Rural Health

Apply Now! AmeriCorps Needs You.

 
If you like living, working and learning in a rural community one of these positions could be right for you.

We are looking for four more energetic and enthusiastic health promoters to serve as AmeriCorps members in eight rural communities across Washington. In our second year teaming up with the Washington Service Corps and community leaders, we are placing members in schools, hospitals, public health, and non-profit organizations. The opportunities are diverse and challenging—reflecting the wide range of geography, people, and cultures in Washington state, as well as local community health priorities. 

Members receive $1,125/month pay, health insurance and a $5,350 education award upon completion of term. Members can request loan forbearance and also can receive subsidized childcare.

Apply now at www.americorps.gov. To find these job descriptions, search within the “Health” interest and specify Washington State. The Washington Health Foundation will be incorporated into the program name. 

Questions? Please contact Katharine Sanders at KatharineS@whf.org or 206-972-1243. Job Placements include:

• Naselle School District, Naselle, WA, Pacific County
• Northeast Tri County Health District, Colville, WA, Stevens County
• (Position Filled) Garfield County Public Hospital District, Pomeroy, WA, Garfield County
• Bridgeport School District, Bridgeport, WA, Douglas County
• (Position Filled) Omak School District, Omak, WA, Okanogan County
• (Position Filled) Community to Community, Bellingham, WA, Whatcom County
• (Position Filled) Mason Matters, Shelton, WA, Mason County
• (Position Filled) Klickitat County Health Department, Goldendale, WA, Klickitat County
• (Position Filled) Asotin County Health District, Clarkston, WA,  Asotin County

 

La Conner-Swinomish Skate Park Opening!

 
 
After more than ten years of struggle, the La Conner-Swinomish Community Skate Park is nearly completed. On Wednesday, August 31^st, the La Conner Senior Center is hosting a grand opening celebration. Beginning at 4 pm, there will be hot dogs, punch and ice cream cones as well as skating demonstrations and recognition of all who have supported the effort this past decade. I want to especially thank the Washington Health Foundation for their support during the past several years. Grant funding provided by WHF supported the La Conner Alliance for Youth and Family that spearheaded a renewed effort to locate the Park and secure funding. Through a grass roots effort that included tee-shirt sales, fun runs and quilt raffles, we made “enough noise” to get the attention of the Swinomish Tribal Senate and the La Conner Town Council who ultimately committed the great balance of the funds necessary to complete the Park.

So, if you are in the neighborhood on August 31^st, please stop by our new Skate Park at the end of North 6^th street (just past the high school gym), to try out our course, eat a hot dog or simply enjoy our community. 

Thank you WHF!

Sincerely,

Lori Buher, Counselor
La Conner Schools

Passing On the Gift

by Delphina Liles, AmeriCorps Community Health Promoter
Mason Matters 2010-2011

                
 
During these ten months as a Community Health Promoter and AmeriCorps member in Mason County, I’ve needed to continually find sources of renewal in order to meet the demands of the community that I was serving. These sources have come in many forms, including the tangible fruits of the garden program that we’ve built in Shelton.

HOPE is a school and community garden that nourishes students and residents with access to fresh produce and experiential education. HOPE is an acronym that stands for our mission of Hands-On Personal Empowerment, accomplished by the simple act of sowing seed.

Between January and April, over 200 children have passed through the gates of HOPE. We’ve planted sixteen raised beds that have themes of pizza, sweet treats, and exploration. The growing season has been difficult, however, and we’ve just begun to harvest in our summer day camp. Thus, the garden has been teaching us lasting skills of patience and perseverance, qualities that apply to every realm of our lives. The students have often been the best examples of this, celebrating each pea and lettuce leaf that makes it into our salad bowl.

As my time comes to a close, and I find myself questioning the impact the garden program had on the community and the children that it served. Yet, the children have taught me to celebrate the small stuff, reminding me that we won’t always see the impact of our work. 

Heifer International, a non-profit that promotes sustainable development and self-sufficiency, promotes this concept as “passing on the gift”. With every contribution that we give to our communities, we give a gift that is renewed over and over again, sometimes with no visible validation.

A great example of this kind of gift happened earlier this year when Lorna, Katharine, Kristina, and Onika from the Washington Health Foundation invited all of the Community Health Promoters to Seattle to share our stories. During this time Katharine taught us to make raw fruit tarts. The activity was fun, healthy, and creative and I had the pleasure to teach the students the recipe on our last day of the after school program. The students pressed out their pie crusts and loaded them with berries and peaches before devouring them with gusto. They learned that preparing food isn’t always about the recipe but about how it makes you feel, physically and emotionally. This is just one of the examples of the gifts that have come my way in this period of my work. 

Knowing that I had a support network of the Washington Health Foundation and the eleven other Community Health Promoters has been incredibly encouraging. I want to thank every one of you for making this year a possibility for me. In the months ahead I know that the lessons that I’ve learned will keep cropping up and I’ll be sure to celebrate each one!

Making Changes Sustainable

by Jody Martin - Registered Dietitian, Columbia County Health System

 
Over the last seven years, the Washington Health Foundation has funded many wellness programs and activities in Columbia County. Reflecting back over the years on our community’s Healthiest State in the Nation wellness campaigns, I value one campaign more than any other. It is the wellness initiative that remains today despite no funding: the development and organization of our community wellness coalition.  

Our coalition, called Columbia Cares, was organized in 2009 in an effort to prioritize wellness initiatives for grants in our community, including grants from the Washington Health Foundation. The idea was to bring together our community with common and uncommon partners to focus on what wellness issues matters most locally. We wanted a group of leaders who were willing to meet and to take action.  

The coalition meets monthly and has engaged our local leaders to think critically about wellness, participatory evaluation of programs, and generate dialogue and resource prioritization for wellness activities in our community. The biggest challenge that we face is not new to rural coalitions of our size but is at the heart of implementation: it is funding. 

Our small community has reaped many rewards from the Washington Health Foundation’s grants. The funding has been a crucial ignition to our coalition’s momentum and success. When the WHF grants were no longer available for 2011, it definitely made our coalition look at funding sources for wellness initiatives.

As a rural community, we understand the need to be creative and work together to get programs done, and this year more than ever we have done that. The array of programs our coalition is working on ranges from our county engineer and school district researching walking plans for safe routes to school, to Dayton High School seniors finishing a disc golf course in the City Park. 

Although the funding is limited, we feel and see the growth of wellness in our community. The development of several farmers markets, creation of a thriving community garden, the plans for a new playground on the north side of town and the ground-breaking construction of organic food processing plants are a few advancements. We are excited about these environmental changes to promote health in our community, and appreciate the people who are dedicated to making the changes happen.