Healthy 8 Communities Network

As part of building healthier communities in southwest North Dakota, a network of over 35 agencies/individuals including St. Joseph’s Hospital and Health Center come together to create positive changes in the region. The Healthy 8 Communities Network was established in 1997 after an eight-county community health assessment.  The results prompted the creation of task forces to focus on several areas of community health.  The task forces currently in effect are:

• Access To Health Care
• Cancer And Substance Abuse
• Physical Activity And Nutrition
• Mental Health
• Children And Families

The Healthy 8 Network has representatives from support service providers, human service providers, hospitals, long term/basic care, private health care practitioners and the community-at-large.  Members work together to assure a healthy community for all people by empowering the community to take responsibility for health through on-going assessments, education, advocacy, intervention, prevention, cooperation and collaboration.

The network meets every other month during the school year with task force meetings held monthly or as needed.  Members on the task forces may or may not be members of the network.

For more information about the Health 8 Network, call Shelley Sailer at 456-4274.