Top: Kelsie Smithson presents Greater Louisville Project's Poverty Beyond Income report, Bottom Left: Learning From Other Louisville Collaboratives Panel discussion, Bottom Right: Rain Liu sharing the Communications Committee update.
On July 26, 2018 the Louisville Health Advisory Board (LHAB) held its third quarterly meeting for the year at Metro United Way. Over 40 LHAB members attended representing over 35 organizations across Louisville.
Keynote speakers included Keisha Deonarine, Executive Director of the Passport Foundation, Kelsie Smithson, Chief of Operations of the Greater Louisville Project and a panel including Randa Deaton from Kentuckiana Health Collaborative, Emma Horn from College Promise, and Phil Marshall from Health Enterprise Network. In addition, all six committees gave updates of their progress and future goals.
Quarterly Meeting Highlights Included:
Passport Foundation - Strategic Vision for Louisville
Keisha Deonarine discussed how the Passport Foundation is working in Louisville and across the state of Kentucky to achieve equity, including long life and access to the services, for all. One program the Passport Foundation initiated to help achieve this goal leads substance abusers out of their addiction and into the workforce holding a stable job. Another program the organization is planning to launch is called Thriving Mother, Thriving Babies. This program will train doulas who will work with mothers and babies in the West end of Louisville. These doulas will ensure the mothers they work with have adequate prenatal care. This program is unique in that the doulas will be trained in substance abuse detection so they can detect any mothers abusing substances and help them overcome their addiction for the health of themselves and their babies. The doulas will stay a year after the birth of the baby to provide guidance and support for both mother and child.Greater Louisville Project - Poverty Beyond Income Report
Kelsie Smithson from Greater Louisville Project discussed the social determinants driving poverty in Louisville. As highlighted in the Poverty Beyond Income report, she shared that 1 in 5 children in Louisville are living in poverty. Of these households, 67% have at least one person working but are still not making enough to escape poverty. A few of the drivers that contribute to poverty in Louisville are job, quality of place, health and education level of parents. Smithson emphasized that Greater Louisville Project collects all this data, but does not have the resources to do much about it. That is why it is so vital that other organizations such as those involved in LHAB use this data to drive their own work.
Top: LHAB Communications Committee Interns Hannah Deaton (Bellarmine) and Grace Jin (Yale) following their presentations during Committee Updates. Bottom: Will Hancock from NovoNordisk shares an update from the Diabetes Committee.
Committee Updates:
Progress Against 2018 Goals
The Community Coordination of Care committee launched PRAPARE in Family Health Centers this month, which is a series of questions medical professionals ask patients concerning social determinants of health such as income and safety.
The Cultural/Social Impact committee launched its year of Arts HeALIng, & Action! (AHA!) earlier this year which is a year-long series of events focused on social, mind/body, environmental, and economic health. The next event centers around environmental health, and is planned to be held in September, organized in partnership with the Louisville Ballet. November’s AHA! event will be centered around economic health. Email theo@ideasxlab.com to get involved in AHA!
This year the Behavioral Health committee is working toward zero suicides in Louisville. Their goal is to set a world record during Suicide Prevention Week (September 9 - September 15), to have the most people trained in Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR). This training, like CPR, is designed to save the life of someone in danger. For more information on this training and how you can get involved visit www.qprlou.com.
The Diabetes committee is working to increase the number of people with prediabetes enrolled in CDC recognized diabetes programs. Their goal is to have 25% more people enrolled this year than last year. They are currently exceeding that goal for 2018.
The Respiratory Health committee has successfully increased its number of members from 7 to 22. They are on track to ensure that metro housing moves to smoke-free facilities by the end of July. The committee is also working to get two counties adjacent to Jefferson County to be smoke-free. Oldham County just passed a stricter smoke-free law that includes e-cigarettes, although it is facing some opposition. In addition, there are currently six counties in Kentucky moving toward becoming smoke-free. The Respiratory Health committee’s ultimate goal is for the state of Kentucky to pass a smoke-free law.
- The Communications committee has added a few new members including Rain Liu, a communications professor at Bellarmine University, and two summer interns Grace Jin and Hannah Deaton. The committee is analyzing current and potential communication tools that could help further its goal of raising awareness of the LHAB work and Healthy Days both internally and externally. The committee is particularly working to raise awareness about the Behavioral Health committee’s QPR training in September. It will continue to publish a bimonthly newsletter and asks all committees to submit updates as needed.
LHAB Co-Chair Dr. Sarah Moyer discusses Louisville's fight against Hep A.
Learning From Other Louisville Collaboratives:
The panel discussion consisted of Randa Deaton from Kentuckiana Health Collaborative, Emma Horn from College Promise, and Phil Marshall from Health Enterprise Network. Each one provided advice on how their collaboratives have overcome challenges and pressed forward to reach their goals.
Deaton said that one of Kentuckiana Health Collaborative’s greatest strengths is its people. One challenge she has noticed within her collaborative is getting everyone to agree on priorities. She says that when there are 55 members in an organization, as there are in Kentuckiana Health Collaborative, it is unlikely everyone will agree on the top priorities. In a collaborative such as this one it is helpful if instead of striving for a unanimous vote, you strive for a majority vote.
College Promise’s goal is to provide all students with the access and opportunities they need to achieve their education goals. Horn admits this is a lofty goal and therefore, can be slow-moving. She advises that when progress feels slow, organizations should stay focused on the “little wins” and remember that the slow progress is necessary to achieve the end goal.
Health Enterprise Network (HEN) promotes economic growth in the healthcare sector in Louisville. Marshall, Chair of HEN, says there are times when the overall purpose of the organization gets lost in its many different efforts. While these efforts may be beneficial to the community, it is important not to lose sight of the organization’s ultimate goal.
Stopping the Spread of Hepatitis A in Louisville
This quarter, instead of completing a volunteer activity during the meeting, Dr. Sarah Moyer asked all present members to get the Hepatitis A vaccination. She also challenged members to engage five of their family members or friends to get vaccinated. During the recent breakout of Hepatitis A in Louisville, there have been 540 cases and 4 deaths. Dr. Moyer says one of the best ways to stop the spread of this illness is by getting vaccinated. You can be vaccinated at any clinic offering the Hepatitis A vaccination and the cost is covered under the Affordable Care Act. For more information click here.