Waushara County AmeriCorps Member Service Description



Portage County Health and Human Services – Division of Public HealthMEMBER SERVICE DESCRIPTION: 2014-2015TITLE: Community Health Project SpecialistESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES and FUNCTIONS:Direct Service: Coalition Building and SupportAssist PCHHS-DPH staff and community partners with implementing current initiatives:Active Communities Nutrition and Healthy Food SystemsMental HealthSubstance Abuse and PreventionYouth and familiesTobacco Prevention and ControlAssist in coordinating specific projects:Engagement of the community in supporting the Portage Countywide Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan Community engagement related to introduction of the Portage County Community Health Improvement Plan, 2014-2018.Supporting internal capacity building of PCHHS-DPH staff in meeting community health needs through PHAB accreditation.Other Special Events (as assigned)Health EducationCollaborate with health department staff on emerging public health needsProvide health education outreach to Portage County businesses and residentsAssist with program planning, implementation, and/or evaluation Communication Outreach (Online presence / media and marketing support)Update PCHHS-DPH and Healthy People Portage County websites.Increase social media use, presence and connectionsDevelop additional marketing/media materials as neededAnalytic reportsPress releases/Letters to the EditorE-update Newsletter ( Online)Brochures, posters, etc.Capacity Building: Developing collaborative relationships : Existing and New PartnersAssist with coalition partner training events/opportunitiesIncrease partner involvement in specific tasks/activities through outreach and communication about opportunitiesAssist PCHHS-DPH staff with community partnership opportunitiesRetaining PartnersEstablish partner and key stakeholders supporter agreements for Healthy People Portage County workgroups. Develop and maintain HPPC partner, committees, and workgroups. Assist in development, distribution and analyze of workgroups participants surveys.Building infrastructure of the WCHDAssist with ongoing marketing processes/procedures for health department activitiesAssist with the implementation of WCHD program specific action plansOther duties as assignedAdditional Volunteer Opportunities (equates to 10%)National Day of Service for AmeriCorps (required)Summer grassroots outreach: Rock & Country USA (required)Participate in local coalition meetings: Portage County CAN, Portage County AODA, Portage County Alliance for Youth, and Portage County Suicide Prevention, Central Wisconsin Tobacco Free Coalition, and Mental Health Awareness Coalition and related activities.Nutrition Education : Community Weight Race, WIC, PNCC programming and others as appropriateTRAINING: PCHHS policies and procedures (onsite with staff)Meeting with PCHHS-DPH Coordinator and supervisors to discuss Member interest, skills, strengthsIntroduction to PCHHS-DPH staff, Leadership Committee, and HPPC/PCHHS-DPH partnersRecurring meetings with PCHHS host site supervisorSocial media and marketing (on/off site/webinars)Constant Contact (onsite with staff)Website development /iMakeSense (onsite with staff)Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Publisher, and ExcelTrainings specific to member’s projects, responsibilities, functions (TBD)Advocacy and Policy development (on/off site/webinars)COMMUNITY NEED: The 2014 UW Population Health Institute Community Health Rankings Report ranked Portage County 3rd among Wisconsin’s 72 counties for health outcomes of its residents. Portage County is in the Central region of Wisconsin. Portage County has an estimated population of 73,000 residents. It is home to the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, which is located in the City of Stevens Point, which serves as our county seat. There are also six villages and 17 townships that makeup the remainder of the county. PCHHS-DPH is currently in the process of finalizing the Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) for 2014-2018. The plan was developed as a result of the 2012 Portage County Local Indicators for Excellence (LIFE) Report, a community-wide assessment completed in collaboration with many community partners and key stakeholders. The 2012 Portage County LIFE Report identified five calls to actions as top community priorities. The five calls to action are: obesity, academic achievement, alcohol and drug abuse, employment opportunities, and aging populations. Obesity, alcohol and drug abuse, and mental health are the three focus areas of the Portage County CHIP for 2014-18. Excessive drinking and drinking and driving are higher than the state average in Portage County. According to the 2012 Portage County LIFE Report alcohol usage in Portage County has been higher than the state and national averages for the last 10 years and a reported a 37% increase in the number of people charged with drug offenses from 2010 to 2011. The effects of substance abuse are cumulative, significantly contributing to costly social, physical, mental, and public health problems. The Portage County CHIP for 2014-18 will focus efforts in substance abuse prevention by striving to improve community education and local policy regarding alcohol, tobacco, prescription drug abuse, heroin, marijuana, and other drugs. Residents of Portage County are supported by resources and activities of three local coalitions: Portage County AODA, Portage County Alliance for Youth, and the Central Wisconsin Tobacco-Free Coalition. According to the 2014 County Health Rankings Project through UW-Madison Population Health, Portage County has a 25% occurrence of excessive drinking, compared to the state average of 24% for occurrence; and 58% occurrence of alcohol-impaired driving deaths, compared to the state’s average of 39%.Portage County has four public school districts, one private school system and several smaller private schools. According to the 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), completed by high school students who attended Stevens Point Area Senior High (SPASH), 20.4% smoke cigarettes, 48.7% drank alcohol, 8.8% binge drank, 35.9% smoked marijuana, and 20.0% took a prescription drug without a prescription. PCHHS-DPH through collaboration with community partners is planning to have a school districts complete the on-line version of the YRBS in Portage County high schools, during the 2014-15 academic year.According to a poll completed by the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin, 7 in 10 adults and 1 in 4 youth are overweight or obese. Of those adolescents surveyed, 88.4% reported eating less than the recommended amounts of vegetables. The poll also found that 93% of residents favor taking steps to ensure kids can safely walk and bike to school and 93% of residents agree that increased physical activity in schools will improve academic performance. LIFE Report data for Portage County, of residents surveyed in 2011, show of LIFE respondents, 67.1% agree that obesity is a concern in the community; and 53.7% exercise at least 30 minutes three to four days per week. Obesity rates for adults in Portage County continue fall below the Healthy People 2020 goal of 30.6%; obesity rate of 9.3% for youth falls below the Healthy People 2020 goal of 15.7% for children aged 6-11 years and 16.1% for adolescents aged 12 to 19 years. 22.7% of Wisconsin adult report eating five or more fruits or vegetables per day. Portage County has a food environment index of 8, according to the 2014 County Health rankings with a state average index of 8.3. The food environment index is comprised of a scoring for limited access to healthy foods, in which Portage County was scored at 7 % and food insecurity in which Portage County scored 11%. The Portage County CHIP 2014-2018 will recommend more access to healthy foods in rural settings, schools and workplaces. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention cite the following strategies to prevent obesity: increase physical activity, decrease television viewing, increase consumption of fruits and vegetables, decrease consumption of sweetened beverages, and reduce consumption of high energy dense foods, and increase incidence and duration of breastfeeding.Portage County supports increasing use of active transportation, moving more during the work and school day, and encouraging decision-makers to think about how to improve health with the recently passed Countywide Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan. The plan supports active transportation for all residents of Portage County and now work is being done to adopt and support the plan through the municipalities and townships that make up the county. There are several coalitions and committees in Portage County that support this work: Portage County CAN, Active Portage County, and Central Wisconsin Worksite Wellness Network.According to the 2014 County Health Rankings and Roadmaps Project, overall health depends on both physical and mental well-being. Measuring the number of days when people report that their mental health was not good, i.e., poor mental health days, represents an important facet of health-related quality of life. A study examining the validity of healthy days as a summary measure for county health status found that counties with more unhealthy days were likely to have higher unemployment, poverty, percentage of adults who did not complete high school, mortality rates, and prevalence of disability.] Physically unhealthy days were more strongly associated with all county-level variables than mentally unhealthy days. Residents of Portage County reported 2.4 mentally unhealthy days within the last 30 days, compared to the state average of 3.0 mentally unhealthy days within the last 30 days. Portage County has a suicide rate, on average of 9 deaths per year, over the last 5 years. With a trend in suicides being completed by adults, age 35 to 60. Suicide is the second leading cause of death in Wisconsin. Although Portage County has fewer poor mental health days, work continues to reduce the stigma that surrounds mental illness to improve access to care and referrals for care. Recently PCHHS-DPH, along with Portage County United Way and Ministry Medical Group (a local medical provider) have engaged our community in a series of community engagements in order to determine the potentiality of possible underlying factors that could impact the identified calls to action from the 2012 Portage County LIFE Report. It has been determined that mental health impacts each of the calls to action and needs to be addressed. Currently there are plans to work with each of the school districts in Portage County to complete an YRBS during the 2014-15 school year as well as establish mental health resources and support for educators. Portage County has a local coalition to support work toward good mental health, the Suicide Prevention and Mental Awareness Coalition of Portage County as well as other community resources.PLAN FOR VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT: Enlist, train, coordinate and supervise volunteers for health education initiatives identified through HPPC initiatives and workgroups. Gain adult participation through existing partnerships, health education/outreach, civic organizations and general community interestInvolve youth in health education initiatives by working with Portage County Alliance for Youth, and Central Wisconsin Tobacco Free Coalition. i.e. assist with WINS compliance checks, and Fighting Against Corporate Tobacco (F.A.C.T.) Support partners and volunteers to ensure they have a quality experienceProvide clear, task-oriented activities Communicate regularly with volunteersEnsure volunteers are recognized for their engagement and contributionsMaintain database of volunteers recruited, hours served, training received, and activities conductedMEASURABLE GOALS, OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOMES:Goal #1: Provide information to the community about HPPC and PCHHS-DPHObjective: By August 31, 2015, conduct 4 educational presentations to community groups/organizations promoting HPPC initiatives and goals Objective: Assist with the development of a policy/procedure for the routine update of WCHD electronic content to help ensure timely and up to date content.Objective: By August 31, 2015, increase hits on by 10%, and social media followers by 10% over the baseline established on September 30, 2014. Outcome: Community is informed of health activities through electronic media and traditional media. Increase utilization and value of the PCHHS-DPH/HPPC websites and other online presences. Outcome: Marketing process/procedure developed for PCHHS-DPH/HPPC.Goal #2: Provide information to the community about HPPC initiatives and goalsObjective: By August 31, 2015, conduct 4 educational presentations to community groups/organizations promoting HPPC initiatives and goals Objective: Assist with the development of a policy/procedure for the routine update of HPPC electronic content to help ensure timely and up to date content.Objective: By August 31, 2015, increase hits on 10%, and social media followers by 10% over baseline established on September 30, 2014. Outcome: Marketing process/procedure developed for HPPC 2014-18 initiatives and workplan.Outcome: Community is informed of HPPC initiatives through electronic media and traditional media. Increase utilization and value of the HPPC website and other online presences. Goal #3: Implement activities that support coalition member communication, management, retention, and recognition Objective: Between September 1, 2014 and August 1, 2015, 100% of HPPC Committee member documents will be up-to-date at the end of each quarter. Objective: By August 1, 2015, increase the number of emails to the at large by 10% over the baseline established before December 312014.Outcome: Sustained, highly functioning, structure and organization that reflects the needs and priorities of the coalition will be maintained. Outcome: Effective and consistent communication with coalition partners.Goal #4: Share coalition goals and activities with the community and recruit potential new coalition membersObjective: Conduct a minimum of 5 community engagement activities will be conducted between September 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015.Objective: Recruit a minimum of 10 members who will participate in a HPPC activity between September 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015.Outcome: Increased awareness and participation by the community in HPPC work groups. Increased number of new, active committee members.Goal #5: Increase AmeriCorps Member’s awareness of civic responsibilitiesObjective: By August 1, 2015, the Member will have completed the Wisconsin HealthCorps Civic Engagement Training and other related tasks. Outcome: Member is aware and actively engaged in their community ................
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