The Community Health & Wellness Resource Team: A New Name for Community-Wide Wellness
We are excited to announce the change of the Children’s Healthy Weight Research Group’s name to the Community Health & Wellness Resource Team. After a thoughtful process, we are proud to call ourselves the Community Health & Wellness Resource Team – a name that encompasses our mission, vision, and values to provide high-quality, evidence-based resources and research that support the health and well-being of all individuals.
Dr. Dianne S. Ward, the late founder and director of the Children’s Healthy Weight Research Group, played a key role in leading discussions surrounding this change. In this transition, we are guided by Dr. Ward’s vision for the future of our team and honoring her passion for ensuring optimal, equitable health and wellness.
Our team’s early work and research focused on measuring and supporting children’s physical activity, nutrition, and health behaviors, particularly in care settings, with our hallmark tools including Go NAPSACC, the Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation (EPAO), and the Home Self-Administered Tool for Environmental Assessment of Activity and Diet (HomeSTEAD). With our foundations in early childhood nutrition and physical activity, our team’s research interests and work have expanded to support the overall health and wellness of caregivers and those in their care across the lifespan.
“Dr. Ward deeply believed in the need to transform the environments where we live, work, and play to promote healthier lifestyles. In her vision, our team’s work has evolved from its initial focus on enhancing the health and welfare of young children and their caregivers to a broader perspective of supporting all individuals in communities that foster optimal, equitable health and wellness,” said Dr. Erik Willis, Director of the Community Health & Wellness Resource Team. “By transitioning from the Children’s Healthy Weight Research Group to the Community Health & Wellness Resource Team, we are embracing a more holistic approach to health and wellness. This new name reflects our commitment to enhancing the well-being of children while also addressing the needs of caregivers and entire communities. We recognize that achieving optimal health requires collective effort, and by expanding our scope, we aim to create a more inclusive and supportive environment for everyone. This transition allows us to honor Dr. Ward’s vision by extending our impact beyond traditional care settings and fostering community-wide wellness.”
The Community Health & Wellness Resource Team will continue working toward our mission of supporting caregivers and those in their care by creating, evaluating, and implementing strategies to promote equitable health and wellness in early care and education settings and beyond. We look forward to our future work and impact and continuing Dr. Ward’s legacy of improving community health through evidence-based support, tools, and resources.
“The newly named Community Health & Wellness Resource Team has been a vital part of the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention for over 20 years,” said Dr. Alice Ammerman, Director of the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. “The new name captures the very impressive growth and development of this group as well as their contributions to community health. Dr. Ward would be very proud of her team and their continued good work.”