Tinley Park health panel debuts

Updated: August 21, 2011 10:44PM

A Facebook page, a marketing plan and a survey of residents were among the ideas discussed by a new advisory health panel in Tinley Park that met last week for the first time.

The panel’s executive committee has been given the task of developing a public policy plan to make the village a healthier place to live and raise awareness about health issues. Mayor Ed Zabrocki appointed 10 administrators from different organizations to the panel, which is to recommend a plan to the village board in January.

The executive committee quickly approved the idea of setting up a fan page on Facebook and reviewed a mission statement that panel chairman Tom Mahoney said he hopes to finalize quickly.

The panel also discussed “branding” strategies, including possibly changing its name from “mayor’s advisory panel on wellness” to something catchier. The group also discussed creating logos, catch phrases and a marketing plan.

The committee plans to survey residents to gauge their health awareness, using the information it collects as a base to measure future improvements against.

Tinley Park High School Principal Theresa Nolan gave a presentation on a wellness program implemented there last school year. It included changes in the cafeteria menus to make healthier food options available for students and staff. The initiative also features an agricultural component, with students helping oversee a chicken coup and egg hatchery. A vegetable garden will be added this year, teaching students to grow healthy crops, Nolan said.

“They enjoy it; the kids love it,” she said. “So they’re learning and they love it at the same time.”

The wellness panel also discussed having a healthy vending machine policy and talked about a federal law that will require fast-food chains to provide nutritional content on menu boards starting in 2012.

Panel member Michael Byrne, the Kirby School District 140 superintendent, was enthusiastic after the meeting about the panel’s direction.

“When I was first appointed, the only cautionary thought I had to myself was me being part of government intervention,” he said. “But I haven’t seen anything or heard anything here that’s stepping on anybody’s liberties.”

The Tinley Park initiative is funded by a $116,000 grant from the Cook County Department of Public Health and the Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded those agencies $16 million to make similar grants to other entities to promote healthy choices and active lifestyles.

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