Doug Linkhart, Director of Environmental Health, addressed a recent INC meeting about his areas responsibility and what his group does. In line with its mission to promote healthy communities, Denver Public Health and Denver Environmental Health recently released reports on the health of Denver’s residents within each City Council district. This report documented substantial disparities in a variety of health outcomes, such as premature death, teen birth, availability of health insurance, and use of tobacco. The purposes of the report were to:

• Identify important health trends in Denver
• Show changes in health in Denver over time
• Compare health outcomes in Denver to the state of Colorado and to national goals
• Identify disparities in health in Denver

Linkhart stated that it’s well known that Denver consistently ranks as one of the nation’s healthiest cities, yet health status can vary widely depending on the area of the City in which you reside. Educational, economic and environmental factors all impact health.

Over the next year, he asks for INC (Denver residents) to help prioritize the primary health issues in the community so they can focus more clearly on the top two to three issues. The purposes of the report are to:

• Identify important health trends in Denver
• Show changes in health in Denver over time
• Compare health outcomes in Denver to the state of Colorado and to national goals
• Identify disparities in health in Denver

Dr Bill Burman, Director of Denver Health, also spoke about the importance of the Health Assessment and how Denver Health is partnering with Environmental Health in these projects. INC will be advised how residents can support the program in the near future.