Sonoma County has been selected as a finalist for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Prize. The annual prize recognizes communities that are inspiring locally-driven improvements in health and creating powerful and deep partnerships to make change.
The criteria for the prize include: defining health in the broadest possible terms; committing to sustainable systems changes and policy-oriented long-term solutions; cultivating a shared and deeply-held belief in the importance of equal opportunity for health; harnessing the collective power of leaders, partners, and community members; securing and making the most of available resources; and measuring and sharing progress and results.
Sonoma County was selected from a total applicant pool of 343 communities who are working to broaden the local dialogue around health and working to improve the well-being of residents.
The application highlighted how Health Action and Upstream Investments are being used to address disparities called out in the Portrait of Sonoma County, and detailed Sonoma County’s successes in the areas of community schools, parks, voter registration, and business entrepreneurship.
Representatives from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation prize team will be conducting site visits for the 15 communities selected as finalists in the spring. Up to 10 communities will receive a prize of $25,000 in the fall of 2015 along with national recognition for this prestigious award.
