A national award recognizing a commitment to healthy living will make the Brazos Valley a role model for communities hoping to become senior-friendly, local officials said Wednesday.
The Brazos Valley was one of seven U.S. sites that received an award recently from the Environmental Protection Agency for its community-wide efforts to provide a healthy and welcoming environment for seniors.
People from more than 40 groups across the Brazos Valley worked together to apply for the award, which is called Excellence in Building Healthy Communities for Active Aging. Representatives from some of those groups gathered Wednesday afternoon in downtown Bryan to celebrate the honor.
The recognition will attract retirees to the area and help leverage future support for senior-focused programs, according to Marcia Ory, a professor at the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health.
"It's worth more than a $5,000 award," Ory said. "It will put the Brazos Valley on the map for being innovative, creative, forward-thinking and senior-friendly."
Ory -- who is director of Active for Life, a national program that develops physical activity programs for older adults -- was part of the original EPA committee that developed the program to encourage building communities that are good for the environment and encourage an active lifestyle among seniors.
The Brazos Valley Council of Governments, along with organizations in Minnesota, Arkansas, Maryland and Maine, received commitment awards, which recognize communities that are planning and beginning to integrate programs for the elderly. Organizations in Georgia and Washington received achievement awards for implementing those initiatives.
Ory emphasized that the region hasn't reached its goal yet.
"We're not where we need to be, but we're at the table," she said.
What made the Brazos Valley stand out from other applicants, she said, is voluntary partnerships between academic, health care, business and policy organizations to work toward a common goal.
She said it's unusual for people to collaborate on this issue across multiple cities and counties.
Applying for the award last year was the first project of the Brazos Valley Building Healthy Communities Coalition, which is based in the Brazos Valley Council of Governments along with the Area Agency on Aging, Council of Governments Executive Director Tom Wilkinson said.
"That's the reason the [Council of Governments] is involved -- it's something that stretches across the region," he explained Wednesday.
The 200-page application that the coalition submitted to the EPA highlights five local projects that help seniors: a periodic health status assessment published by the Brazos Valley Health Partnership since 2003, Wolf Pen Creek Park, a Web site that allows physicians to locate physical activity centers for their patients, downtown Bryan revitalization and the Area Agency on Aging's transportation program, which stretches across the eight counties.
Area Agency on Aging manager Ronnie Gipson coordinates the transportation program, which officials said was one of the main strengths of the application.
"This award lays the groundwork for us to do future planning," Gipson said. "We are now nationally recognized as a healthy community -- as a viable community for seniors."
Working for seniors has a "filter-down effect," according to Cathy Liles, a researcher at the School of Rural Public Health who took the lead in compiling the application material. Creating a good environment for seniors helps younger people as well.
For example, she said, building a playground is exclusively for kids, but building walking trails accessible to seniors means people of all ages can benefit.
Members of the coalition said they are looking at future options, which include building community gardens, improving transportation and providing more affordable housing for seniors.
"This is just the start," Ory said. "That's the whole purpose of the award: It serves as a foundation and then you soar."
• Janet Phelps' e-mail address is janet.phelps@theeagle.com.
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