What would you do if the county you'd lived in and loved for many decades was ranked the least healthy county in your state for three years running? What if you found out your county has the highest rate of prescription drug deaths in a six-county area?

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Getting Active: Physical Activity at Work

This article (from Wellness Council of America) provides 50 specific ideas about how to increase physical activity in the workplace. (Note: email required for access) It can be found in Business under Act on What’s Important.

Story

Getting Kids and Families in Shape in Cambria County, Pennsylvania

For years in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, nonprofit organizations such as the Windber Research Institute have strived consistently to improve local and regional health conditions. So when the county ranked in the bottom tier in the 2010 County Health Rankings, officials were disheartened — but grateful to have a third-party data source to validate their own observations to the community.

Story

Getting People Moving in Lincoln County, West Virginia

At Center Point United Baptist Church in Lincoln County, West Virginia, 18 parishioners are feeling lighter than they did 11 weeks ago — 250 pounds lighter, to be exact. And it’s thanks, in part, to the 2010 County Health Rankings. The weight-loss group, the brainchild of the church’s associate pastor Jason Cook, is just one example of the small-scale health-improvement efforts taking place in the community in the wake of the rankings.