Results Statement: There will be an improved health status for residents of Carroll County in regard to physical activity, nutrition, tobacco-free living, and safety.
Promotion of overall wellness and illness / injury prevention are identified as signature areas for our work. We realize that within all of our Core Health Improvement Areas, prevention is where our greatest opportunity for impact exists.
It is no coincidence that the teams addressing Prevention & Wellness are some of the largest and the most active in our community. The Partnership plays an active role with each to achieve lifestyle improvements that lead to better health.
Partnership Staff Contact:
Dorothy Fox
410-871-6373
DLFox@CarrollHospitalCenter.org
Click on the organizational chart items to view the details of each.
Prevention & Wellness Leadership Team
Since 2003, the Prevention & Wellness Leadership Team has sought to promote wellness, prevent disease, and increase quality and years of healthy life in Carroll County through education, and by encouraging measurable changes in behavior and lifestyle. The terms “prevention” and “wellness” are broad ones that encompass many health areas in addition to those addressed by the Prevention & Wellness Leadership Team. The other Core Improvement Areas of The Partnership also play contributing roles in determining the overall health and wellness of people living in Carroll County.
Through the Vital Signs process (data analysis and group discussion), the Team has identified these two primary areas of focus for our health improvement efforts: L.E.A.N. Carroll (Lifestyle, Education, Physical Activity and Nutrition), and Wellness.
Membership in the Prevention & Wellness Leadership Team, which meets quarterly, is open to anyone interested in improving the health outcomes of Carroll County residents.
L.E.A.N. Carroll
The Partnership organized L.E.A.N. Carroll to address childhood obesity concerns in the Carroll community. Focusing on Lifestyle, Education, Activity and Nutrition, L.E.A.N. Carroll calls on Carroll residents to commit to healthier lifestyles. It is a family-based approach to behaviors known to promote healthy weight and help prevent chronic diseases. L.E.A.N. Carroll provides information, links to resources and programs, and other support to help children and their families improve nutrition, increase activity levels, and to reach and maintain optimum health.
Whether you or your family members are currently at a healthy weight, or at risk for overweight, you can take steps to get or keep things on the right track. Eating right and being physically active aren’t just a “diet” or “program”; they are the keys to a long and healthy life.
Click here to visit the L.E.A.N. Carroll page and learn more.
L.E.A.N. Carroll-Healthy Eating Project
The Partnership for a Healthier Carroll County established the L.E.A.N. Carroll-Healthy Eating Project to focus on improving nutrition for children and families. The Partnership implements this Project with Carroll County Public Schools and other local schools with major funding and support from Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States. This initiative conveys practical nutrition information and guidance, offers motivational incentives, and increases the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables in local schools.
For more information, visit the L.E.A.N. Carroll page HERE.
Healthy Carroll Resource Guide
Healthy Carroll - resources for people of all ages is a booklet that puts local information focusing on healthy eating and active lifestyles at your fingertips.
The Healthy Carroll Resource Guide is available free as an Adobe Acrobat (pdf) file. Click here to download. To get a free printed copy, call 410-871-6373.
Healthy Dining Guide
The Healthy Dining Guide of Carroll County is a collaborative project of the Prevention & Wellness Leadership Team. In 2007, with sponsorship from the Tobacco Coalition of the Carroll County Cigarette Restitution Fund Program, the first Dining Guide recognized 15 Carroll County restaurants for offering at least 80% of our required healthy food options. These restaurants were presented with an “Award of Excellence,” and each proudly displays a “Healthy Dining Establishment” decal. The second (2008) Dining Guide listed 26 restaurants with healthy food options, and marked the ones that identify the healthier options on their menu. New in the third edition, issued in 2010, are Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards to identify restaurants that are outstanding in providing healthy options. The Healthy Dining Guide includes a complete list of “healthy” restaurants and shows the healthy menu criteria that must be met for inclusion in this guide.
Download a free electronic copy of our Healthy Dining Guide HERE, or call 410-871-6373 to receive free printed copies.
Nutrition Partners Registry
The Nutrition Partners Registry was developed in an effort to provide resources with contact information for Carroll residents seeking local nutritional services. Information sources are also listed. You can download the Nutrition Partners Registry HERE to find local professionals who can help your family achieve a healthy, balanced diet.
Healthy Carroll Families
Healthy Carroll Families is an electronic packet of tips (nutrition/fitness handouts and a healthful recipe) released three times a year to help organizations; families and people of all ages promote and achieve healthy lifestyles that lead to healthy weights.
These resources can be used together as a comprehensive packet, or each piece can be used by itself to promote a particular “health” behavior. Each set of resources is built around a seasonal theme.
Please download, print and distribute copies of the Healthy Carroll Families materials - Click here to open. To be added to the list to receive Healthy Carroll Families by email, call 410-871-6373.
Fitness Testing
Carroll County Public Schools (CCPS) are assessing fitness levels of students in grades 3 through 9 under a Physical Education program based on the national program Fitnessgram, designed by The Cooper Institute. Students are assessed on their aerobic capacity, muscle strength, endurance and flexibility. They are tested on four components: curl-ups, pacer (running), push-ups and sit-and- reach (flexibility). Scoring in these areas places students in the Healthy Fitness Zone or in Needs Improvement for each of the areas.
The summary data will help us to see trends in county fitness levels of youth and to indicate where we need to focus our efforts. It will also show where our county youth are doing well in meeting fitness goals and national standards.
Wellness
Wellness focuses on increasing a wide range of healthy behaviors by motivating people to accept individual accountability and actively make good choices.
Worksite Wellness Action Team
The Worksite Wellness Action Team was formed in 2008 with co-chairs from Carroll Hospital Center and Carroll Community College leading the group. The team meets to network, share ideas and listen to health professionals concerning the advancement of worksite wellness programs. Five areas of focus have been determined; Health Education, Supportive Environment, Integration of Wellness Programs, Linkage, and Screening Programs. To gain understanding of where our community stands in this regard a survey was sent to members of the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce and all employers in Carroll County with over 100 employees in April 2009.
The Action Team has reviewed the results of the survey and is providing resources for companies or organizations that request information.
Click HERE for more about Worksite Wellness. Copies of the Worksite Wellness Guide can be downloaded from the Links below, or requested by calling 410-871-6373.
Faith Fighting Diabetes
The Faith Fighting Diabetes Action Team was formed in October 2010 at the request of a community member to address the need for education and awareness surrounding diabetes. Two champions stepped forward to lead the development of strategies for identifying those most at risk. Targeted activity includes educating people through their faith communities, providing risk assessments, and offering “next step” information. This information may guide an individual to their primary care physician or to a local health screening.
Tobacco-Free Living
The Partnership recognizes tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke as major risk factors in many of the health improvement areas we seek to impact, including Substance Abuse, Heart Health and Cancer. Therefore, the promotion of tobacco-free living has been identified as a high priority of our organization.
The Partnership maintains the Smoke-Free Carroll County web pages, with tips, tools, and links to best-practice resources. Partnership tobacco-free living objectives are in agreement with the work of the Health Department’s Cigarette Restitution Fund Program and the Carroll County Tobacco Coalition.
Cigarette Restitution Fund Program & Carroll County Tobacco Coalition
The Carroll County Cigarette Restitution Fund Program (CRFP) is a local program that works toward the statewide goals of conquering cancer and ending tobacco use in Maryland. CRFP provides tobacco cessation programs in the community and works with law enforcement to reduce under-age tobacco use. It has a volunteer advisory group, the Community Tobacco Coalition, which meets bi-monthly to review and advise the activities of the CRFP. Members include business leaders, representatives from Carroll Hospital Center, Carroll County Public Schools, and from other community organizations, as well as local citizens. Public participation is welcome and encouraged.
The Carroll County Cigarette Restitution Fund Program is funded by the Maryland Cigarette Restitution Fund Program.
Partnership for Concussion Awareness / Concussion Education and Testing
Over 1 million cases of concussion occur each year in the United States. Even a “mild” concussion can leave invisible but disturbing symptoms like fatigue, irritability, difficulty concentrating, memory problems, and sometimes depression, according to author Jane Brody (Hard-Knock Lessons from the Concussion Files, NY Times, 2007).
Local efforts to increase awareness about the seriousness of head injuries and concussions among youth athletes are strong. A formal partnership has been formed with commitments to educate the community, empower health care providers, involve teachers, athletic trainers, and rehabilitative professionals, and assure awareness of the evolving science about brain injury. The Partnership is pleased to be among the local organizations participating in this initiative.
Concussion and head injury education and testing is now available to all Carroll County Public Schools (CCPS) high school student athletes. The testing program, named ImPACT, is a non-invasive, computer-based program that will be offered to all high school student athletes (required for most sports). A pre-concussion baseline test will be administered to each athlete to help identify the extent of brain injury in case of a concussion during sports participation. CCPS has contracted with Dr. Gerard Gioia, Director of the Safe Concussion Outcome, Recovery & Education (SCORE) Program of the Children’s National Medical Center for consultation and review of post-injury tests.
In addition to the new ImPACT testing activity, a standardized educational piece about awareness of and response to head injuries is now included in “Meet the Coach” nights. Also, a protocol of gradual return to sports participation following a head injury will be implemented for asymptomatic athletes.
For more information on concussion education and testing for CCPS student athletes, please visit the CCPS website at www.carrollk12.org.
Safe Kids Carroll County
Safe Kids Carroll County is a local chapter of Safe Kids Worldwide, which works to promote unintentional injury prevention in children. Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death to children ages 0 to 14 years. Safe Kids Carroll County works to prevent such unintentional injuries through community education. The group meets several times a year at the Carroll County Health Department to plan and implement educational programs that address a variety of safety issues, including water safety, child passenger safety, pedestrian safety, falls, bike safety, poison prevention, sports safety, fire safety, home safety, playground safety and toy safety. Safe Kids Carroll County’s annual prevention awareness event is held on Locust Lane in Westminster, as part of the Westminster Flower and Jazz Festival, on the Saturday of Mother’s Day weekend.
Maryland's Child Passenger Safety Law states that children up to age eight must ride in an appropriate child restraint, according to manufacturer’s instructions, unless the child is over 4’9" or 65 pounds. Every child from 8 to 16 years old who is not secured in a child restraint must be secured in a vehicle seat belt, in any seating position.
Car seat checks are done weekly at the Carroll County Health Department by appointment only. Walk-ins are not accepted. Call for the next community event. The Health Department also houses the Kids in Safety Seats Car Seat Loaner Program. Car seats can be loaned to families in need for minimal costs. Call 410-876-4448 for details, costs and to make an appointment.
The Safe Kids Carroll County Coalition welcomes new members with an interest in keeping Carroll County kids safe. Please call 410-876-4448 for information.
Links
2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans - presented at We're On Our Way, May 2011
2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans
2010 Report on Obesity in the U.S.
2010 USDA Dietary Guidelines
Aim for a Healthy Weight (National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Obesity Education Initiative)
American Dietetic Association - EatRight.org
Carroll County Department of Recreation and Parks
Coalition for a Healthy Maryland
Concussion in Youth Sports - CDC
Cronic Disease in Maryland: Facts and Figures (pdf)
DeafMD.org - health information in American Sign Language
Diabetes Screening Project for Medicare Users (pdf)
Faith Fights Diabetes Presentation (pdf)
Healthiest Maryland
Healthy Carroll resource booklet (pdf)
Healthy Dining Guide of Carroll County (pdf)
Healthy Eating and Active Lifestyle Coalition, Inc.
Home Grown in Carroll County (Farmer's Markets)
MyPlate nutrition icon
National Youth Sports Health & Safety Institute
Nutrition Partners Registry (pdf)
Smoke-Free Carroll County
We Can! Children’s Activity & Nutrition
Worksite Wellness Guide
Page updated: 01/12
