Get Healthy CT

Get Healthy CT is a website that was designed to promote healthy lifestyles by removing the barriers to healthy eating and physical activity. Get Healthy CT was first developed in the Greater Bridgeport region in 2010 and has since expanded to include outreach in the Greater New Haven and Greenwich regions. The approach is to identify existing resources and programs and use the website as the central connecting point for information. The goal of Get Healthy CT is to “make the healthy choice the easy choice.”

 

Know Your Numbers

Know Your Numbers (KYN) was first developed by the Health Improvement Alliance, the community health partnership in Greater Bridgeport, provides free health screenings to patrons at food pantries and soup kitchens. Beginning in fall of 2017 monthly meetings were held with several Greater New Haven organizations to determine the level of interest in working together on building this program for the region. Early partners in the process included CARE, Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center, Get Healthy CT, Hispanic Health Council, Project Access New Haven, SCSU School of Nursing and Yale New Haven Hospital.

KYN aims to raise awareness of cardiovascular and diabetes health risks, raise awareness of the importance of preventative care and to work to improve the nutritional quality of food items from donors. A screening includes measuring body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, blood pressure and utilizing a diabetes risk assessment questionnaire. In addition to receiving screening results, participants also receive nutrition education from the Hispanic Health Council and referrals to local clinics or to other community resources through patient navigators from Project Access New Haven.

 

Get Healthy CT Walk & Talk with a Doc

Get Healthy CT Walk & Talk with a Doc is a weekly opportunity to bring community members and healthcare providers together to engage in healthy activity. The New Haven walks started in 2016 as a collaboration between the Get Healthy CT and the Yale Primary Care Internal Medicine and Medicine/Pediatrics Residency programs. Physicians volunteer to be present and available to provide health-related information in an informal manner. Walks typically take place every Saturday morning from May through September along the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail starting in Newhallville neighborhood in New Haven. The walks last for about one hour and typically cover two miles total and provide a free, healthy opportunity to bring the community together. An added value is the opportunity for physicians to get to know the community in which their patients live.