Alliance for Healthy and Active Communities

About the Alliance

The Alliance for Healthy and Active Communities (AHAC) is a group of community health advocates led by the Cook County Department of Public Health. We work to make healthy options easy, convenient and accessible to residents of Suburban Cook County through skill building and advocacy. The goal is to make the healthy choice the default choice in Suburban Cook County by successfully creating policy change, increasing public knowledge, creating a network and developing innovative solutions to complex problems. AHAC focuses on broad-based policies to address risk factors and social determinants that contribute to chronic disease. AHAC believes that a healthier environment can be achieved by:

  • Increasing accessibility & demand for safe,  healthy, affordable and convenient foods
  • Decreasing opportunities for excess caloric intake from unhealthy foods & beverages
  • Increasing availability or use of safe & convenient places to be physically active
  • Promoting access to preventive health services
  • Decreasing smoking rates
  • Decreasing exposure to second hand smoke
  • Preventing youth from starting to smoke

Why Join Us?

As a central body for health advocates within suburban Cook County, the Alliance provides networking and capacity building opportunities, including:

  • Networking opportunities that will enrich your agency efforts to create healthy, thriving communities.
  • Best practices, both existing and emerging, that help tackle the complex issues behind chronic disease.
  • Participation in the development of tools and resources that are on the cutting edge of chronic disease prevention.

If you Missed the Last AHAC Quarterly Meeting
In the presentation "Rethink Your Drink: The Not So Sweet Truth About Sugary Beverages" from Terri Johnson, Illinois Alliance to Prevent Obesity, (IAPO), we learned how many calories are in sugar sweetened beverages and the link between sugar and chronic diseases for many adults and children. Ms. Johnson highlighted some alarming health statistics for the next generation. Please click here to view the presentation. 
 
American Heart Association Health Equity Director Fil Guipoco introduced Heart 360, which has the objective to enroll 360 African American and 360 Latino Americans to receive blood pressure screenings twice a month for four consecutive months beginning January 2013. Please click here to view the presentation.
 
We thank our gracious host, Riveredge Hospital, for providing space and lunch. If you would like to host a meeting, there are slots available for space and/or refreshments for the upcoming year. Please contact Marcia McCullough at 708-633-8357 for more information. Happy Holidays from the AHAC Planning Committee.

Upcoming AHAC Quarterly Meeting
Join us for a panel discussion on the Affordable Health Care Act: The Plain Truth About ObamaCare and the Implications for Chronic Disease Prevention.

Thursday, March 28, 2013 from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
U of I Extension Offices, 2205 W. Enterprise Drive, Suite 501, Westchester, IL 60154
To register, click here. Registration closes March 25, 2013.

Learn More and Get Involved – Become a member today!

To become an organizational member of AHAC, read the Consensus Statement and Membership Pledge and complete the Membership Pledge Form.  The form can be submitted via fax (708) 633-2709 or email healthycook@cookcountyhhs.org. For more information about AHAC please call 708-633-8357.