health, as well as the effects that other individuals will face when you are exposed to their health conditions. This form of risk assessment helps you prioritize and make decisions that will reduce the negative effects that you might experience in the future. Impact assessments can be carried out by a team of health care professionals who include your personal doctor, nurse, physical therapist, occupational therapist, and other health care workers who are trained and skilled in evaluating health risks. Health agencies require employees to complete a HIPAA training whenever they're hired. This HIPAA training program usually lasts for one hour. However, some health impacts assessment companies offer their employees additional training if they so desire. Most health impact assessments carry out by using only the most standard techniques for evaluation. Some public health agencies require their employees to complete special training to assure that they are able to administer the assessments in a reliable manner. There is a growing need for health impact assessments in U.S. public agencies. Most of these agencies have no formal training program in this field, although they often do receive some form of training from external agencies. Some, such as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, receive extensive training and certification in this area from outside sources. Other agencies, such as those serving children and families, also participate in training courses and programs offered by other professional associations and employers alike. It is important for agencies to be properly trained if they want to provide services to the public with greater success. In addition to health impact assessments, an agency also may conduct community design HIA services. These services are critical in analyzing health effects in a community so that changes can be made. An health impact assessment example of this type of service is conducting a comparative analysis of existing conditions in a

2. neighborhood to identify trends or patterns that may exist. This can be particularly useful when analyzing cases of environmental pollution or health problems. Studies conducted using this type of service are used as input for public health studies, health plans, and insurance plans. Some communities use Health Impact Assessment in conjunction with the creation of a baseline community plan. This allows for the identification of areas that may require future adjustments to reduce health risks and to make decisions regarding how to improve conditions within those areas. It also helps identify management challenges that must be addressed if changes are to be made at a greater level. Most importantly, it identifies key stakeholders, such as insurance providers, emergency medical facility managers, public health agencies, and the community at large. All these areas are critical to the success of health care delivery. Check out Safe and Healthy Communities today!