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Healthy New London considers health from a holistic perspective including physical and mental health, the health of the environment and systems around us, and healthy lifestyles. Healthy New London is a grassroots effort that seeks to act as a catalyst within the New London community to promote health and enhance quality of life. We need to draw upon the energy, creativity and commitment of those that live, work and play in New London in order to be a catalyst for change.In 1996, at the start of Healthy New London, project leaders considered both hard data and community input in determining their focus. The community was presented a number of issues on which the data indicated a disparity between New London and the state of Connecticut. From that list of issues, the community selected four that they felt needed immediate attention: breast cancer, sexually transmitted infections including HIV, substance abuse, and teen pregnancy.
Each of the four task forces has made significant progress over the last 8 years.
- Breast Cancer - Reduced wait times and created more appointment slots for mammograms. Initiated annual public awareness campaign through local municipal governments
- Sexually Transmitted Infections - increased community awareness and established low-cost testing site at Community Health Center
- Substance Abuse - prevention efforts such as training for servers / sellers of alcohol and "Cops In The Shop"
- Teen Pregnancy - coordinated several community forums and gathered information on how New London's youth might address the issues of teen pregnancy