How much are the leaders of New Jersey towns doing to promote health and wellness to residents? The New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute recently announced the Mayors Wellness Campaign (MWC) “Healthy Town” winners for 2023. These cities and towns focus on the health and wellness of their residents through exercise, healthy eating, and mental health education and awareness.
MWC is a program of the Quality Institute in partnership with the New Jersey State League of Municipalities. In addition to 17 Healthy Town winners, another 19 towns were designated as 2023 “Healthy Towns to Watch,” and 12 were designated as 2023 “Healthy Town Up-and-Coming.”
Each year, communities participating in the MWC complete a comprehensive Healthy Town application outlining the research they’ve done to identify their community health needs and explaining how they have organized their local MWC committee. The application highlights the actions the towns have taken to make their communities healthier places to live, work and play.
The nomination form is released in November for that calendar year. The Quality Institute partners with Sustainable Jersey and evaluates 25 different points such as addressing social and economic factors that impact health outcomes, identifying measurable health indicators, reducing health disparities, collectively working with local partners to align resources, building partnerships across the community and developing programs that are designed to last.
Each subcategory is ranked from 0 to 42. Healthy Towns received 33-42 points, Towns to Watch got 23-32 points and Up-And-Coming secured 13-22 points.
2023 Healthy Towns
- Asbury Park
- Bay Head
- Bradley Beach
- Evesham Twp.
- Franklin Lakes
- Freehold Borough
- Hamilton Twp. (Mercer County)
- Hillsborough
- Maplewood
- Paterson
- Plainfield
- Princeton
- Scotch Plains
- Stafford
- Vernon Twp.
- Wildwood Crest
- Woodbridge
2023 Healthy Towns to Watch
- Belleville
- Bergenfield
- Berkeley Heights
- Bernardsville
- Fort Lee
- Glen Rock
- Old Tappan
- Rutherford
- Stone Harbor
- Brigantine
- Elizabeth
- Englewood
- Deerfield Twp.
- Highlands Borough
- Jefferson Twp.
- Montgomery Twp.
- Hanover
- South Brunswick
- Ridgewood
2023 Healthy Towns Up-and-Coming
- Atlantic City
- Bernards Twp.
- Cresskill
- Emerson
- Hawthorne
- Red Bank
- Wenonah
- Brick Twp.
- Clark
- Cranbury
- Edison
- Upper Twp.
Get the latest on the best things to do with your family in and around New Jersey by signing up for our newsletter and following us on Facebook and Instagram!
Read More:
Earth Day is April 22 – Here’s Where to Celebrate
Springtime Flower Festivals In and Around NJ
The Best Places to See Cherry Blossoms in NJ And Beyond
 “Healthy Town” winners for 2023.){kind=link}