City, Town, & Municipality benchmarks

There are different quality of life benchmarks within the application for each category. These benchmarks relate to where people live, work, learn, eat and play. Many focus on creating opportunities for increasing, healthy eating and physical activity and decreasing tobacco usage. These things are vital to reducing the major causes of death and disability in our state.

Throughout the application there are several benchmarks that scale based on population size.

One=Small – Less than 3,000
Two=Medium – 3,000- 14,999
Three=Large – More than 15,000

LIVE

Communities have a unique opportunity to offer services and set policies that allow citizens to LIVE in safe, clean, and comfortable places. This section is concerned with how communities have worked toward the goal of increasing the livability of their county. Specifically, topics covered will include walkability of public streets, green spaces, breastfeeding, community gardens, and cessation programs.

Does your city or municipality have a policy or ordinance that enables safe walking by requiring all new residential construction or multi-unit residential renovation projects to add new or repair existing sidewalks and street lights as part of the project?

Does your city have an ordinance or sidewalk maintenance plan that defines a priority list of sidewalks to be repaired and provides an action plan to ensure regular upkeep and repair for all sidewalks in the city?

In the last three years:

Has a walkability assessment or audit taken place in your city?
If yes, has an action plan based on the results of the walkability assessment or audit been created?

Is there at least one healthcare office or facility within city limits that has a written breastfeeding/pumping policy to encourage and enable breastfeeding and pumping that goes beyond the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) guidelines?

Is there at least one healthcare office or facility within city limits that connects those who have just given birth to breastfeeding/pumping support groups (signage, patient navigation, referrals, etc.?)

Does your city have at least one community garden that any resident can use within city limits?

Does your city have at least one health care provider within city limits that refers tobacco users to cessation programs?

Does your city have at least one local workgroup, organization, or coalition that promotes tobacco prevention and cessation, including e-cigarettes or vaping? If yes, Health Equity – Are any of these programs or initiatives…

led by youth?
for people under the age of 18?
for racial or ethnic minorities (can be an organization listed above or a different organization)?
for LGBTQ+ populations (can be an organization listed above or a different organization)?

LEARN

CHWV recognizes communities that excel in creating safe and clean spaces for citizens to LEARN. Learning takes place in schools, libraries, and in the community at large. This section first focuses on the ways that schools create settings for youth to learn about and participate in various health-related activities. Second, CHWV is interested in what activities are being provided for citizens of all ages in public spaces. Third, CHWV wants to know what programs are being offered by the community that focus on lifestyle change. Taken together, these areas focus on community efforts to increase learning about nutrition, physical activity, and healthy habits.

Schools are primary settings for youth to learn about and participate in various activities related to nutrition, physical activity, and tobacco prevention & control. Therefore, CHWV strives to recognize communities with schools going above and beyond what is required by state laws/ WV Department of Education policies.

Do any public schools within city limits: (check all that apply):

Have a school garden or a similar program where children of different ages have regular lessons in the garden, learning how to grow, harvest, and prepare various fruits and vegetables?
Have a Farm to School program or a similar program where children can access fresh, healthy foods through schools establishing connections with local food producers?
Provide opportunities for youth physical activity before or after school?
Have an agreement (often called a shared or joint use agreement) that allows for community use of school facilities outside school hours?
Offer opportunities for students to participate in school-based tobacco prevention & control initiatives

Public libraries are emerging as trendsetters in promoting community health. Therefore, CHWV seeks to recognize communities with libraries that are providing innovative health promotion activities–including nutrition, physical activity, and tobacco prevention & cessation.

Do libraries within city limits offer opportunities for residents to participate in activities designed to: (check all that apply):

Promote healthy eating – examples could include cooking classes, chronic disease prevention, and self-management programs, seed collections/gardening classes, and equipment
Encourage physical activity – examples could include StoryWalk®, yoga/fitness classes, loaning out physical activity equipment such as bicycles
Prevent tobacco use or promote tobacco use cessation – examples could include displaying posters about the risks of tobacco use, partnering with organizations to offer cessation classes at the library

Are any of these lifestyle change programs taking place within the county: (Select all that apply)

Walk with Ease
Diabetes Self Management Education and Support (DSMES)
Dining with Diabetes
Chronic Disease Self Management Program (CDSMP)
Taking off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS)
Weight Watchers (WW)
National Diabetes Prevention Program (NationalDPP)
FARMacy (Food prescription program)
Move Your Way (Physical activity prescription program)
Other, Please Describe:

WORK

Encouraging and recognizing communities that promote safe and healthy WORK environments is an important goal for CHWV. Employers play a pivotal role in creating healthy communities in their ability to promote safe and healthy workplaces. Of importance here are employers that enact programs and policies that encourage healthy eating, physical activity, general wellness, and healthy lifestyles.

At least (One, Two, Three, None) employer(s) within city limits have an active worksite wellness program for employees? Worksite wellness programs encourage physical activity, healthy eating, and/or tobacco cessation before, during, or after the workday.

At least (One, Two, Three, None) employer(s) has a Work@Health certified employee.

At least (One, Two, Three, None) employer(s) within city limits has tobacco-free policies.

At least (One, Two, Three, None)employer(s) within city limits has policies that encourage and enable physical activity for employees.

At least (One, Two, Three, None) employer(s) within city limits has policies to ensure employees have access to healthy food options. Examples include policies about an onsite farmers market, healthy options in vending machines and meetings where healthy food is provided, providing water instead of sugar-sweetened beverages.

EAT

CHWV celebrates communities that encourage healthy EATING habits and provide nutritional assistance in making healthy eating choices. This section highlights aspects of healthy food and drink choices that are publicly available in the community. Specifically, CHWV is interested in publicly available healthy food and drink options, farmers markets and their associated programs, food pantries, nutrition education, and food prescriptions.

Does your city have a group or organization that advocates for and works to increase access to fruits and vegetables?

Does your city have drinking fountains and/or water bottle refilling stations that are free and accessible in public spaces?

Does your city have at least one farmers market within city limits? If yes, Does the farmers market offer any of the following opportunities? Select all that apply.

Ability to shop with EBT/SNAP benefits
At least one fresh fruits and vegetables vendor that accepts Senior Vouchers?
At least one fresh fruits and vegetables vendor that accepts WIC?
An incentive program to SNAP and/or Senior Voucher recipients that allows them to purchase more fresh fruits and vegetables

Is there at least one food pantry in city limits with refrigeration available to store fresh fruit and vegetables?

Is there at least one food pantry in city limits with signage or other education to encourage healthy food and beverage choices?

Is there at least one convenience store within city limits that sells fresh fruit and vegetables?

Is there at least one healthful cooking or similar educational program held monthly within city limits?

Is there at least one restaurant or grocery store within city limits that has a written agreement to donate surplus fruits and vegetables to a food bank?

PLAY

PLAY, or recreation, is vital in encouraging, creating, and sustaining a healthy community. This section is focused on how your community has attempted to increase physical activity and recreation for all community members. CHWV is particularly interested in learning more about how your community connects health care and physical activity, how your county utilizes public space (i.e., public trails) for physical activity, and if/how your community uses bike routes to encourage biking.

Is there at least one health care provider in city limits who writes prescriptions for patients to be physically active?

Is there an organization within city limits that encourages and allows community members to utilize their space (i.e., gymnasium or field) for physical activity? Examples might include schools, churches, Boys & Girls Clubs, etc.

Are there at least (One, Two, Three, None) walking or biking trails that are accessible to the public within city limits? Please provide the names and locations of the trails or trailheads.

If yes, Are any of the walking or biking trails in your city paved?

Has your city enhanced or expanded at least (One, Two, Three, None) existing publicly accessible trails within the last 3 years?

Is there at least one multi-generational, fully accessible (ADA) park within your county?

Does your city have bicycle routes?

If yes, Do these bicycle routes have a signage system indicating these routes?
If yes, Do these bicycle routes have clearly marked lanes?

TOBACCO POLICY AND ENVIRONMENTAL

Creating a safe and healthy community involves ensuring citizens have safe air to breathe and are encouraged to engage in healthy lifestyle choices. Through policy, communities have the ability to enact rules and guidelines regarding where and when citizens are allowed to consume tobacco or nicotine (i.e., cigars, cigarettes, electronic nicotine delivery systems, and chewing tobacco) in public places. Public places encompass all of the places your citizens live, learn, work, eat, and play.

Please select all the places in the list below that your city policy or ordinance designates must be smoke-free. In order to be considered ‘smoke-free,’ all public areas must be smoke-free and include signage. Spit tobacco and Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) products are their own benchmarks.

Please attach a copy or a link to your city’s smoking policy to document each benchmark selected. Cities should attach their own regulation if it includes additional areas not covered by the county policy.

LIVE
o Public Housing
o Health Care Facilities, Hospitals, Nursing Homes, Doctors’ Offices, etc.
o Public Transportation

LEARN
o Public and Private Schools
o Child Care Facilities
o Institutions of higher learning

WORK
o City or County Buildings
o Private Worksites

EAT
o Restaurants
o Bars

PLAY
o Movie Theaters
o Hotels
o Sporting Events or Recreational Facilities, both Indoors and Out
o Concert Venues
o Parks and Playgrounds
o Gaming Venues
o Outdoor Fairs and Festivals

Does your smoking policy include spit tobacco?

Does your smoking policy include Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) products? This benchmark is worth 2 points.