Partners

As part of a broad-based initiative to address obesity in the U. S. coupled with the "Healthy Arkansas" initiative, Pfizer Health Solutions Inc has designed Balance It Out: Arkansas^SM to encourage the state's children and their families to embrace healthier eating and lifestyle behaviors. The program provides services to families and is made available through a collaborative effort by the Arkansas Department of Health & Human Services and Pfizer Health Solutions Inc. The program supports local school districts and their wellness communities and other related initiatives such as the Coordinated School Health Program.

Although the infrastructure is supported by the state, the initiative's services will be implemented by the professional and clinical staffs of Pfizer Health Solutions in collaboration with local health care companies, children's advocacy groups, and local schools.

Changing behavior is difficult. However, with the right support, communication and coordination between patients and their health care providers, people can learn to "balance" their lives with proper diet and exercise and take small steps towards improving their health.

Collaboration Partners

Arkansas Department of Human Services

The Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) serves more than 1 million Arkansans in 181 locations throughout the state. The Department's mission is to improve the quality of life of all Arkansans by protecting the vulnerable, fostering independence, and promoting better health.

The state-run system is designed to connect health and education by empowering students to make healthier life choices and keep them healthier over time. The program garners support by engaging family and community through a collaborative team approach to create a nurturing learning environment that integrates all elements of the CDC's Eight Component Model. For more information on the CDC's Eight Component Model: http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/CSHP/

Pfizer Health Solutions Inc

Pfizer Health Solutions is dedicated to improving health and health care delivery through innovative programs that demonstrate the value of personalized, coordinated, and accessible health care services. Pfizer Health Solutions, along with its public and private partners, develops and implements tools and services that support patients and their providers in the quest to optimize health while reducing the human and financial burden of illness.

Founded in 1995, Pfizer Health Solutions is a wholly owned care management subsidiary of Pfizer Inc, the world's largest health care company. Through Pfizer Health Solutions, Pfizer seeks to create and rigorously evaluate positive examples of constructive health system change that can lead to widespread adoption of structural changes in health care around the world. For more information, visit www.pfizerhealthsolutions.com.

Contributing Partners

Healthy Arkansas

The "Healthy Arkansas" program was launched in May 2004, after realizing how unhealthy Arkansas was compared to other states. The Arkansas Department of Health & Human Services and the former Governor's Office teamed up to provide Arkansans with a comprehensive effort to clearly define specific areas where behavioral changes can lead to healthier citizens.

Obesity, physical inactivity, and tobacco use are the 3 primary causes of these and other serious chronic conditions. Healthy Arkansas provides strategies to reduce and/or eliminate the 3 primary behavior-related causes of these diseases with information on nutrition, physical activity, and smoking cessation. For more information, visit www.healthyarkansas.com.

Arkansas Department of Education

A key partner in this initiative is the Arkansas Department of Education and the local school districts. Critical to Balance It Out: Arkansas^SM success will be involvement with each school district's wellness committee, school nurse, teachers, administrators, parents, and community members. Pfizer Health Solutions will work in conjunction with other related programs already underway in participating school districts like Coordinated School Health Program.

The Balance It Out: Arkansas program will be implemented by Pfizer Health Solutions Inc, working in partnership with:

• Arkansas Department of Health & Human Services, which includes Medicaid
• Arkansas Surgeon General
• Arkansas Governor's Healthcare Policy Advisor
• Advocates for Children and Families

The program's services will be implemented by PHS in collaboration with local partners. The infrastructure of this initiative is supported by:

• Arkansas Coordinated School Health Program
• Arkansas Department of Health's Student Health and Education Program
• Arkansas Board of Education, with support from the "Healthy Arkansas" Coalition