Washington County Profile

 

Year HHI started:

December 1999

Website:

http://www.co.washington.ar.us/

How HHI started:

The Northwest Arkansas Hometown Health Improvement Project started meeting as a formal group in December 1999.   Many individuals at the first meeting were from the Washington County Community Partnership.   The partnership was not meeting the expectation of its members and thus they were looking for a different way to help the community.

How HHI is organized:

Gara Mozier, Area Health Education Center, and Melissa Johnson, Washington Regional Medical Center, were chosen as co-chairs of the project.

The co-chairs function with the support from the executive committee, which is made up of Improvement Team Chairs.

By mid year 2000 HHI had created five Improvement Teams.   They were Infant Mortality, Health Data, Environmental, Youth Board and Access to Care. Two new teams added in 2001 were Community Involvement and Senior Issues.

Membership is comprised of a diverse segment of the community.

The Project is currently comprised of five working teams: community involvement, environmental, access to care, health data, and the community cancer awareness team.

During 2003, Sandy Prince, with Northwest AR Radiation Therapy, was chosen to serve as Co-Chair with Melissa Jackson.

Past Projects:

• Educated the community on resources available at local health fairs and community events such as the annual Heart Association 5K Walk/Run.
• Presented a "Seatbelt Project" in conjunction with the Arkansas Department of Highway and Transportation and the AR State Police, to the Northwest Safety Coalition.
• The Environmental Team has conducted Hepatitis A clinics for restaurant employees (350 received vaccine).
• Offered Food Safety schools (15) to the public.
• Posted fifty water quality education flyers for areas of the county that were not served with public water systems.
• Completed an environmental concerns questionnaire (300).
• Developed a Burn barrel safety flyer for rural areas (100).
• Completed a restaurant employee survey as part of the smoke-free restaurant campaign (300).
• Designed and marketed public service announcements on tobacco and alcohol use directed at the youth population.
• Coordinated the area hospitals to establish a partnership for prenatal care for low-income women in NWA.
• Held two immunization clinics for children who were entering Kindergarten
• Supplied area Wal-Mart and Harps with immunization requirements flyers to be posted along with school supply lists.   In addition to Wal-Mart and Harps, the immunization flyer was available in every school district office in the county.
• Supplied immunization flyers to parents of newborns born at Washington Regional Medical Center.
• Provided more than 1,000 educational packets to hospitals and clinics in NWA regarding the Back to Sleep initiative.
• Completed a Marshallese Health Needs Assessment and the results were communicated to area health providers (30 health leaders and 70 Marshallese participated).
• Sponsored a nationally recognized health panelist from the University of Tennessee, in conjunction with the NWA Hispanic Women's Organization Conference earlier this month.
• Completed a community data entry project that identified resources for health statistics in NWA.

Current and future projects:

• Conducted a Community Health Needs Assessment gathering and documenting information that is related to health in our four-county area.   The health data team is responsible for the four-county community health needs assessment proposal submitted to the CommunityCare Foundation. The Four County Community Health Needs Assessment tool was completed and coalition members administered surveys to 795 members of Washington County.   The final report of the Four County Health needs Assessment is expected to be available in April, 2004.   At that time, results will be shared with the community and coalition work will organize around these identified needs.
• Northwest Arkansas Hometownhealth Improverent Project's partnership with Northwest Arkansas Tobacco-Free Coalition involved more extensive focus and support as a Clean Indoor Air ordinance was passed by the Fayetteville City Council and then referred for public vote.
• The Community Cancer Awareness Team created a PowerPoint slide presentation on cancer related issues, causes, and risks.   This presentation can be modified to talk about various cancer types and topics.   Several presentations have been made to various groups in our community.
• The CommunityCare Foundation (CCF) funded our grant proposal to complete a 4-county community health needs assessment survey (Washington, Benton, Madison, Carroll Counties).   Our grant proposal was funded for $50,352.   
• The Northwest Arkansas Hometown Health Improvement Project has also partnered with the Northwest Arkansas Tobacco-Free Coalition on several projects.   NWHHIP supported the recent passage of the local Clean Indoor Air Ordinance in Fayetteville, the first city smoke-free ordinance in the State of Arkansas.
• The provision of School Immunization Requirements fliers and posters for schools and area businesses selling school supplies has become a yearly project for the access to care committee.   These are delivered for kindergarten registration and before start of school preparations.

Grants Received :

• CommunityCare Foundation Grant:    $50,352 to conduct a four county community health needs assessment (Washington, Benton, Carroll, and Madison)

Other pertinent information:

Our Mission:

The NWA HHIP strives to provide access to healthcare, a safe and clean environment, quality education, and effective prevention services to achieve comprehensive health for individuals and families of Northwest Arkansas.

Our priority goals are:

1. To complete a four-county community health needs assessment.
2. To analyze and share the results through various distribution methods such as paper documentation, web-based programs, and verbal communication to groups and individuals.

Local HHI Leader:

Nancy Taylor

Profile updated:   February 2004