News Releases from Region 07

Trump Administration to Support Health, Community Revitalization in Osceola, Mo.

06/15/2018

Contact Information:

EPA Press Office (press@epa.gov)

Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Lenexa, Kan., June 15, 2018) - The Trump administration has announced that Osceola, Missouri, is one of six communities selected to participate in Healthy Places for Healthy People (HP2), a federal initiative that provides technical assistance to help communities use local health facilities as a driver for improving health and revitalizing the local economy.

Through HP2, a team of experts in planning, health, and community revitalization will work directly with the West Central Missouri Community Action Agency and other community leaders to enhance the health of Osceola residents, while bolstering the area’s economy.

This year, HP2 is sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Health Resources and Services Administration, and Delta Regional Authority. In 2017, HP2 helped 10 communities create opportunities for healthy behaviors and lifestyles, and downtown revitalization strategies for economic and environmental outcomes.

“EPA is committed to helping communities create healthy, thriving places to live, work, and raise families,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. “We look forward to working with these local partners on plans that can support revitalization, while improving health and protecting the environment.”

"We congratulate the Osceola community and commend these forward-thinking organizations for their commitment to advancing public health and economic vitality," said EPA Region 7 Administrator Jim Gulliford. "The community can take pride in these local efforts to help better their environment and quality of life."

“Osceola, like many of our rural communities, has much to offer anyone interested in growing up and growing old here,” said Chris Thompson, president and CEO of the West Central Missouri Community Action Agency. “This program will help us pull our assets and ideas together to build a new era of community health and wealth.”

As part of their participation in HP2, the West Central Missouri Community Action Agency, city of Osceola, Osceola Optimist Club, Osceola Schools, and St. Clair County Economic Development office are working with two hospitals that have invested in health clinics in Osceola to plan for new sidewalks, trails, and housing to serve an aging population. This work will tie health into broader economic development efforts that take advantage of the area’s natural assets to boost tourism and the economy.

HP2 is one of several planning assistance programs that support the Trump administration’s Executive Order on Promoting Agriculture and Rural Prosperity in America. Other programs include Local Foods, Local Places, which helps communities grow the local food economy; and Cool & Connected, which focuses on using broadband resources to support revitalization.