Healthy Cerro Gordo 2010 is a health plan that will provide citizens, government agencies, professional organizations, educators, elected officials and businesses with a challenging opportunity: to communicate regularly, to share resources, to embrace diversity and to create a sense of community to achieve an improved level of healthy living, fewer health disparities and a better quality of life.

"We knew we needed to have an organized effort in Cerro Gordo County to help move communities forward into the future," said Ron Osterholm, Health Department Director.

As a result, many organizations and residents were asked to be part of the planning process. From June 2000 to July 2001 plans were made for the health document. Teams were formed for each chapter that was to be addressed. Data was collected. Team members analyzed each health issue. Teams completed a "Community Health Plan" worksheet for each health problem that had been identified. Barriers were identified. Chapter health plans were turned into the Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health for compilation and narrative development.

Healthy Cerro Gordo 2010 was presented to and adopted by the Board of Health in August 2001. "This has been a lot of work for a lot of people," Osterholm said. "We would like to thank all community members who were involved in this project. I think our teams came up with an excellent tool that can be used for many years to come." The new health plan can be used for a long time. "Healthy Cerro Gordo 2010 is a living document. It can be adapted as years go by," said Jaci Miller, Health Planner at the Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health. "This health plan serves as a road map for the county to deal with identified problems and to come up with solutions to building a healthier Cerro Gordo County."