The Health Initiative was created out of a collaboration by Canton-Potsdam Hospital and Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center. Leaders from these institutions brought together over 200 individuals – representing a broad spectrum of the community including health, human service, business, government and education – to conduct a thorough assessment of health in St. Lawrence County. The steering committee identified three health priority areas that needed to be addressed county-wide: Access to Care; Nutrition and Physical Activity; and Substance Use, focusing on youth tobacco use. The agency was incorporated in 1999 as a free-standing 501(c)(3) non-profit organization to secure resources and programming to address the identified priorities.