Greenfield Earns Silver Wisconsin Healthy Community Designation

GREENFIELD, WI — Greenfield received recognition this week from a statewide organization for the city's work to make the Greenfield community a healthier place.

The Greenfield Health Department announced the news on Monday that the city recieved a Silver Level designation from the Wisconsin Healthy Community program. The designation seeks to recognize local communities across the state and their efforts to improve health, a news release from the city said.

Greenfield's naming as a Healthy Community comes from the actions of the Healthiest Wisconsin Leadership Institute team in Greenfield and the work shared between city departments such as health, fire, neighborhood services, the library and more, the news release said.

"Collaboration underscores everything we try to do in the Health Department," said Darren Rausch, Greenfield health officer and director. "Being able to leverage partnerships with over city departments and with community partners leverages our collective power to improve the health of all Greenfield residents."

Municipalities that apply to the award across the state can receive a designation between gold, silver and bronze. Six principles guide the designation choice: a broad definition of health to address local needs, a commitment to sustainable and comprehensive long-term solutions, advancement of health equity, harnessing the power of the community, using resources wisely and measuring progress and results.

This is the second time around that the Healthy Communities Designation program named the applicant winners. The program comes as a guide for communities to expand and enhance their health improvement efforts amid health disparities in Wisconsin, the HCD program said on its website.

According to the program, the designation recognizes communities for their efforts, promotes cooperation across multiple sectors and encourages communities to conceptualize a broad strategy for confronting individual health improvement, the HCD program website said.

Greenfield is one of only 13 communities that have received the silver designation in the program. Only five communities were awarded a gold designation, 10 communities received bronze.