Washington, DC, November 2, 2023 — The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), representing the country’s 3,000 local health departments, is partnering with The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) on a new campaign, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to promote health and wellness among adolescents participating in high school sports across the country.
“NACCHO is honored to collaborate with the National Federation of State High School Associations to enhance awareness and interest in adolescent vaccination health,” said Lori Tremmel Freeman, Chief Executive Officer at NACCHO. “Leveraging NFHS’s strong connections with the education communities they serve, we believe this partnership will effectively disseminate important public health messages to better adolescent health and wellbeing throughout the United States.”
Together, NACCHO and NFHS will collaborate to develop communications materials that increase awareness of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended vaccines for overall adolescent health and wellness. These health messages will be shared throughout local high school channels of communication, including an online platform called NFHS Network, which gives viewers access to email messaging, social media, print magazines, in-person events, and live high school sports around the country.
“The NFHS is pleased to partner with NACCHO to promote health and wellness in high school activity programs nationwide,” said Dr. Karissa Niehoff, NFHS chief executive officer. “One of the key objectives of the NFHS is to promote safety and encourage healthy lifestyles in education-based high school athletics and performing arts programs. In addition, one of the Strategic Priorities in the 2021-2025 NFHS Strategic Plan is Student Mental, Emotional and Physical Wellness. Certainly, this partnership with NACCHO will assist in this goal of the NFHS and its member state associations.”
NFHS serves its members by providing leadership for the administration of education-based high school athletics and activities through the writing of playing rules that emphasize health and safety, educational programs that develop leaders, and administrative support to increase opportunities and promote sportsmanship.
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About NACCHO
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), the voice of the country’s 3,000 local health departments, supports local health departments’ initiatives to promote healthy living in the communities they serve. NACCHO provides cutting-edge, skill-building, professional resources, and programs crafted to optimize health equity, and support effective local public health practice and systems. NACCHO is committed to continuing to make positive strides in the advancement of public health and supports like-minded opportunities for partnerships. For more information, visit the NACCHO website at www.naccho.org
About NFHS
The NFHS, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the national leadership organization for high school sports and performing arts activities. Since 1920, the NFHS has led the development of education-based interscholastic sports and performing arts activities that help students succeed in their lives. The NFHS sets direction for the future by building awareness and support, improving the participation experience, establishing consistent standards and rules for competition, and helping those who oversee high school sports and activities. The NFHS writes playing rules for 17 sports for boys and girls at the high school level. Through its 50 member state associations and the District of Columbia, the NFHS reaches more than 19,500 high schools and 12 million participants in high school activity programs, including more than 7.8 million in high school sports. As the recognized national authority on interscholastic activity programs, the NFHS conducts national meetings; sanctions interstate events; offers online publications and services for high school coaches and officials; sponsors professional organizations for high school coaches, officials, speech and debate coaches, and music adjudicators; serves as the national source for interscholastic coach training; and serves as a national information resource of interscholastic athletics and activities. For more information, visit the NFHS website at www.nfhs.org.
