Harvey County selected as a Pathways to a Healthy Kansas Community by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas
July 24, 2017
Harvey County receives $100,000 grant, access to $400,000 in additional funding
Harvey County is one of eight Kansas communities recently selected as a grantee in the largest community grant program ever funded by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas. The Pathways to a Healthy Kansas program provides community coalitions like Healthy Harvey Coalition with the tools and resources needed to remove barriers and engage the community in ways that enable healthy eating and tobacco-free, active living to become a way of life. The funding for Harvey County includes a coordination grant of $100,000, with the opportunity to apply for non-competitive implementation and achievements grants amounting to $400,000, for a total of $500,000, during the next three years.
Prairie View is a proud partner of Healthy Harvey Coalition.
“We envision Kansas living in healthy communities that provide the highest possible quality of life and well-being. As the state’s largest health insurer, we are well-positioned to understand the barriers to good health that Kansans face,” said Andrew C. Corbin, BCBSKS president/CEO. “The Pathways to a Healthy Kansas initiative is an outgrowth of our commitment to more strategically invest our expertise, time and dollars in helping remove those barriers and build healthy communities in Kansas.”
In addition to the grant dollars, Blue Cross is providing Harvey County with technical assistance for planning, evaluation, communications and measurement through partnerships with Kansas Health Institute and the Community Engagement Institute at Wichita State University. Additional technical partners include WorkWell Kansas, The Public Health Law Center and Thrive Allen County.
Also, elementary schools in Harvey County will have free access to GoNoodle Plus for the duration of the funding period. GoNoodle is a website with interactive games and videos that get children moving throughout the day. The activities are designed to help children channel their physical and emotional energy for good, improving behavior, focus and achievement.
“The intent of Pathways is to help communities create environments where the healthy choice is the easy choice to make, now and for generations to come,” said Virginia Barnes, MPH, director of Blue Health Initiatives and developer of the grant program. “We look forward to working closely with Healthy Harvey Coalition to inspire long-lasting, community-wide well-being by focusing on strategies that build community engagement and transform the way residents of Harvey County stay healthy as they live, work and interact socially.”
During the next three years, members of Healthy Harvey Coalition will lead the community in these efforts with a focus on community policy, resident/community well-being, the food retail sector, health care, restaurants, schools and worksites.
Beginning in 2013, the Healthy Harvey Coalition has worked increasing physical activity with facilitating the development of Bicycle Master Plans for the cities of Newton and North Newton, and promoting healthy eating with the Harvey County Food and Farm Council. This year the coalition joined with diverse partners in the creation of the new Community Health Needs Assessment.
“With a new Community Health Needs Assessment completed and top health priorities identified, Harvey County partners are primed to address the exact purpose of this funding opportunity,” said Lynnette Redington, director of the Harvey County Health Department. “It is really perfect timing for the three-year grant and community health improvement plan implementation.”
To receive funding, Harvey County went through a thorough application process that included an on-site visit. Eligible communities were required to:
- Be located in a semi-urban, dense-settled rural, rural or frontier county, or be a community with a population of less than 75,000 in an urban county.
- Have an active coalition or active Community Health Assessment/Improvement Plan work group.
- Illustrate commitment from community leaders.
- Be within the 103-county service area of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas (all Kansas counties except Johnson and Wyandotte).
The eight communities selected for 2017-2020 funding are: the town of Chanute, in Neosho County, along with the counties of Cowley, Dickinson, Geary, Harvey, Lyon, Seward, and the group of Atwood, Bird City, Colby and St. Francis in Thomas, Rawlins and Cheyenne counties. The eight communities previously selected for 2016-2019 funding are: Atchison County, Bourbon County, Crawford County, Franklin County, Hoisington and northern Barton County, Kearny County, Reno County and Wichita County.
For 75 years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas has built a reputation of trust with its members and contracting providers by providing outstanding customer service while quickly and accurately processing claims; fairly administering benefit plans and contracts; offering programs, services and tools to help members improve or maintain their health; and operating under the highest ethical standards while being good stewards of premium dollars. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and is the state’s largest insurer, serving all Kansas counties except Johnson and Wyandotte. For more information, visit bcbsks.com.
The Healthy Harvey Coalition has worked for four years to improve the health of Harvey County residents through policies, systems and environmental changes that help make the healthy choice the easy choice. For more information, visit healthyharveycoalition.com.