Welcome to this Special Report on the Health of Island County! The purpose of this report is to

1) Describe a new way to work together in our communities to create a healthier home for our children, our grandchildren, and ourselves

2) Provide some basic information about the health of our citizens and the health of our environment

We have gathered statistical data from many state and local sources and have asked residents about their health behaviors and concerns for our community. In this report, we are highlighting information about the following concerns that you expressed to us over the last two years in community meetings and a telephone survey:

A data resource book with detailed information on a wider variety of health and environmental indicators will be available for your review later this year.

The picture of Island County portrayed in the report will provide information for us to set goals for the future. This information will help us develop plans to make our community an even better place to live.

We invite you to join in the building of a vision for the future, determining how to measure our progress toward our goals, and developing specific work plans to move forward on our issues of concern. Please complete the survey inside the back cover of this booklet or call the health department for a presentation for your group.

The future is ours to create.

Sincerely,