NRPA participates in health conference.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion and the Directors of Health Promotion and Education recently hosted a conference in Washington, D.C., designed to develop and explore innovative and effective health policy.

The conference, titled "Advancing the National Health Promotion and Health Education Agenda Through Effective Policies and Practices," sought to provide tools to strengthen federal, state and local policies affecting public health. NRPA played a critical role in helping to frame the policy agenda and in guiding the path toward non-traditional partnerships with public health programs.

The value that local parks and recreation agencies bring to the public health paradigm was a common theme throughout the conference. Agencies were used in science-based case studies and were offered as model examples of partners and community change agents. NRPA staff will continue to bridge gaps and identify common approaches to health and wellness public policy strategies.