Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Updates to the Kosciusko County Commissioners on Tuesday showed just how active Health First Kosciusko, the county community coordinator and Purdue Extension have been of late.
Health First
In her second quarter update, Liz McCullough, Health First Kosciusko (HFK) coordinator, on HFK partnerships, reported the school health liaison partnered with Inspire Indiana on the My Why Program, which HFK provided funding for.
“In this program, they’re going into the schools and they’re meeting the youth where they are. This particular time they went to Whispering Pines and they had quite a few kids there and they just went through what their ‘why’ would be. Just the importance of choosing healthy choices, doing the right thing, going through different scenarios where they would just make a really good decision for themselves so they can live healthier lives,” she said.
On the partnership with Live Well Kosciusko, McCullough said Live Well was able to attend the Youth and the Outdoors United Annual Fishing Derby in June and served 46 children, providing sunscreen education. McCullough said she was there as well, serving as their photographer and handing out resources about mosquitoes and ticks.
Another partner with HFK is the Northern Indiana Maternal and Child Health Network (NIMCHN). McCullough said NIMCHN partnered with HFK to help spread awareness about sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and the importance of getting tested. So far this year, NIMCHN served 3,078 people for infectious disease prevention; and served 327 for maternal and child health.
“What we really like is our partners working together. So we have NIMCHN and Live Well Kosciusko, they’ve been doing different events around the county together. But one in particular we went to Mentone and they had the IU Lung Screening Mobile and the Parkview Francine’s Friends Mobile Mammography Unit, and they had people coming in and getting screened there, which was really important. But NIMCHN was also there to give STI testing if anybody walked up and needed that or wanted that or needed more information about resources in the community. We like when they work together,” McCullough stated.
“Our Early Start prenatal program, this is through the (Kosciusko County) Health Department. They have served 58 people with safe sleep education and nutrition education. They have served 32 women getting tested for STIs and HIV. Twenty-six women were provided education on the harms of tobacco use and vaping during pregnancy. So they’re doing a wonderful job with that program,” McCullough said.
Live Well Kosciusko does different initiatives with HFK, including on chronic diseases, student health and the Mobile Mammography. For chronic disease, she said they screened 157 people for high blood pressure and 448 people for diabetes risk factors; had 293 adults ages 18-59 participate in nutrition and physical activity education programming; and 381 seniors participated in nutrition and physical activity education programming.
This year so far, the school health liaison distributed 40 Stop the Bleed kits and 1,316 total unique services were provided to students and staff.
Live Well Kosciusko Mobile Mammography had 44 people screened for cancer.
Commissioner Sue Ann Mitchell said, “So I went to a meeting the other day with Liz and a group, and they were trying to explain about vaping and the effect on kids. I was very impressed. It was a very impressive display of what all the choices might be and the impact that it has on our kids, and the actual detriment that it is to them, thinking they’re not smoking cigarettes, they’re vaping, and it is not a benefit. It is truly a health hazard. Very impressive program, and I think a lot of parents need to see that. That would certainly make you think.”
McCullough said through Live Well Kosciusko, they have the Breathe Well Coalition and it’s about tobacco vaping prevention. HFK is funding that program to work with maternal women to help them quit smoking, as well as with youth through school programs.
Mitchell made a motion for the commissioners to write a letter in support of what HFK has done in Kosciusko County and to send that to the state legislature and the Indiana Department of Health. The motion passed 3-0.
HELP & CAP
On the completion of the Hoosier Enduring Legacy Programs (HELP), Kosciusko County Community Coordinator Amy Roe said, “I am happy to report Food Insecurity and Education Coalition, though it has had many renditions due to cuts from funding, we have a group of individuals and it’s been very interesting because we have Barry Andrew from United Way who has joined that.”
She said McCullough is working with her to put together a coalition to manage that by itself.
We Lead Kosciusko had a program this past week and is self-sustaining. “We’re excited that actually produced (County Councilwoman) Rachael Rhoades and others who want to move forward with leadership. Pretty excited that that board is re-engaged and moving forward,” Roe said.
On the entrepreneurship program, she said they hopefully will be partnering with OrthoWorx to be able to launch that and make sure it’s self-sustaining. It’s the program that helps youth start businesses and learn problem-solving skills.
“Last but not least, the thing that I was spending most of my time on is the CAP (Community Amenities Program) projects. ... We do have a lot of pending applications. What Zach (Dripps, Michiana Area Council of Governments) and I are doing is meeting with the CAP team to answer questions that they have before they will approve the project, and then working to get all those matching grants,” she said.
This last week, they got their first application in to Norfolk Southern for Claypool. Sidney got their very first K21 Health Foundation grant application in for their park. She said they keep moving forward and working to make sure the matching grants come through and the projects are executed.
Roe said she and Kosciusko County Community Foundation (KCCF) CEO Stephanie Overbey have been working together for a while to figure out how they could get more grant opportunities for the small communities in the county. Overbey worked with the Zimmer Biomet Foundation to get a meeting, and in that meeting they were given the ability to apply for $150,000 through the KCCF with a fund called the Small Community Amenity Fund. They received $100,000.
“That specific project, that fund, has to be decided upon by a representative of the county commissioners and a representative of MACOG,” Roe said. Mitchell agreed to sit in on that committee to be able to work with Dripps to help determine how best to use those funds.
The commissioners unanimously voted for Mitchell to be appointed to the KCCF grant fund committee.
Purdue Extension
Brittney Schori, a Kosciusko County resident, is the new Purdue Extension regional operations leader for five counties, including Kosciusko, as of June 1.
“My role is going to figure out what those needs are in the community, as well as provide reports and Liz provided a lot of great reports that I would love to talk more about with (her). So Purdue Extension can fill in some of those gaps,” she said.
She then gave a report on Purdue Extension in Kosciusko County.
They have 52 active Master Gardener volunteers who have contributed 195 hours of service so far this year.
Taste of Ag had its 25th anniversary where they engaged over 840 fourth-grade students. They achieved a 39% increase in agricultural literacy and “welcomed 700 community members through the power of 150 dedicated volunteers. So we’re reaching a lot of people here in Kosciusko County,” Schori said.
Farm to School was done at Lincoln Elementary School.
They had 650 4-H youth showcase at the fair this year, and over 1,000 entries including 600 general project exhibit.
She also talked about the Purdue Extension educators being involved in the Jail Chemical Addiction Program (JCAP) at the Kosciusko County Jail and the class for adults at Recovery Cafe in Milford.
