Health Information Office/Media Inquiries
This office is responsible for communicating information to the general public on a wide variety of public health issues and is the department’s point-of-contact for the mass media.
Call 585 753-5106 for more information.
Monroe County Health Data
This office prepares various types of statistical reports and assists in conducting special studies such as the Monroe County Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
Call 585 753-5331 for information or to request data on a specific health topic.
Download the Monroe County Leading Health Indicators Report (1,628k PDF).
Surveys and Reports
The Monroe County Health Department conducts periodic surveys of health behavior among young people and adults to guide its efforts to improve the community’s health. Report cards produced through HEALTH ACTION are also included here.
Nutrition, Physical Activity and Weight Programs for Youth in Monroe County
The Monroe County Department of Public Health in collaboration with the University of Rochester has developed a resource guide that contains information on over 20 local programs that promote healthy eating and physical activity.
In addition, the guide has a brochure containing information on programs that can help improve access to nutritious foods for families.
Download the Nutrition, Physical Activity and Weight Programs for Children and Adolescents in the Rochester Community Report (731k PDF).
Background
HEALTH ACTION, Priorities for Monroe County, began in 1995 when the Director of the Monroe County Health Department convened a group of community partners to develop a plan to improve the health of Monroe County residents. The HEALTH ACTION Steering Committee is composed of individuals from community organizations representing business, education and health care.
Current member agencies include:
- African-American Health Task Force
- Excellus Blue Cross/Blue Shield
- Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency
- Greater Rochester Health Foundation
- Latino Health Coalition
- Monroe County Medical Society
- Rochester Business Alliance
- Preferred Care
- Unity Health System
- University of Rochester Medical Center
- ViaHealth
The goal of HEALTH ACTION is to improve the health of the citizens of Monroe County by aligning community resources to focus on selected priorities for action. HEALTH ACTION facilitates collaboration and cooperation among providers, agencies and businesses to benefit the community by concentrating resources where they are most likely to impact health status. A healthy community is one in which the objective measures of health status are at optimal levels and when there exists a commitment to health at all levels of the community. This commitment is required to institutionalize a continuous improvement effort, as illustrated here:
Health “report cards” are available from the list above for five focus areas: Maternal/Child Health, Adolescent Health, Adult Health, Older Adult Health and Environmental Health. Through a community process led by the Board of Health, two priorities for action were selected from the goals on each report card. HEALTH ACTION partnerships address each of these priorities for action with secondary data analysis, and development, implementation and evaluation of interventions.
HEALTH ACTION Celebrates 10 Years of Health Improvement
HEALTH ACTION—established 10 years ago to improve the health of Monroe County residents—notes numerous health improvements.
Read the current HEALTH ACTION newsletter.
Come on Rochester ... Get moving. Be Active!

Physical activity of all kinds—not just formal exercise—plays a major role in your health. Being active can relieve stress, help you to sleep better, control your weight, strengthen your bones ... you get the idea: It’s good for you!
Gardening, washing the car, mowing the lawn, walking, hiking, biking and other such activities are all very beneficial to your health and don’t require the expense of a membership at the local health club.
In general, you should strive for 30 minutes of some form of physical activity on most days of the week, but here’s the part many people don’t know: It need not be all at one time!! You can break up the 30 minutes into three 10-minute segments or whatever suits your schedule.
BeActiveRochester.com is a collaborative effort of the Democrat and Chronicle, Wegmans and HEALTH ACTION.
So, no more excuses—visit our website now to learn how to Be Active Rochester!