Accomplishments

Mental Health: Mind Matters, a new traveling exhibit at the Science Center of Iowa presented by HealthPartners UnityPoint Health, will use hands-on interactives and immersive multimedia experiences to help visitors explore mental illness and its prevalence in society. The exhibit will build awareness and understanding by giving visitors the opportunity to see how mental illness has been treated in the past and to better understand what it’s like to live with mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Central Iowa stands 4 Equity. To build a more equitable and inclusive region we are beginning with a focus on racial equity. We ask leaders to commit to using this tool when presented with a decision-making moment for plans and activities. This is the first step in creating an inclusive Central Iowa.

The Transit Future Work Group ventured to Kansas City to learn about their transit efforts.

The Transit Future Work Group made an exploratory trip to Grand Rapids to learn about the Bus Rapid Transit route as well as their advocacy efforts.

Loans through NFC’s Front Porch Program are available to homeowners in NFC lending areas seeking repairs to the exterior of their homes.

Seize the City is a series of events for interns spending their summer in Greater Des Moines. The series contains various networking events designed to engage summer interns with business and community leaders, young professionals, and other interns while incorporating exposure to many of the quality of life amenities and professional development opportunities in the region.

Through Healthy Homes Des Moines, households with children suffering from asthma will receive home repairs to address asthma triggers, and families will receive tailored health education to self-manage asthma and maintain a healthy home.

Could improving your well-being really be just a dentist appointment away? Studies have shown that adults who visit the dentist once a year are 37 percent more likely to report good or better dental health, and adults who report good dental health are almost twice as likely to report good or better overall well-being.

The Teaching Employees Accountability Matters (TEAM) program is a comprehensive training curriculum that sets the stage for employees and supervisors to exemplify and promote a “can do” workplace environment. No matter where you work or what you do, TEAM can help improve your workplace culture.

Your company can do its part to make Iowa the healthiest state in the nation, and this toolkit can remove your barriers to entry. Each month, businesses can download a new one-page poster that lays out wellness tips, facts, and resources that will give employees immediate takeaways that they can implement in their daily lives. Employers can also download information packets that contain more health facts, suggestions for activities to implement in the workplace, and daily health tips that they can email to employees. Each month will feature a specific themes. For more information on strategies to roll out and implement a formal wellness program in your workplace, see this Healthy Iowa Worksites toolkit from the Iowa Department of Public Health.

After 30 years of helping establish Iowa’s extensive trail system, INHF launched Iowa By Trail, an interactive mobile app that connects Iowans to trails and surrounding natural areas.

Nearly 200 of Central Iowa’s business, civic, and regional community leaders traveled to our nation’s capital and presented a federal public policy agenda to promote regional policy priorities and economic development projects during the Greater Des Moines Partnership’s annual advocacy trip to Washington, D.C.

Improving respect and civility in our community isn’t someone else’s job. It can start with you. Show Some Respect, a campaign of the Iowa Civility Project, urges Iowans to be respectful and encourage others to do the same.

The Evelyn K. Davis Center for Working Families helps families and individuals improve their financial position and connecting them with their work and career goals. From its location in the heart of Des Moines, Iowa, the state’s capital city, the Evelyn K. Davis Center is helping many Central Iowans build their educational and job dreams. This first-of-its-kind center is a beacon for those looking for educational, job training and career opportunities by delivering these workforce services.

As a region, we strive to celebrate diversity and to provide opportunities to learn about equity within our communities. Events 4 Equity is a calendar that features a variety of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)-related events happening throughout the Greater Des Moines area. This calendar features events that are informational, educational and/or informative in nature, and are open to all residents, workers and visitors of the region.

Learn more.

The “DSM USA 4 Equity Task Force” is composed of a diverse group of leaders that will strategize on how to make meaningful change when it comes to racial equity. The task force will move the region toward greater racial equity with an active master plan that includes measurable outcomes, policy recommendations and action steps for all businesses, councils, organizations and jurisdictions.

Learn more.

Businesses, nonprofit organizations, and government entities of all sizes in Polk, Dallas, and Warren Counties were surveyed to better understand how employers are implementing equity practices and to identify areas of success and improvement. This assessment is an actionable step in the DSM USA 4 Equity’s master plan toward greater racial equity in the region.

Learn more.

Central Iowa leaders have announced the launch of a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), which provides a vision for a healthy community environment that supports and enables all Central Iowans to live healthy lives and encourages everyone to take responsibility for their health. In alignment with the Capital Crossroads Regional Vision Plan, a steering committee that included Broadlawns Medical Center, MercyOne, UnityPoint Health – Des Moines, the Dallas County Public Health Department, the Polk County Public Health Department, Warren County Health Services, Mid-Iowa Health Foundation, United Way of Central Iowa, and Everystep, led the CHNA process. Following a request for proposals, a contract was awarded to Professional Research Consultants (PRC) to partner in conducting the 2021 CHNA.

Learn more.