Tyler's Heart Healthy Status Marks City’s Ongoing Public-Health Efforts
Residents of Tyler can take heart in the city’s devotion to their health and welfare.
In 2009, Tyler received the Heart and Stroke Healthy City designation from the Texas Department of State Health Services’ Council on Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke.
The recognition was the culmination of multiple efforts across the community to boost Tyler residents’ access to and scope of health-related services, says George Roberts, chief executive officer of the Northeast Texas Public Health District.
“We achieved a 40 out of 40, giving us gold-level recognition,” Roberts says. “It really says a lot about our community, and all the organizations that worked together to make this happen.”
Several key areas were scored, including how well informed residents are about the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Tyler’s various media outlets all offer public-service announcements on the issue, and the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce’s “Healthiest Community in Texas” committee produced materials for the campaign. The chamber also added a "healthy options" marker to its online restaurant guide and menus.
For its part, the city of Tyler has beefed up its physical-activity areas, opening and maintaining more than eight miles of walking/biking trails, as well as promoting healthy food options at farmer’s markets and other lifestyle-oriented activities in the area.
Many other groups also got in on the act by providing data and services to boost the overall effort.
“The Red Cross trained more than 3,400 people last year in CPR,” Roberts says. “We also compiled information about how quickly our EMS responds to those situations, including the transport times from an incident site to the hospital. We now have health sites in the community with information on various health-related topics, and have more than 100 public defibrillators for use in an emergency.”
Another major win for the city’s hearts, and lungs, was the passage of a smoking ordinance banning smoking in all public buildings.
But just as important has been the fact that residents have not only embraced the new amenities, they have also worked to expand them.
“We have more than eight miles of trails and 26 community and neighborhood parks, and the city has actually opened new trails since we got this designation,” says Stephanie Taylor, director of community outreach and assistance.
“It’s not like we were awarded this and then things went to a standstill. This shows us that Tyler is very interested in working on ideas and programs that will help our community become even healthier.”
Next up is the Healthy Tyler Initiative, which will further boost citizen interest in exercise and fitness.
“People are realizing that pubic health is more than just safe food, clean water and vaccinations,” Roberts says. “It’s a whole lifestyle. We are very excited about what’s going to come.”
