Providing easy-to-use information detailing the health of local residents, the community health website Healthy North Texas went live in February. Located at www.healthyntexas.org, the website was created under the direction of the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council Foundation (DFWHC Foundation). Healthy North Texas is a headquarters for informational data involving overall population health. This information can assist planners and policy makers when identifying areas for improvement. While similar websites have been created in San Francisco, Miami, and Arizona, this is the first resource of its kind in North Texas.
The website boasts more than 100 local health indicators which can be compared with other Texas regions and the nation. The information can be used to expose crucial health concerns in North Texas including incidents of diabetes, breast cancer and suicide. The site also provides a database of information detailing ways to combat these health dangers.
“Healthy North Texas was created to provide residents an Internet resource for understandable data about our community’s health,” said Kristin Jenkins, president of the DFWHC Foundation. “This is an important tool for researchers, political planners and community leaders for assistance when making decisions affecting our quality of life.”
Healthy North Texas was developed under the direction of the DFWHC Foundation’s Community Health Collaborative, chaired by David Tesmer, senior vice president of community benefit at Texas Health Resources. Sponsors of the site include Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, Communities Foundation of Texas, HCA North Texas, JPS Health Network, Methodist Health System, Texas Health Resources and University of North Texas Health Science Center.
The site hosts a calendar profiling key North Texas health events in addition to an easy assistance tool for visitors to create reports and summaries.
“We want Healthy North Texas to become the community resource for overall information on North Texas health,” Jenkins said. “We would like this site to be a location to share information, promote events and educate residents on health issues involving their communities. Quite simply, this is a website with the ability to improve the health of all North Texas residents.”
The DFWHC Foundation is a non-profit 501c3 public charity with a mission to continually improve the community’s health by promoting safe, high quality, cost effective, accessible and equitable healthcare.