By Patricia Beech-
Adams County’s elected officials will face numerous challenges in the coming year from budgetary woes to improving the overall health of its citizens, which was ranked dead last among all Ohio counties in the 2018 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s county health rankings.
Some of the health care challenges facing Adams County citizens include a lack of preventive medical care, inadequate access to medical treatment, the inability to afford medical care, and a shortage of primary care clinicians.
To bring about positive health changes in the local population, several groups of concerned citizens banded together a decade ago to form the Adams County Health & Wellness Coalition (ACHWC). Since it inception, the ACHWC has worked to successfully improve access to healthy foods, increase opportunities for physical activity, and create tobacco-free public spaces for Adams County families.
The ACHWC is funded by the Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and is administered by the Ohio Department of Health, Bureau of Healthy Ohio, and the Creating Healthy Communities Program.
Over the past 10 years the ACHWC has received and channeled more than $1 million dollars into projects aimed at improving the health and safety of local residents including: sidewalks, walk paths, fit trails, healthy eating classes, and healthy eating programs and initiatives.
Initially established in 2008 as a task force focused on reducing the county’s staggeringly high childhood obesity rates, the group transformed into a coalition with a new mission – to protect and improve the health and wellness of all people in Adams County through collaborative partnerships that implement sustainable strategies that promote healthy living and disease prevention.
Understanding the importance of collaboration, the ACHWC developed specific strategies to improve the diversity of their partnerships throughout the county to include a diverse membership that impacts all populations.
One strategy included developing work groups and merging the work plans of the Adams County Creating Healthy Communities Program with that of the Adams County Health Department (ACHD), to carry out the recently completed Community Health Improvement Plan. These work plans address identified needs in the county to help families have more access and opportunities to make better, healthier choices.
According to Leeann Puckett, Chair of the ACHWC, the coalition’s greatest success is found in their partnerships.
She said the coalition members’ ability to work collaboratively, and not build “silos” when trying to accomplish something has won the group broad praise across the tri-state area.
After speaking about collaboration at a state-wide conference in Columbus last year, Puckett was approached by a corporate businessman who expressed amazement at the rural group’s collaborative successes.
“He was from a large corporation ‘from the city’ and just couldn’t believe that so many groups would work together for the common good,” Puckett said, calling the incident a “pivotal moment” for the coalition.
“Since then,” she says, “Our members have presented at other workshops, conferences, to the Ohio Department of Health, and even to the Centers for Disease Control, in Atlanta, about the great work being done in Adams County through these collaborative efforts that affect all our residents.”
Several coalition members were recently recognized for their contributions and assistance in supporting the ACHWC mission programs.
Beverly Mathias, RN for the Adams County Health Department, was recognized for her work to increase membership and community outreach with the Coalition Strengthening/Membership work group.
Megan Rowe, RD, at the Adams County Regional Medical Center, was honored for her work with the National Diabetes Prevention Program with the Chronic Disease work group.
Randy Chandler from General Electric and the Coalition for a Drug Free Adams County (represented by Rob Chandler in the accompanying photo) was recognized for his work with the Substance Abuse (Alcohol, Tobacco, Drugs) and Mental Health work group.
Dr. Bryan Grooms, with Winchester Family Medicine, was recognized for bringing the Walk with a Doc program to Adams County and supporting the Active Living work group.
Marsha McCormick, the Adams County OSU Extension Agent, was recognized for the tremendous amount of nutrition education she provides across the county and for supporting the Healthy Eating work group.
Venture Productions RN, Lavonne McCoy, received the Outstanding Coalition Member Award for providing all reporting and assisting with a grant the ACHWC received to make healthy eating and active living opportunities inclusive for all Adams County residents.
Sharon Ashley, RN, with the Adams County Health Department, received the Community Partnership Award for her efforts in developing the Community Health Improvement Plan and integrating it into the ACHWC mission.
Director of the Adams County Office of Economic Development, Holly Johnson received the Adams County Excellence Award for her unlimited dedication of time and effort to bring about county-wide improvements and to sustain the ACHWC.
Having a dedicated group of individuals with the common goal of improving the health and wellness of county residents will result in positive, long-term health outcomes, according to Debbie Ryan, Coordinator for the Adams County Creating Healthy Communities Program
“That is our bottom line,” Ryan says. “Like Leeann always says, our children are the most valuable resource we have, so investing in efforts to make Adams County a healthier place for them to live is the best thing we can do.”
Anyone interested in joining the Adams County Health & Wellness Coalition can message any individual member or visit www.achwc.org to contact the coalition directly.
(
Information for this article also came from a press release from the ACHWC.)
