HHCC Coalition gets to work on Healthy Hometown tactics

Healthy Henry County Communities had their final meeting as a board on Tuesday, April 2, and will continue to meet as a Wellness Coalition and a separate board of directors, who will maintain the group's 501(c) 3 status.

The Healthy Henry County Communities board approved their new organizational chart and bylaws Tuesday, officially creating the coalition that will continue the work of HHCC going forward.

'Although terms are ending as board members, I hope you continue on the coalition,” former HHCC director Kelly Carr said during the meeting Tuesday. 'I want to make sure we are being productive and using your time the best we can, so we are making the best progress we can.”

The HHCC Coalition will work to create welcoming, safe communities where residents can enjoy a healthy, active lifestyle and strong multigenerational social connections. The vision will be carried out through their master plan tactics to help residents eat well, move more and feel better with Wellmark's Healthy Hometown initiative.

The board of directors will meet at least once a year or as needed to maintain HHCC's 501(c) 3 status. It will have five to eight members. Current members are Sarah Berndt, Bob Cardoni, Bob Griffith, Anita Hampton, Bryce Kelly and Ed Kropa. They are accepting two more volunteers to sit on the board of directors who must be approved by the board of directors.

'I would hope we're active enough in the community to keep our fingers on the pulse of the big picture, and funnel down gaps in services we could take to the coalition,” Hampton said.

The last branch of HHCC will be the Local Health Pulse Alliance, which was formerly known as the HRSA Action Team. The Local Health Pulse Alliance will work to increase collaboration among health care workers in the county, and provide a comprehensive care continuum process that addresses health care needs.

'The work HHCC has done for the last 20 years will definitely continue with the coalition,” Hampton said. 'We hope you will put some energy and time into the (Healthy Hometown) plan and its implementation. We've been working on this for a couple months and it's beginning to take shape.”

During the rest of the board meeting, the coalition discussed the implementation status of items on their Healthy Hometown master plan.

Tactics are categorized as Eat Well, Move More and Feel Better. Eat Well tactics create easier access for healthier foods and promote healthier options and nutrition education. Move More tactics focus on planning, educating and engaging the community in physical activity. Feel Better tactics explore social connectedness and community engagement around preventing the use to tobacco and nicotine, anti-bullying initiatives and promoting community groups that broaden social circles.

Each Tactic has a 'champion” or two listed next to it who will work to implement that tactic.

Carr is working on increasing grab-and-go fruits and vegetable options throughout the county. She said she would like to focus on smaller communities that don't have grocery stores and find ways they can add fruits and vegetables to their local convenience stores.

A Move More tactic championed by Carr, Sadie Martin and Jordi Dingman is to promote opportunities for physical activity knowledge and skills building. They will do this by developing a partnership with schools in the Mt. Pleasant Community School District and offer at least one class focused on lifetime physical activity by May 31.

Some Feel Better tactics are expanding volunteering in the community and enhancing community anti-bullying initiatives.

Implementing tactics is an ongoing process.

Elise Klopfenstein, dietitian at Henry County Health Center and coalition member, suggested having each group plan on presenting on their progress a few months out of the year. Monthly meetings also will be a good time for members to work on their to-do list to implement tactics.

The HHCC Coalition will continue to meet on the first Tuesday of each month. Their next meeting is Tuesday, May 7, at 1 p.m. at HCHC. It is open to the public.