RCHD could be model for other counties

Last week Dr. Lyndsay Weaver, Indiana State Health Commissioner, visited Ripley County Health Department. On her way to Ripley Co., Paul Tyrer, Director, Ripley Co. Health Dept. (RCHD), planned a route that would highlight the attributes and challenges found here regarding ‘community health and wellness.’

Dr. Weaver made a commitment to reach out and visit – in person – each county health dept. in the state. The state is divided into regions. Weaver has a team with her: Michelle Matern, Southern Regional Director; Pam Pontones, Deputy Health Commissioner; and Jennifer Brinegar, Southern Regional Health Services Director, are part of the Health Department team. Jake Torrie, Deputy Director of Legislative and External Affairs attended. District 55 – Representative: Lindsay Patterson (Fayette Co.), attended this meeting as well as many local healthcare professionals.

Weaver and her team are visiting all the county health departments to identify what strengths each possess and how the Indiana State Health Department can facilitate more successes. Their three-fold query is: “What are you excited about?” “What are you concerned about?” and, “How can we help?”

RCHD is doing so well with many of their programs that Weaver and Pontones requested Tyrer and other Ripley Co. Emergency personnel (Jason Smith, President Ripley Co. Health Board; Scott Huffman, Ripley Co. EMS; and James Coffee, Ripley Co. EMA) be available to assist with other counties as needed.

RCHD has excelled, assisted by the HFI (Health First Indiana) Grants. HFI Grants focus on: Tobacco/Vape Prevention/Cessation; Chronic Disease Prevention; Trauma and Injury Prevention; Maternal and Child Health; and TB Prevention/Management.

Another collaborative effort between all of Ripley Co. “Health” oriented departments has been the successful launch of the MIH (Mobil Integrated Health) program. This was another area Tyrer, Smith, and Huffman agreed to be available to assist surrounding counties to set up the program. In this way, other counties will avoid the possible pitfalls RCHD and RC-EMS have already identified and either prevented or found a solution to.

A major health concern today is obesity. Two-thirds of the obese population are adults and a full one-third are school-age children. Ripley Co. ranked worse than over two-thirds of the rest of the state. Almost three out of five people suffer from obesity. Which makes them a prime candidate for co-morbidities (diabetes; heart disease(s); circulatory issues; high cholesterol; etc.). Each co-morbid complication increases the risk of another co-morbid complication, and death.

Prevention is the main focus in HFI programs. Targeting youth and schools (health and wellness) education focused on: movement/exercise to combat all the co-morbidities and obesity; healthful eating – both portion-size and what we eat; smoking education is provided with the intention to avoid to create the habit – cessation is provided for those who have already started. Many school age students use tobacco products and/or vape.

Maternal and child health is under one category. It serves/educates the mother and child from before inception through childhood to adulthood. Education targeted at parenting, child care (with life-like baby “dolls” – who can be addicted to drugs and a real handful when programmed to depict that scenario. The goal is to reduce teen pregnancies and increase healthy parent-child relationships.

Many topics were discussed: suicide prevention, at the school level and for adults; the “Magic 72” denotes the first 72 hours after an intensive in-patient stay (whether prison, rehab, or other program) – the first 72 hours are the hardest for the newly released –using, OD, suicide, and re-offending are highest in these 72 hours.

RCHD and Ripley Co. Sheriff’s Dept are collaborating to connect recently released individuals with immediate interaction with sponsors and mentors to assist “releasees” to make healthy choices.

A priority of the State Health Department is to connect each county. The goal is to network and support the diverse needs and share strengths of each county with other counties. It creates pathways and resources for each county based on their needs. There are resources and people in place to connect the counties to the regions and to the state.

If you find yourself in need of social services in Ripley Co., please contact RCHD. A phrase you will hear often at RCHD “if we do not have the resource or program you need – we will locate it and refer you to it.”