Louisville Earns Bronze Medal On Policies That Improve Residents’ Healt And Quality Of Life

Louisville earned a bronze medal in an evaluation of whether its policies improve residents’ health and quality of life, according to the CityHealth initiative’s updated city ratings.

CityHealth, an initiative of the de Beaumont Foundation and Kaiser Permanente, offers a close look at whether the nation’s 40 largest cities have nine key policies in place that experts say help residents lead healthier lives and make communities thrive. For each of these nine policies, CityHealth awarded each city a gold, silver, bronze, or no medal, according to the quality of that policy. The group also awarded an overall medal to each city based on how many policy medals were earned.

The report shows which cities are leading the way on implementing policies shown to improve people’s health and quality of life. Louisville earned a bronze medal overall, meaning the city has a bronze, silver or gold medal in four of the nine CityHealth policies. Louisville is one of only five cities nationwide that increased its overall medal status in 2018. For more details on how Louisville performed in each policy area, please see the table below.

“Louisville has taken commendable steps toward giving everyone a fair shot at having a healthy, thriving life,” said Shelley Hearne, CityHealth’s president. “We hope this leadership continues. By adopting the gold standards of proven policies, Louisville can become the healthiest, most thriving place possible.”

CityHealth’s assessment provides more opportunities for Louisville to put policies in place to help make the city a more vibrant, prosperous place to live, and join 14 cities nationwide who have already earned a gold or silver medal. Louisville can show leadership by implementing these evidence-based policies that improve the well-being and quality of life for its residents.

CityHealth will update its ratings again next year. For more details on how Louisville stacks up against the other 40 cities, go to www.cityhealth.org.

CityHealth’s nine evidence-based policies address ways that cities can improve the health of their residents in areas of everyday life – from the workplace and school to housing and public transportation. Each policy is backed by evidence, supported by experts, and has a track record of bipartisan support. In addition to the medal ratings, CityHealth is available to provide technical assistance and support to cities as they advance these policies.