Community Health Collaborative Networking
Meeting Hosted by Lincoln Park District
Several organizations offer
updates on work being done in Lincoln and Logan County
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[March 08, 2024]
The
Community Health Collaborative met for its quarterly meeting at the
Lincoln Park District on Thursday, March 7. Molly McCain, Community
Health Coordinator for Lincoln Memorial Hospital (LMH), conducted the
meeting beginning with updates about LMH programs.
The Trailblazers walking program is still meeting at the YMCA to walk
indoors from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Wednesday until March 27. Anyone may
walk for free in the YMCA gym until the end of March. There is a new
walking challenge slated for the month of May. If participants walk 39
laps around the LMH trail, they can win a T-shirt.
The Community Health Needs Assessment timeline is in the Focus Group
stage for the months of March and April. Many of the conversations
McCain has been hosting in the focus groups revolve around mental health
and substance use. Following the focus groups, the Internal Advisory
Committee will meet during May and June.
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The Community Health Survey was conducted in February
with 428 people completing the survey, mostly women between the ages of
40 and 55 from Lincoln. The top concern was teenage substance use and
the second was student mental wellness.
The Substance Use Prevention Coalition (SUPC) update was delivered by
Grace Irvine of Chestnut Health Systems. She reported on harm reduction
initiatives including the usage numbers, current as of January, for the
items available for free at the harm reduction vending machine at Family
Custom Cleaners. Since its placement the vending machine has dispensed
547 doses of Narcan, 506 fentanyl test strips, and 424 xylazine test
strips. The Logan County Health Department has given away 425 doses of
Narcan and continues to replace them. The SUPC is in the process of its
Environmental Scan to identify the risk factors in the community that
could contribute to youth substance use.
Recovery-Oriented Systems of Care (ROSC) has a subcommittee group that
has planned a free screening of “Generation Found” at Lincoln Grand
movie theater on March 16 at 2:00 p.m. Jeannette Davis invited agencies
to set up booths on site at the screening. After the movie, ROSC plans
to conduct a dialogue about the issues presented in the film. There is
also a screening at the Arlee Theater in Mason City. The movie shows
what communities are doing to support substance free youth and is also
available on Prime video.
Additional reports from McCain about LMH programs and partners included
the Breastfeeding Promotion Coalition, which is not meeting at this
time. Chairperson Dana Oltmanns is meeting with coordinators in
Springfield to try to get the local coalition restarted. There will be
additional updates in the coming months.
A Mental Health Texting Campaign for high school freshmen is being
planned. A focus group of high school students will be organized to
determine content and collaboration in April. Parents in the community
health survey focus groups have been excited to hear about this
initiative. The texting campaign will start with freshmen and
potentially expand to both older and younger students.
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Logan Parks Coalition has planned Earth Day events for
next month. On Saturday, April 20, Kickapoo Park will have free white
oak seedlings for community members to take home and plant. The same
morning the Lincoln Park District will host a Forest Therapy session at
Memorial Park from 10-11:30 a.m. Registration is required and the cost
is a donation to the Lincoln Park District Foundation. Earth Day is
April 22 and LMH is planning to plant one of the white oak seedlings on
its campus. There is also a planting day scheduled at David W. Schroeder
Community Garden from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Kara Davis, director of nursing at the Logan County Health Department,
is meeting with school nurses and a representative from Who We Play For
(https://www.whoweplayfor.org/), an organization that offers ECG
screening to detect heart defects and prevent sudden cardiac arrest in
athletes. Lincoln Community High School has already committed to
offering the screening to each high school athlete. The screening takes
about 10 minutes and costs about $20 for an individual, which schools or
parents may cover. Mt. Pulaski High School and Lincoln Junior High are
also participating in the screening. Parents can register their children
online and do not have to be present for the screening. The scan is
available for students in grades 6-12. The Health Department plans to
schedule a day for additional grade schools and private schools to take
advantage of this screening.
The Logan County Health Department is giving away sharps collection red
boxes through a grant from the state. This initiative keeps sharps out
of the landfill. The Health Department will likely continue to offer red
boxes after the grant expires because it is an inexpensive service.
Needles of any kind are accepted- insulin, B12, intravenous drugs- and
red boxes may be picked up at the Health Department.
Youth substance use prevention initiatives include flyers to do a direct
mailing to students and to post on school websites. This year is an
Illinois Youth Survey year, and all Logan County schools have signed up
to participate. Mt. Pulaski High School is the only school to have not
completed the survey, and they are scheduled for April. The “Too Good
for Drugs” curriculum designed for 6th and 7th graders is being taught
this spring at Lincoln Junior High School. Resource directory cards are
available to promote www.logancountyresources.org. This community
resource website is getting a facelift and adding updated information
about area agencies. It also includes a Parent Resource Guide.
Memorial Behavioral Health continues to promote the phone number 988 for
call, text, or chat for anyone who is struggling or needs to talk to
someone. People have called for substance use, mental health,
loneliness, and just to get support for the day to day. Youth primarily
use the text feature. 988 has fielded nine million calls nationwide
since its inception. Central Illinois has a local operator for 988, so
calls are fielded in the region. Memorial Behavioral Adult Case managers
are looking for more individuals to serve.
Land of Lincoln Workforce Alliance has a new
representative in Logan County. She is located at the Heartland
Community College Lincoln campus and working on building connections
in the community. This organization works with funding and grants
for trade school and job training.
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Senior Life Solutions provides social, medical, and
mental health support for those over age 55 or on Medicare. It is
located at LMH and currently is operating off of a waitlist, but
applications are still being accepted.
Julie King of the Christian Village reported that two support groups
are available to the community. There is a Caregivers Support Group
which meets the 3rd Tuesday of every month at the Oasis. This group
is composed primarily of caregivers for those with dementia. A new
Griefshare support group is starting March 8 at the Christian
Village for anyone who has suffered a loss. Loss is loss whether it
is a loved one, a job, a pet, or loss of personal independence.
Griefshare provides support for anyone going through the grief
process. King also reported that memory support is returning to the
Christian Village. They are planning to open an assisted living
facility for those with memory loss. King encouraged anyone looking
for information about senior living or support for seniors to
contact her. With her 29 years of experience, she knows many in the
industry and can help with connections.
The Center for Youth and Family Solutions provides counseling and
parent education. They are seeking information about a teen gang
happening right now in Lincoln.
A representative from the Department of Public Health for Sangamon
and surrounding counties talked about the children's services
provided. They serve kids from birth to 3 years old, and will
provide developmental and other evaluations, as well as information
for parents. They provide play-based speech, developmental,
occupational, and physical therapies. They support nutrition and
will provide support for vision and hearing loss. Children with high
lead levels are automatically qualified for service and there is a
lead nurse on staff. Referrals can come from a parent or a
pediatrician. To make a referral call program manager Roberta Gaines
at (217) 535-3102 extension 378.
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Allison Baker, Program Coordinator for the Park
District, gave an update on spring and summer activities at the Rec.
They are planning for summer sports, and registration for youth
T-ball, baseball, and softball is open until March 29. There is an
open house on April 6 to register for swim lessons, pool parties,
summer camps, fitness classes, and more. Baker said they are trying
to focus on middle grades for fitness and programming because
sometimes this age group is overlooked. This year the Park District
will host flashlight Easter egg hunts for ages 8-12 at 7 p.m. and
ages 13-17 at 8 p.m. on March 16 on the Park District driving range.
Fitness Manager Jennifer Prather is always working on adult
programming and fitness offerings. Pat Hake from LCHS brought high
school students for pickle ball and other short term recreational
leagues to the Rec for a nominal fee. It was a successful program,
so more leagues are being planned.
Patti Schonauer of the United Way explained the service provided by
the United Way sponsored phone number 211. The 211 line provides
24/7 availability “to access free and confidential community health
and human services.” Clients may call for resources for financial,
medical and other help. The United Way is in the process of trying
to get funding for a statewide 211 service, which many states
already have. Informational postcards about 211 are available.
Illinois has a new 211 coordinator. Community needs are tracked and
often people are looking for housing, cheaper rent, etc.
The United Way also has a program that studies the cost of living
and looks for gaps in resources to see where needs are, particularly
for people who are working, but struggle to make ends meet. It looks
for gaps in services, for example, where there are libraries or a
lack of them or where there is public transportation or not. There
is a great deal of data that is useful for writing grants and
identifying gaps in services. Schonaur has links to this data for
interested organizations.
The United Way also sponsors the Dolly Parton library, and the state
pays for half. Approximately 700-710 kids in Logan County
participate in the program. Reading books with parents and
caregivers leads to better language skills and success at school for
children.
Senior services of Logan, Mason, Menard offers services of all kinds
including in-home care, emergency home response, fall detection, and
others. The service is not income based, but asset based. The goal
of services is to help to keep people in their own homes. They do
referrals to IATP for durable medical equipment. IATP just received
a 2.5 million dollar grant. They are continuing to provide tablets
to seniors for social connection, and laptops for those with low
vision. They help provide smart home products for those with low
vision and dementia, for example, door locks that can be unlocked
with a fingerprint.
The Gateway Foundation has been expanding its Bloomington location
and is planning an open house for Thursday, March 14.
Salvation Army representative Ruth Sutton explained the types of
services provided by the Salvation Army. They help people in crisis
and with disaster relief. There is also a food pantry and free
clothing available at the Lincoln office on Kickapoo Street.
Jeannette Davis from ROSC explained the aims of ROSC. Their goal is
to build up a supportive community for those with substance use or
mental illness. They take a holistic approach to recovery. The ROSC
Council meets the third Thursday of every month via Zoom. This
meeting is open to anyone who wants to get involved and the meetings
are also recorded and posted to youtube. They have a subcommittee
group that meets at Hope on Fifth Street (the building which was
formerly St. Clara’s Manor). Hope on Fifth continues to work on
getting the building ready to provide services. ROSC also has goals
of working on stigma reduction and educating about harm reduction.
ROSC has cards listing all local recovery meetings with a QR code
with links to other recovery resources.
Carol Mills from the Parish Nurses program reported that the parish
nurses meet together, but mostly do things at their own churches.
One nurse works with Hope Grows providing services for children.
McCain concluded the meeting with a reminder of the free colorectal
cancer screening kits available at LMH on Tuesday, March 12 from 9
a.m. to 12 p.m. The next SUPC meeting is Thursday, March 14 at 9
a.m. at LMH. The next CHC meeting will be June 6. Anyone interested
in creating the best quality of life possible for Logan County
residents is welcome to join the LMH Community Health Collaborative.
[Stephanie Hall]
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