Cumberland County, Tenn., builds a healthy foundation.

THE theme of "Building the Foundation for a Healthy America" took on a literal meaning during National Public Health Week at the Cumberland County Health Department in CROSSVILLE, TENN.

Each health department employee was assigned to be part of a team that focused on raising local awareness of public health's role in ensuring a healthy Cumberland County. To obtain "building blocks," each team received simple job assignments to complete during the week. At the end of the week, each team's building block was added together to make the county's healthy "foundation" complete.

Examples of those job assignments were walking with a family member for at least three days during the coming week, eating a salad with fresh vegetables and fat-free dressing for lunch or reaching out to other agencies about the health department's programs. Other assignments included bringing a fruit tray or healthy dessert to the health department's April 9 employee picnic and promoting the smoking cessation line among local organizations and groups.

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Each team had an April 9 deadline for construction projects, and that day team members gathered to be awarded a building block to add to the health department's foundation to complete the "Building the Foundation for a Healthy America" project.