The Healthy Pinellas Consortium meets next at 1:30 PM on Thursday, Feb. 16. The meeting is open to the public and community feedback is welcome. Meetings are held at the Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County’s (DOH-Pinellas) Mid-County location in the Dharamraj Education Health Center, 8751 Ulmerton Rd., Largo.

The Healthy Pinellas Consortium grew out of Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) discussions that brought health providers and community groups together to assess and improve the health of the people of Pinellas. To view CHIP activities, go to https://pinellas.floridahealth.gov/programs-and-services/community-health-planning-and-statistics/data-and-reports/index.html.

The goal of the Healthy Pinellas Consortium is to create a culture of health and wellness with a vision of making Pinellas one of the healthiest counties in Florida. Preventing disease and maintaining good health is easier when people and communities are surrounded by environments where the healthy choice is the easy choice. Consortium members share best practices centered around physical activity, healthy nutrition and the built environment in Pinellas County. Consortium meetings are held on the third Wednesday of odd months. The next 2017 meetings after Feb. 16 will be on April 20, June 15, Aug. 17 and Oct. 19. For information, email Megan.Carmichael@FLHealth.gov.

For information about DOH-Pinellas, go to www.PinellasHealth.com or call (727) 824-6900. Follow us on Twitter @HealthyPinellas. The department works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts. Follow us on Twitter at @HealthyFla and on Facebook. For more information about the Florida Department of Health please visit www.FloridaHealth.gov.