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When Dr. Detra Bishop, Pastor, pulled into the John Wesley United Methodist Church parking lot in the middle of the week she couldn’t believe her eyes: it was packed. Inside she found elderly church goers having their blood pressure taken at health stations; Miss Agnes, the Health Education Center (HEC) Coordinator, talking excitedly on the office phone; LaSonya in her walker working steadily...

Kirk Smith wasn’t surprised when Genesee County’s health behaviors ranked last among Michigan’s 82 counties in the 2010 County Health Rankings.

In Michigan, Health Director Mary Kushion seized Clare County’s poor performance in the County Health Rankings as an opportunity to host a public health summit and begin generating ideas for improving the health of the six counties served by the Central Michigan District Health Department.

As Margaret Mead famously said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” The Greenwood District United Methodist Church Health Alliance (GDUMCHA—or “HA” for short) is living proof. The Health Education Center at John Wesley Church is just one of many initiatives HA is carrying out, and they...

In an April 2011 Rankings in Action webinar, Kirk Smith, president and CEO of the Greater Flint Health Coalition (GFHC) commented that the 2011 County Health Rankings were "...a good tool to wake people up.” Ranked 78th out of 82 Michigan counties for health outcomes and last for health behaviors, Genesee County leaders appreciated the wake up call to create a County Health Rankings action plan.

As a result of the 2010 Public Health Summit, the Central Michigan District Health Department created the Together We Can Health Improvement Council, which brings together stakeholders from across the region from human service agencies, media, local government, K-12 education, colleges and universities, and hospital systems. Working groups were also created within each county in the region.

Public safety is an important component of every community’s overall health. In Flint, MI, located in Genesee County, the violent crime rate is over 400 percent of the national average, making safety a primary concern for many of the city’s residents.