Washington County Pathfinder

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Check out this blog post from America Walks that features Mary McPherson, a Program Manager at the Washington County Health department who completed the Walking College Fellowship Program last year.

Here’s a quote from the article:

Mary McPherson, Program Manager at Washington County Health Department and 2018 Walking College Fellow, took full advantage of the networking opportunities when she attended the Walk/Bike/Places Conference held in New Orleans last year — part of the Walking College activities — and it paid off, literally.

“Traffic Garden Pitch Gets Unexpected Funding

None of this would have ever happened without the Walking College Fellow experience. I learned so much, formed wonderful partnerships, and became much more confident in my ability to create change,” says McPherson.

The conference allowed Mary to hear about projects being implemented around the country. During one breakout session she connected with a few folks who talked about “Traffic Gardens” for children. Mary loved the idea and took it to heart, hoping to bring the concept to Hagerstown. After careful brainstorming with her new contacts she made a pitch to her connections in Hagerstown as well as the folks at the Maryland Department of Health. The idea was welcomed quickly and the health department was awarded $20,000 to educate children and build a Traffic Garden in Hagerstown.

Traffic Gardens are gaining traction as a fun but practical educational model for children learning how to get around by bike and hone their bicycling skills. It’s also a hands on, simulated way to teach kids how to safely use and share the road with all other users across the spectrum of active mobility modes.

“It will be amazing to have a place where children can enjoy their bicycles in a safe environment, learn the rules of the road and hopefully become life long bicycle enthusiasts… I feel that in all of my 20 years of work in public health, this could be the one project that will truly make a difference in the health of our community,” says McPherson.

You can learn more about Traffic Gardens in this blog post from the Safe Routes to School National Partnership.

The Traffic Garden in Hagerstown is expected to be completed this year. We’re looking forward to having a safe and educational place for children to ride their bikes in Hagerstown!

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The American Public Health Association has a goal to get people to take 1 billion steps by the start of National Public Health Week during the first week of April. The challenge starts January 1st! Sign up and learn more here.

The Billion Steps Challenge supports broader health promotion efforts and the intersections between community design and active living, such as 2015’s “Step It Up: The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Promote Walking and Walkable Communities.” We hope you’ll join us in advocating for programs and opportunities for all people to engage in physical activity in their communities.

The Challenge begins Jan. 1, 2019, with a goal of reaching more than 1 billion collective steps by APHA’s National Public Health Week celebration the first week of April. We hope you’ll join us!

Sign up for the Billion Steps Challenge on the MoveSpring website or by downloading the MoveSpring app (available at Google Play or in the App Store). If asked, enter “APHA2019” as the organization code for APHA’s Billion Steps Challenge.

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What is Walk Maryland Day?

Walk Maryland Day is a celebration of our official state exercise–walking! It’s also a call to action to promote awareness about regular walking for physical activity and improved health, engaging Marylanders with fun walks of all sizes and shapes.

See pictures, event highlights, and read our Walk Maryland Day 2017 Report here​.

Do you love walking? Become a Walking Leader! It’s easy, just go for a walk and invite others to join you. It’s that simple! Become a Walking Leader by registering here​.​

Walk Maryland Day Event Goals

  • Engage Marylanders in walking for daily physical activity. More than 2400 Marylanders participated in 2017.
  • Engage community leaders to boost event visibility and physical activity awareness.
  • Support safe walking in Maryland through enhanced state agency coordination (e.g., MDH, MSDE, MDOT, UMD extension, etc.).
  • Promote school participation in Walk Maryland Day (International Walk to School Day) by registering here. More than 100 schools participated in 2016 and 2017.
  • Promote worksite participation in Walk Maryland Day by directing Healthiest Maryland Businesses (HMB) and other Maryland worksites to walking resources.

Learn more about Walk Maryland Day here.

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Take the Washington County Walking and Walkability Survey at tinyurl.com/WashCoWalkingSurvey

The survey is intended to be taken by adults who live in Washington County, Maryland. The survey should take less than 10 minutes to complete and responses are anonymous.

An important strategy in the Washington County Walking and Walkability Plan is to assess the current state of walking and walkability in Washington County. Along with conducting various walk audits throughout the county, this survey will help us collect the information we need to assess the current state of walking and walkability in the county.

Please take a few minutes to complete the survey and help us achieve our vision of walking toward a healthier Washington County.

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The Washington County Health Department in collaboration with several other community organizations including the City of Hagerstown, Washington County Recreation and Fitness, Washington County Commission on Aging, YMCA of Hagerstown, Fort Frederick State Park, and the Washington County Chamber of Commerce; conducted a walk audit in downtown Hagerstown on July 10th. A walk audit is where a group of people walk around an area and rate how walkable it is. Walkability refers to how easy and pleasant a place is to walk.

The walk audit was open to the community to participate in and several community members attended. The walk included sections of Washington Street and the Hagerstown Cultural Trail as well as Antietam Street and Summit Avenue. The Washington County Walking and Walkability team reviewed the suggestions that were made to improve walkability in that area. The City of Hagerstown already has plans to make most of the recommended walkability improvements.

Conducting walk audits in downtown areas of Washington County is one of the strategies in the Washington County Walking and Walkability Plan, which can be found at https://bit.ly/2LKF8xF

The plan was developed as part of an initiative from the Maryland Department of Health to promote walking and walkability. An important first step in the plan is to assess the current state of walking and walkability in Washington County. One method for this assessment is the Washington County Walking and Walkability Survey which can be found at https://tinyurl.com/WashCoWalkingSurvey and can be taken by Washington County residents until the end of August. The other method is conducting walk audits in downtown areas in the county. The walk audit in downtown Hagerstown was the first of what will be several throughout the county.

Another walk audit is currently planned in Hancock on August 15th at 3pm. The walk will begin at the Hancock Town Museum and Visitor Center at 42 W. Main Street and will be about 1.5 miles long. The walk will include parts of the Western Maryland Rail Trail, Main Street, and Widmyer Park. The mayor of Hancock will be participating in this walk audit. All community members are welcome to attend! For more information about this walk audit, go to https://bit.ly/2KjqZ4U

If you have any questions or if you would like to become involved in promoting walking and walkability in Washington County, you may contact the Washington County Health Department Health Planning and Strategic Initiatives Division at mary.mcpherson@maryland.gov or 240-313-3349.

View PDF

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Most of us are aware of the benefits of exercise and spending time outdoors, but communities that invest in hiking, biking, and walking trails often see a stronger bottom-line. A healthier workforce means less time away from work, more productivity, and more opportunities for growth for local businesses. Additionally, given the high cost of healthcare and increasingly limited insurance availability,  a healthier community means fewer tax dollars spent on uninsured patients.

But there is another economic advantage to investing in walking trails and pedestrian-friendly cities. Communities that make it easier for people to walk or bicycle can also trigger economic growth.  Cities that are safe and accessible for pedestrians and bicyclists attract tourism, generate traffic for restaurants and other local businesses, and increase property values. From the Hagerstown bike loop and Cultural Trail, to new development in Williamsport along the C&O Canal, to the Western Maryland Rail Trail in Hancock and towns and villages throughout Washington County, our region has made great strides toward building healthier and more economically viable communities in recent years. So go take a hike—it might just help your bottom-line in more ways than one!

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A period of very hot weather is …expected or about to occur…. Here are some things you can do to prepare for it.

  1. Drink plenty of fluids. During hot to drink.
  2. Replace salt and minerals. Heavy sweating removes salt and minerals from the body. These are necessary for your body and must be replaced. If you must exercise, drink two to four glasses of cool, non-alcoholic fluids each hour. A sports beverage can replace the salt and minerals you lose in sweat. However, if you are on a low-salt diet, talk with your doctor before drinking a sports beverage or taking salt tablets.
  3. Schedule outdoor activities carefully. If you must be outdoors, try to limit your outdoor activity to morning and evening hours. Try to rest often in shady areas so that your body’s thermostat will have a chance to recover.
  4. Pace yourself. If you are not accustomed to working or exercising in a hot environment, start slowly and pick up the pace gradually. If exertion in the heat makes your heart pound and leaves you gasping for breath, STOP all activity. Get into a cool area or at least into the shade, and rest, especially if you become lightheaded, confused, weak, or faint.
  5. Use a buddy system. When working in the heat, monitor the condition of your co-workers and have someone do the same for you. Heat-induced illness can cause a person to become confused or lose consciousness.
  6. Don’t leave children or pets in cars. Even in cool temperatures, cars can heat up to dangerous temperatures very quickly. Even with the windows cracked open, interior temperatures can rise almost 20 degrees Fahrenheit within the first 10 minutes. Anyone or any pet left inside is at risk for serious heat-related illnesses or even death. Children who are left unattended in parked cars are at greatest risk for heat stroke, and possibly death.

Courtesy of the National Weather Service

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Hagerstown, Maryland, has always been known as a “Hub” city but now the paths that converge here are often hiking and biking trails. Because of our biking-friendly roads, the C&O Canal, our parks, and our well-marked urban bicycling lanes, Hagerstown was officially recognized by the League of American Bicyclists as a Bicycle Friendly Community.

Just ten years ago Hagerstown had virtually no biking lanes. Now, thanks to public support, the support of local government, and Bicycle Advisory Committee, Hagerstown has over ten miles of urban bicycle lanes, bike racks are abundant, and the city hosts several well-known racing events including the USA Cycling Amateur Road National Championships.

For more information, visit:  www.bikeleague.org/community.

To learn more about the bicycling in Hagerstown, visit: www.hagerstownmd.org/bicycling.

 

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Congratulations to Hub Labels, The Arc of Washington County, the Washington County Health Department, and Fahrney-Keedy! These local organizations have all been recognized for their commitment to supporting health and wellness programs in the workplace.

From the Maryland Department of Health:

On Friday, June 1, 58 Maryland employers were recognized as Healthiest Maryland Businesses Wellness at Work Awardees for their exemplary accomplishments in worksite health promotion. Howard Haft, MD, Deputy Secretary of the Maryland Department of Health, congratulated awards recipients at the 9th Annual Maryland Workplace Health & Wellness Symposium, noting, “In public health, we strive to improve health through community-based efforts. Worksites are one place that many Marylanders spend a majority of their day and are a crucial setting in which to make the healthy choice the easy choice. Congratulations to all of the 2018 Wellness at Work Awards recipients.”

The Wellness at Work Awards are sponsored by Healthiest Maryland Businesses, the state’s initiative to support healthy workplaces. Any Maryland employer who is a member of Healthiest Maryland Businesses is eligible to apply, and there is no cost to be a member. Recognition criteria are based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Workplace Health Model and applicants are asked to describe activities and share examples of policies and tools developed and utilized in the four areas of assessment, planning and management, implementation, and evaluation.

Employers may earn a Gold, Silver, Bronze, or On the Path award based on their activities to establish leadership support for wellness, create wellness committees, survey the needs and interests of their employees, set health improvement goals, and develop monitoring tools to track their outcomes over time. A complete list of recognized businesses can be found at www.healthiestMDbusinesses.org/awardsprogram .

Launched in 2010 and based at the Maryland Department of Health, Healthiest Maryland Businesses helps businesses create customized wellness plans, set wellness goals, and monitor progress. Six regional coordinators around the state provide personalized guidance to businesses of all sizes. To date, more than 270 businesses have signed on to take advantage of this program. To learn more about Healthiest Maryland Businesses services or membership, visit www.healthiestMDbusinesses.org.

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