SUBMITTED NEWS RELEASE
Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey has been selected as one of the recipients of the 2012 Silver ACE Awards. The Nevada State Health Division, Chronic Disease and Health Promotion Section created these awards as a means of recognizing outstanding chronic disease prevention and health promotion efforts by their community partners. The Silver ACE awards will be presented at a reception and dinner held in conjunction with the conference “Synchronicity: Coordinating Nevada’s Chronic Disease Management, Prevention & Health Promotion Efforts” on Jan. 18th at 6:30 p.m. at the JW Marriott Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas.
Coalition director Christy McGill said, “So many group partners and volunteers come together to create a multi-faceted approach to public health promotion, especially access to nutritious food, access to health care and prevention and early intervention for behavioral health issues. We cannot praise these partners and volunteers enough.”
Following is a list of some of the coalition’s organized efforts to prevent disease, promote wellness and prolong life in the Lyon and Storey regions:
Access to Health Care and Early Intervention for Behavioral Health Issues: Through the collaboration and work of hundreds of volunteers and over 100 groups, the coalition as a group creates projects like the annual Medical Outreach Response Event (MORE) for the under-insured and collaborates to bring early mental health screening like Teen Screen and outreach like the Crisis Text Messaging program to schools in the region. Events and programs like these help prevent health problems or stop them before they become chronic health issues or crises that require treatment in emergency rooms. These events and programs also help refer people to affordable health care plans and affordable local treatment.
Health and Wellness Education: With strategy groups like the Coalition’s Stand Tall teams, community task forces and volunteers, the coalition offers 5K Walk/Run events and leads campaigns on good nutrition, fitness and prevention of alcohol, tobacco, prescription and other drug abuse. For instance, volunteer Lindsey Kreller brought presentations on the importance of good nutrition for students to the booster clubs and parent-teacher groups throughout Lyon County schools in 2012.
Food Pantries and Public Health: The coalition’s food pantries coordinate with many agencies such as USDA Commodities to fight hunger, and the food pantries also serve as a vehicle for nutrition education and on-site services such as flu shots.
Access to Good Nutrition and Public Health: With strategy groups like Community Roots and Silver Stage Co-Op, and many volunteers and group partners, the coalition works with schools, farmers and local government to implement organic school and community gardens and hoop houses, and to offer food preservation, nutrition and sustainable agriculture training programs and workshops.
Coalition Partners and Funding Sources: The coalition partners with groups such as Carson City Health and Human Services, community health nurses, Lyon County School District, Children’s Cabinet, First Lady Kathleen Sandoval (Teen Screen), Rural Mental Health, Nevada Office of Suicide Prevention, Nevada Prevention Resource Center, Central Lyon Youth Connections, Community Chest, CSAT, local farmers, University Cooperative Extension and dozens of others on common goals to promote public health. Funding through SAPTA, USDA Rural Development, Nevada Public Health Preparedness, Nevada State Health Division, Nevada Office of Suicide Prevention, Wells Fargo, Nevada Public Education Foundation, Nevada Office of the Attorney General, Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education and volunteer labor, donations and fundraisers all help make this work possible.
Contact: For more information, please call director Christy McGill at 246-7550.
A complete list of the 2012 Silver Ace award recipients can be found below.
- Outstanding Corporate Health Promotion: UnitedHealthcare
- Outstanding Community Health Promotion: Healthy Communities Coalition
- Outstanding Clinical Health Promotion: St. Rose Dominican Hospitals
- Outstanding School Health Promotion: Future Smiles
- Outstanding Local Health District Health Promotion: Southern Nevada Health District (OCDPHP)
- Outstanding Clinical Linkage (Clinical): Guadalupe Medical Center
- Outstanding Clinical Linkage (Community): Stephen DeLisle, DDS
- Outstanding Environmental/Systems Change (Community): Nevada Statewide Coalition Partnership
- Outstanding Surveillance/Data (Community): Seal Nevada South
- Outstanding Surveillance/Data (Local Health District/College or University): Healthy Community Map of Northern Nevada
