Mission Statement - Health Connections is a non-profit organization that brings people and resources together to achieve healthier lives.
How?
By Connecting To Schools:
Health Connections is in the classroom teaching youth about the health risks of tobacco and secondhand smoke, the importance of good nutrition and exercise, and other topics that promote health and healthy living.
Health Connections collaborates with school based youth groups like Vermont Kids Against Tobacco (VKAT), Our Voices Exposed (OVX), Vermont Teen Leadership Safety Program (VTLSP), Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), and other peer leadership groups to actively engage youth in health education initiatives in their school and in their community.
Health Connections works with school administrators to assess school health and safety policies using the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Comprehensive School Health Index Assessment Tool. Health Connections is also available to facilitate health curriculum assessments and evaluation of the health standards grade expectations.
By Connecting To Communities:
Health Connections works with community coalitions, town officials, and others to identify and prioritize environmental and community level changes which promote healthy living, such as increasing opportunities for recreational physical activities for all ages and abilities in town, prohibiting smoking in public parks, or developing contracts with local farmers to provide locally grown food for the school’s cafeteria.
Health Connections partners with other community organizations to work toward building a healthier community. For example, Health Connections has begun a Tobacco Coalition for Vermont’s Upper Valley communities which include local hospitals, parent-child centers, schools, the Vermont Department of Health, social service organizations, etc. Together, Health Connections and its partners offer smoking cessation classes in the community, educate the public on the health risks of second hand smoke and encourage parents to create SMOKE-FREE ZONES, such as in the car and in the home, so children will not be exposed to cigarettes’ toxic smoke.
By Connecting to Families and Individuals:
Health Connections provides resources to families and individuals so that they can become better educated and have the knowledge to make healthier choices for themselves. Through education, people can change unhealthy behaviors into healthy ones and live healthier lives.
Service Area
Health Connections’ primary service area include the towns of:
- Hartford
- Norwich
- Royalton
- Sharon
- Strafford
- Thetford
- Tunbridge
Other towns may be served by Health Connections depending upon the health issues needing to be addressed. "In the near future, Health Connections plans to serve other towns in the Upper Valley, both in Vermont and in New Hampshire."
Board of Directors
| Board Member Name |
Current Position |
Member Until |
| • Tom Ketteridge |
President |
2012 |
| • Ann Seibert |
Vice President |
2012 |
| • Miriam Rubin |
Secretary |
2013 |
| • Pat Wheatley |
Treasurer |
2013 |
| • Dr. Becky Foulk |
Board Member |
2011 |
| • Cathy Hazlett |
Executive Director |
2013 |
