Jurisdictions in the state of Maryland, and many other states, do not keep a repository of health statistics specific to their jurisdiction. Although these data are available by zip code or census tract, oftentimes a community and/or city will encompass several zip codes and those zip codes will overlap with other jurisdictions. The result is an inability to track local health status, to monitor changes in that status, and to propose baseline data when applying for grants for local communities. These are all issues that were faced by the Seat Pleasant/University of Maryland Health Partnership—a partnership between the city of Seat Pleasant, Maryland and the University of Maryland pertaining to health. The Health Partnership, with a grant from a local foundation, developed a door-to-door health survey, recruited and trained city residents to administer that survey, and analyzed and interpreted the results of that survey. The survey used selected items from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) thereby allowing for comparison between national data and local data. Based on the results of the survey, health promotion and education programs will be developed to respond to specific community needs. In addition, a Community Health Report Card will be developed, updated periodically based on subsequent community surveys, and distributed to residents in the city. In this way, community health status will be monitored and tracked, and residents can hold city administrators and the County health department staff accountable for changes, or lack thereof, in the community’s health status. The issues faced by the Health Partnership, and the protocol employed to respond to these issues, are generalizable to other communities—be they cities or smaller communities—that have an interest in identifying specific community health needs and organizing to respond to those needs.Keyword(s): community-based programs, health promotion, wellness/disease prevention