Three employees of West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine’s (WVSOM) Center for Rural and Community Health (CRCH) accepted an award on behalf of Greenbrier County honoring collaborative efforts to improve the health of West Virginians.
Sally Hurst, CRCH director of outreach programs, Julian Levine, outreach director for the Clingman Center for Community Engagement, and Drema Mace, Ph.D., the school’s vice president for Community Engagement and Development, traveled to Charleston, W.Va., on Feb. 11 to receive the inaugural Healthy People Healthy Places Gold Award. Greenbrier County Sheriff Bruce Sloan also was part of the team that accepted the award.
The Healthy People Healthy Places program recognizes communities throughout the state and the leaders who are making a difference by implementing policies and programs that help West Virginians eat better, be more active and be tobacco free while making an impact on the state’s economy. The award is given by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, Bureau for Public Health’s Division of Health Promotion and Chronic Disease (HPCD).
Hurst said the award is evidence that WVSOM and other entities within Greenbrier County are successfully working together to encourage residents to take better care of themselves.
“The spirit of collaboration is alive and well in Greenbrier County,” Hurst said. “We have so many resources here that promote health, and we can make the best use of those assets by working together. We have so many resources here to promote the health of the community, and we make the best use of those assets by working together. This award is recognition for the good work of so many partners across the county who engage in a shared vision for improving everyone’s health, especially the health of people in need.”
Hurst explained that the Greenbrier County Health Alliance — a nonprofit organization that was founded as an interdependent partner of WVSOM’s CRCH and works to reduce health disparities and promote community engagement — applied for the award on behalf of the county, with the support of the Greenbrier County Commission. She noted that the award has paved the way to move forward with an application for a national challenge grant, the American Public Health Association’s Healthiest Cities and Counties Challenge, which includes significant funding to address public health issues in local communities.
“It’s being offered in eight states, and West Virginia is one of them,” Hurst said. “Receiving the grant would give us an opportunity to receive two years’ worth of technical assistance, shared learning opportunities with other projects across the country and significant funding that can be used to advance one of our main goals: improving rural health in the Greenbrier Valley.”
Greenbrier County and six other West Virginia communities received the Healthy People Healthy Places designation. The Department of Health and Human Resources established the program in an effort to help the state become a national leader and role model in building healthier communities.
“Our goal is to recognize good work going on in communities that truly supports health as a social and cultural norm," said Jessica Wright, director of the HPCD.