Step Up Your Health, Doral!- Doral, FL

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Step Up Your Health, Doral!

 Rationale:
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2016 Health United States report, those of Hispanic decent had a greater rate of obesity in every age category than those of non-Hispanic white decent and were 30% less likely to engage in active physical activity as non-Hispanic whites. Due to these statistics, Mayor Juan Carlos Bermudez wanted to emphasize the importance of health in the predominately Hispanic city of Doral.

Goals:

• To increase and raise awareness on mental health issues
• To promote higher fitness levels, making fitness a life goal and not just a temporary goal
• To offer proper nutritional education
• To promote alternative modes of transportation
• To increase the sense of community
• To work towards the common goal of helping the City become the City of a Billion Steps.

Project Summary:
“Step Up Your Health, Doral!” was created as part of the Mayor’s Wellness Initiative to encourage the community to get healthier together. The program has three parts:

Step Challenge- The Step Up App can be downloaded on any phone for free and automatically tracks the participant’s steps. To keep participants motivated, local restaurants offer discounts to participants and incentives for certain milestones.

Free Programming- Participants are offered free fitness classes, seminars, health screenings, cooking classes, and several other programs. Programs are offered for free and are held at different parks throughout the city to ensure that the programs are accessible to every resident.

City Employee Wellness Challenge– City employees take part in a 10-week Wellness Challenge where they are encouraged to participate in employee-only fitness classes and compete in bi-weekly weigh-ins.

Engagement Strategies
Health Champions (resident leaders) and advisory boards have given input on how to promote “Step Up Your Health, Doral!” to the community. Promotional tables and materials are being placed in front of community centers, in community gyms and playgrounds, and in neighborhood associations’ monthly newsletters. City staff have put tables outside of Publix to talk to shoppers about a healthier shopping list and healthy recipes before they go into the store. There is also the Mayor’s Wellness Council that is comprised of people within the community that promote and drive the health initiative. Members include restaurants, businesses, health providers and schools. This council helps provide incentives, programming, and promotion of the initiative.

Outcomes:

• Doral has 1,280 people registered on the Step Up App, with 407,753,686 steps.
• Each class offered as part of the free fitness programming brings in anywhere between 50-350 people. Through sponsorship, the city saved the community a cash value of over $24,000 in programming expenses and has received over $50,000 in in-kind sponsorships.
• The City of Doral was honored with the “2018 Innovative Programming Award in the Health Category” by Florida Recreation and Parks Association.

Additional Resources:
Doral, FL- 2019 AAC Finalist: Presentation

Local Contact:
Barbara Hernandez
Parks and Recreation Director
(305) 593-6600
Barbara.Hernandez@CityofDoral.com