Traci Petty attended the Third Annual Health Collaborative Summit on Thursday to find out more strategies to make a difference in the community. She was among the more than 100 people who turned out for the summit.
As director of community impact and operations for the United Way of Danville-Pittsylvania County, she became involved in initiatives to inform residents of the Dan River region about access to healthy food, health care and making healthy lifestyle decisions.
“We wanted to help the residents make good choices,” Petty said at the summit held at Averett University.
Once at the summit, the people broke up into separate groups to listen to guest speakers from different organizations.
The health collaborative works with schools, work sites, after-school programs and faith-based organizations to provide technical assistance and form wellness committees. Other efforts include working to connect residents with primary care providers to reduce unnecessary visits to the emergency room. The collaborative has 110 members from 54 organizations and was started under the Danville Regional Foundation.
“It cuts a wide swath across the community,” said Elyse Jardine, the collaborative’s project manager. Its mission is to set goals and strategies to improve health in the region. Each goal includes an action team of about 10 to 15 members to see it through.