The Healthiest State in the Nation Campaign was a statewide public health initiative launched in Washington state in 2004 by the Washington Health Foundation (WHF), a Seattle-based nonprofit organization. The campaign aimed to improve the overall health of Washington residents and to raise the state's national health ranking to first place in the United States.
The campaign was officially launched on September 18, 2004. In 2012, the Washington Health Foundation suspended major operations, including the campaign, after exhausting its funding.
When America's Health Rankings detailed WashingtonâÂÂs drop out of the top ten in its 2003 national report, the WHF began to channel its efforts towards major reform in healthcare for the state.
In an attempt to educate and engage the people of Washington on health issues, the Healthiest State in the Nation campaign was created as a long-term civic engagement effort. Using the United Health Foundation's America's Health Rankings model as a guide, the Healthiest State Campaign was developed around six action areas, each with two health measures used in determining the state's health rank. The campaign attempted to improve these areas through civic engagement while emphasizing the importance of personal responsibility and collective action in making Washington a healthier state.
In 2005, the campaign launched a quarterly magazine, thrive!, with an initial statewide circulation of 150,000 copies distributed through libraries, universities, and hospitals. The publication provided resources on healthy lifestyles and featured local figures, such as Suzy Preston, a winner of NBC's The Biggest Loser, and former Seattle Seahawks player Shaun Alexander.
The campaign began to focus on the political aspects of health in 2006, developing a priority list and working with the Washington State Legislature to produce laws and policies to improve Washington health.
The WHF released the 2006 Report Card on Washington's Health, assessing Washington's rank in 18 health measures and outcomes which were heavily derived from America's Health Rankings. Its findings quickly permeated all branches of the campaign, its measures becoming the focus of the second Governor's Health Bowl in 2006.
In 2007, Washington state's health rank climbed from 15th to 12th, becoming one of five states to earn the title of "Most Improved State." Washington was ranked 10th on the WHF's 2008 Report Card.
In 2010, the WHF unveiled the Healthiest State xChange, and implemented the first steps of its launch in 2011. The program provided free support for consumers and businesses to help purchase and manage health insurance plans. The service additionally encouraged users to make the WHF their insurance broker of record, after which the WHF would charge a commission for their services.
The program was designed to be a sustainable revenue source for the WHF, as it had exhausted nearly all of its reserves. However, in 2012, the WHF determined that the program would not be able to cover their expenses. In 2013, the WHF wound down its major operations and sold the xChange program to a private insurance broker and subsequently suspended it.