The North Country Healthy Heart Network has been building foundations for healthier communities since its inception in 2000. Founded by Walter Becker of the Carthage Area Hospital with a start-up grant from the Fannie E. Rippel Foundation, the Heart Network initially focused on communities in Jefferson, Lewis, Franklin, and St. Lawrence counties.
After incorporating in 2001, the Heart Network began offering mobile, one-on-one, evidence-based tobacco cessation services, made possible by a three-year grant from the New York State Department of Health Tobacco Control Program. Three years later, the Heart Network helped establish the North Country Tobacco Cessation Center, a resource for healthcare providers and tobacco users in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, and Hamilton counties. The program, made possible by a five-year grant from the Tobacco Control Program, shifted cessation focus from individual smokers to the entire population of tobacco users.
The Heart Network expanded its focus to include physical activity and nutrition in 2006 with the launch of the Eat Well Play Hard North Country Coalition, which was funded by a four-year grant from the New York State Department of Health’s Division of Nutrition.
In 2009, the Heart Network received a new grant to continue the Tobacco Cessation Center. That same year, Rural Action Now! was formed to empower citizens in Essex, Franklin, and Hamilton counties to seek training to improve health and wellness in rural communities. The program was funded through 2013 with a grant from the Charles D. Cook Office of Rural Health.
In its 10th year, the Heart Network celebrated the end of a successful four year run for the Eat Well Play Hard initiative. During that time frame, the program worked with 20 child care providers, dozens of communities, and hundreds of individuals to create a wide range of sustainable policy and environmental changes which will keep our regions children healthier for years to come. Eat Well Play Hard also awarded nearly $20,000 in grants to support projects across the region.
In 2011, the Heart Network started work on a new grant, Creating Healthy Places in Franklin County. Similar in nature to Eat Well Play Hard, Creating Healthy Places targets the entire community and looks to implement effective policy, programs, and projects to increase availability of healthy food and opportunities for physical activity in Franklin County.
Please take a tour of our website to learn about current programs and projects at the Heart Network. If you have questions, email amorgan@heartnetwork.org or call (518) 891-5855.