By:Cheryl Thurston
The Healthy Bladen Collaborative is sponsoring a Healthy Community Initiative, wherein they hope to engage all local towns and communities, in an effort to reduce the number of serious and/or chronic conditions and diseases suffered by residents. In Bladen County, the top 4 health issues are Heart Disease, Respiratory Disease, Diabetes, and Cancers of all kinds. Statistics show that 70% of these conditions and diseases are preventable.
According to the 2014 Bladen County State of the County Report, in 2012, a Community Health Assessment team was established, bringing together individuals from the Healthy Bladen Collaborative, county agencies, the local hospital, and members of the community. This team developed and distributed a survey to gather information regarding the state of the county’s health, and analyzed the data to produce their report. The CHA team decided to make Chronic Diseases, Heart Disease, Respiratory Disease, Diabetes, and Cancer their top priority, and further decided to adopt a secondary priority of prescription & over-the-counter substance abuse and motor vehicle accidents.
Bladen County’s Health & Human Services Agency wants to improve the health of all citizens, so they are reaching out to residents, not just in Elizabethtown and Bladenboro, but also in Clarkton, Dublin, Tar Heel, East Arcadia, Ammon, Butters, Kelly, White Oak, White Lake, Abbottsburg, Brown Marsh, Carver’s Creek and Whites Creek, (and any others not mentioned here.) The idea is to inform the public about great local places to get fresh air while relaxing or to take a nice walk or bike ride.
Cris Harrelson, Director of the Health & Human Services Agency, believes that by increasing the level of health that Bladen County residents enjoy, we will increase the county’s attractiveness to outside business, & tourism and perhaps even improve our local economy. He asks, “What is a healthy community? Why is it important?” Harrelson said, “Healthy communities are built, they don’t just happen.” Being healthy doesn’t just improve your physical well being, it improves your social life as well.
The HBC’s Initiative is encouraging the public to eat fresh foods, stay active, and educate themselves about ways to prevent diseases such as those listed above. A planning meeting was held on Thursday, September 10th to discuss the goals of the initiative. Members split into 3 groups (Activity, Education, and Marketing) to determine S.M.A.R.T. goals and the next steps to follow in the move forward.
The activities group will create a website with a community calendar and maps of all biking and walking trails in the county. The possibility was discussed of generating an App for smart phones that would contain maps of all biking and walking trails, as well as, an events calendar, to provide information on the go.
The education group will focus on non-traditional methods of out reach to increase awareness of the program for those who do not have smart phones or Internet service, and will include traditional methods of getting the news out via newspaper ads, radio and television. They will also develop a survey to be distributed to county agencies to gather information and encourage participation on a greater scale, in an effort to bridge the town/county divide.
The marketing group will make an effort to help Bladen County become a “Kate B. Reynolds Healthy Place”, which will make the county eligible for more grant funding. They will generate signage to promote the use of public parks, biking and walking trails, and make the public aware of the locations of the parks and trails.
The Healthy Bladen Initiative will seek grant funding to provide a full time marketing professional to administer all websites and Apps, calendars and maps, and to ensure that the community is aware of events and activities that promote good health. Still, they will need volunteers in every community to make it happen.
The next scheduled meeting of the Healthy Bladen Collaborative will be held on September 29, 2015, at 9:00AM, at the Health Department in Elizabethtown. Regular meetings are held the last Tuesday of each month. The public is encouraged to attend, and not just to attend, but also to become involved in this outreach program.
For more information, contact Cris Harrelson at 910 862-6900 or email charrelson@bladenco.org. You may also visit the county’s website here: http://www.bladennc.govoffice3.com/
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