POCATELLO — Portneuf Health Trust, along with other community health and media partners, including the Idaho State Journal and KPVI, will on Friday officially announce the launch of Healthy City, USA, an initiative to promote wellness and make Pocatello a model of health in the country.

Shaun Menchaca, Portneuf Health Trust president and CEO, will make the announcement during a news conference at the Health Trust on Friday.

Portneuf Health Trust has started a Facebook page for the initiative, titled “Health City, USA,” where information about community wellness events and healthy living strategies will be shared, according to a news release.

The initiative will kick off with observing National Mental Health Awareness Month in May. Portneuf Health Trust will invite people to share what they are most grateful for in the cooperative’s Gratitude Attitude journal on Facebook.

“We’ve been discussing the natural elements that make the Pocatello/Chubbuck community healthy for several years,” Menchaca said. “Some of the key elements include a state-of-the art hospital at Portneuf Medical Center, a health science focus at Idaho State University, and Portneuf Health Trust focusing on building community health and wellness.”

A different area of health will be the focus each month with the goal of raising awareness to healthy living habits and offering opportunities for the community to access health education and health-driven activities.

“Healthy City, USA, strives to be a healthy, whole-self community,” Portneuf Health Trust wrote in a news release about the initiative, adding that it hopes the community will join it in “recognizing that Pocatello/Chubbuck has great potential to be the healthiest city in America!”