The Baker County Health Department is located in Macclenny, Florida, about 30 miles west of Jacksonville.  The county is entirely rural and it is composed of several towns including Glen St. Mary, Sanderson, Cuyler and Taylor, in addition to Macclenny which is the county seat.  The current county population is just over 26,000.  Many community residents commute to Jacksonville or other neighboring areas to work as there are limited employment opportunities locally. The health department is the hub of medical service, and it provides an array of programs and services that are used by over half of the community population. 

The Americorps member will work with the Healthy Start and Health Education programs.  Both of these programs provide outreach and intensified efforts to assist overburdened and underserved populations that are not able to easily access health care services.  The member will go to the WIC office twice a week to contact new participants, ensuring that they are informed about the Healthy Start program and offering screening, assessment and case management services such as referral to area resources, tracking of prenatal visits, and provision of educational materials. It is anticipated that the Baker County WIC program will be relocating from the health department to their own office in Macclenny in the spring of 2010. The Healthy Start staff has historically relied upon the WIC program to assist with identifying women and children in need of screening or care coordination services; however, it may become more difficult to track hard to reach women and their families once WIC and Healthy Start are no longer co-located.  The Americorps member will be stationed at the WIC office on a limited basis to provide needed outreach and assistance to this needy population based on client schedules.  In addition, the member will maintain data systems, tracking high risk OB patients that have been transferred to the care of Shands, providing support to vulnerable families, identifying barriers to care and actively advocating on their behalf such as assisting them with scheduling appointments, applying for financial assistance and helping them to access needed services. The member will also track women who have had positive pregnancy tests at the Baker County Health Department, ensuring that they access prenatal care in a timely manner. 

The Health Education chronic disease projects that the member will be involved in are Diabetes Self-Management Education and the Community Wellness Program.  Clients are referred to Diabetes Self-Management Education classes that take place for four weeks on a quarterly basis.  The member will assist with client follow up, providing ongoing support and referrals to area resources, and tracking the clients’ progress after completion of the program to facilitate with the assessing and evaluation of the quality and impact of the program. Diabetes Self Management education classes meet on a quarterly basis, and the number of participants vary with a minimum number typically being around ten.  Follow-up after completion of each course is occurs over the course of a year.  Contacts are made on a quarterly basis by phone and by mailings.  Results are documented on a spread sheet to determine each client’s progress.

The Community Wellness Program is a project to improve the overall health of the community.  The project will focus on developing and implementing Community Wellness programs throughout the community.  The member will help to assess the health care needs of the community and develop presentations to expand programs and increase the availability and impact of health education throughout the community.  The member will aid in presenting the education topics and will assist in the evaluation of the program activities.

The Arc Jacksonville serves approximately 400 individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities daily with four training sites and five community group homes.  The agency is concerned with the lack of health and wellness information and training provided to individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.  Typically they lead a more sedentary lifestyle than others of comparable age and experience and often make poor choices resulting in serious and chronic medical conditions.  The Americorps Wellness Coordinator(s) will provide on-going training and education in nutrition, exercise and the benefits of social stimulation.  The entire population served will benefit from general health and nutrition training and up to 50 individuals will have the opportunity to enroll for more individualized and structured training.

The Americorps “Wellness Coordinator(s)” will be responsible for evaluating and recording key health measures for 40 persons (20 each at two sites) with developmental disabilities enrolled in the facility-based ADT (Adult Day Training) program(s) and provide a personalized program of healthy lifestyle and physical activities to result in overall improved health.  An additional 10 participants residing in our community group homes will be identified for education and training. Utilizing the “Guide to Healthy Living”, research, visual aids, group discussion and one-on-one counseling provide lifestyle options that can be shared with the individual, caregiver or family member responsible for the care of the individual when not at The Arc facility.

The Northeast Florida Healthy Start Coalition, Inc. is one of 30 community-based organizations established in 1992 under the state Healthy Start initiative.  The Coalition is responsible for the planning, funding and oversight of state maternal and child health dollars. It also undertakes special community projects to improve the health and well-being of women, infants and families. The Coalition is governed by a volunteer Board representing organizations and individuals committed to improving birth outcomes in Jacksonville and the four surrounding counties. The mission of the organization is to “lead a cooperative community effort to reduce infant mortality and improve the health of children, childbearing women and their families in Northeast Florida.”

   Make a Noise, Make a Difference started as a social marketing campaign to bring awareness to infant mortality in the African American community in Jacksonville, and was developed into an intervention to encourage healthy pregnancies and babies and ultimately improve the infant mortality rate. The member will be in charge of recruiting five volunteers per quarter to help spread the word about healthy lifestyles. Once volunteers are recruited, the member will conduct five education sessions with them, discussing topics like nutrition, folic acid, safe sleep, etc. Subsequently, the member will track the amount of people each volunteer has spread the word to. The member will also represent Make a Noise, Make a Difference at community events and conduct presentations to community agencies and organizations.

The member will also help grow the existing Jacksonville Birthing Project by taking on new tasks to increase participation, educate participants and keep contact with them. The member will create and manage social media contacts; assist with recruitment; create monthly newsletters, resource packets and welcome packets for members; and attend monthly meetings.

The Northeast Florida Healthy Start Coalition, Inc. is one of 30 community-based organizations established in 1992 under the state Healthy Start initiative.  The Coalition is responsible for the planning, funding and oversight of state maternal and child health dollars. It also undertakes special community projects to improve the health and well-being of women, infants and families. The Coalition is governed by a volunteer Board representing organizations and individuals committed to improving birth outcomes in Jacksonville and the four surrounding counties. The mission of the organization is to “lead a cooperative community effort to reduce infant mortality and improve the health of children, childbearing women and their families in Northeast Florida.”

    The member will work with the site mentor on specific community development and awareness activities related to the Healthy Start program and healthy pregnancies. The main activity will be continuing a community- and street-based Healthy Start outreach program, which will serve to identify, screen and refer high-risk pregnant women who were not entered into services through traditional means (completing a prenatal risk screen during the first prenatal care visit at a OB/GYN office). The target population will be women of child-bearing age, who will complete a Healthy Start self-referral form if pregnant. They will also provide assistance with the Medicaid for Pregnancy application, Florida KidCare application and make appropriate referrals to other community services until the clients are assigned to a Healthy Start case manager. These women will be identified through low-income housing complexes throughout the city, pregnancy testing sites, women’s help centers and outreach events. When not conducting community outreach, the member will visit the offices of key prenatal providers with low screening rates for Healthy Start. They will be responsible for providing training to office staff, picking up their screens and ensuring the patients fill out the screens correctly. This will be a secondary duty.

Hubbard House is a full-service certified domestic violence center serving Duval and Baker Counties offering emergency shelter, outreach services, court advocacy, children’s services and batterers intervention programs as well as community education on domestic violence and other related topics.  Our agency’s mission is Every Relationship Violence-Free.

As the Hubbard House Primary Prevention Facilitator, the AmeriCorps member will provide curriculum provision to Team-Up program sites for youth ages 8 to 11 years old reaching approximately 132 children by year’s end. In addition to the curriculum provision, the member, in conjunction with the CED Manager, will also be responsible for holding quarterly meetings of the Community Action Team as well as helping to further develop that entity through capacity building and strategy sessions.  Together with Community Action Team leadership they will develop a plan of action for starting a Youth Community Action Team from which we can draw youth volunteers and mentors to help sustain the program beyond this initial year.  With the assistance of the CED Manager, the member will also develop a brief presentation on Primary Prevention for Team-Up site staff at the two established sites to aid those staff in underscoring the concepts taught at Primary Prevention.  Together, they will also develop a brief presentation utilizing their experiences at the established sites to a third site for the purpose of creating a staff buy-in before the curriculum begins at the third site.  Lastly, the member and CED Manager will create a year-end presentation to go before the School Health Advisory Council to elicit curriculum approval by the Duval County Schools allowing for the opportunity to provide Primary Prevention programming in the classroom during the traditional school day in the future.

MHHCP is a Healthy Tomorrows project funded for 5 years by the Maternal/Child Health Bureau and administered by the American Academy of Pediatrics.  The grant is a partnership between University of Florida, Duval County Health Department (DCHD) and CMS.  We are now in our first year under local funding through the 501c3 Partnership for Child Health, Inc.  We receive our funding through Baptist Health Foundation and The Riverside Foundation.  Our goal is to improve the health and well-being of Jacksonville’s homeless children.  We accomplish this goal by breaking down existing barriers to care.  We provide nurse home visits at 8 shelters, nursing assessments, referrals into DCHD’s Kids ‘N Care Health Center, care coordination, taxi vouchers to medical visits, financial counseling by DCHD HSC, and evening health education classes at the shelters.  Kids ‘N Care becomes the children’s Medical Home, providing comprehensive child health including Acute Care visits, Well Child visits, vision and hearing screening, developmental and mental health screenings, and specialty referrals. The member will: Provide care coordination for homeless families, including shelter visits, phone calls and office visits, one-on-one health education, advocacy, assistance with Medicaid applications, referrals to mental health and early intervention services, and collaboration with schools and other agencies serving homeless children.  It also includes setting up systems and communicating with the homeless shelters’ staffs.  The member will also set up and keep current a file for each family that he/she follows. Learn materials and provide daytime and evening health education classes on the following topics:  Personal Hygiene, Healthy Environment, STD/Safer Sex/Healthy Relationships, Nutrition and Parenting. Make appointments for patients at Kids ’N Care Health Center, interact effectively with the clinic staff, review children’s clinic charts and provide follow-up after clinic visits when appropriate. Maintain and continually update Access database. Assist with data collection and entry.

River Region Human Services, Inc. (RRHS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that provides a comprehensive array of services—including housing and case management as well as assessment, treatment, intervention and prevention for HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, substance abuse and co-occurring substance abuse and mental illness—to the citizens of Northeast Florida. The mission of RRHS is to improve the quality of life for individuals of Northeast Florida affected by substance abuse, mental illness, homelessness, HIV/AIDS and other communicable illness through outreach, prevention, intervention treatment and housing services. The services focus on assisting persons in developing and maintaining a functional independent lifestyle free from: the use of dependency producing drugs, the debilitating effects of mental disorders, and the commission of anti-social and criminal activities, and the ravages of sexually transmitted diseases.      

The AMERICORPS member will provide assistance within our substance abuse treatment services to help clients achieve greater access to care, participate in individual and group health education instruction, receive necessary testing and immunization for HIV/STDs and other communicable diseases (as provided by RRHS) as well as screenings for other diseases (as provided by RRHS partners in the community), and receive health education and outreach materials related to meeting their needs. Specifically, the AMERICORPSmember will operate within our Methadone Treatment program that provides comprehensive services along with pharmacotherapy and in conjunction with a range of appropriate medical and rehabilitative services for individuals addicted to opioids. The AMERICORPS member would provide case management and linkage services to RRHS MAT clients that currently do not receive enough of such services. The member would assist clients with wrap-around services to improve linkage and referrals to outside agencies for education, medical, employment and financial services. The AMERICORPS/NHC member would also help to increase referrals to agencies, classes, support groups and services in the community to support recovery efforts, promote self-sufficiency, and improve their quality of life. The member will provide instrumental support services such as assisting clients to access transportation, co-operative child care, and connections to community resources that provide food, clothing, housing, and emergency assistance. The member will not only become aware of community resources, but will become trained and educated on the processes of application for needed insurance, medical, and public assistance services to ensure that MAT clients improve quality of life and increase chances for sustained recovery.

The Sulzbacher Center is the largest provider of comprehensive services to homeless men, women and children in Northeast Florida. The center’s stated mission is: “To empower homeless and at-risk men, women and children to achieve a better life through a full range of services, both direct and in collaboration with community partners, thus renewing hope and restoring lives back into the fabric of the community.”

 During the year of service the AmeriCorps volunteer will provide education on healthy eating to 700 adult residents and 275 child residents. The member will meet with community partners and plan and implement a community garden that will be used as a teaching tool for the children living at the Sulzbacher Center. The member will work with existing volunteer meal groups to promote healthier menu choices for the meals that they serve. The member will recruit a total of 20 new volunteer meal groups to support the food services program at the Sulzbacher Center. The member will maintain the volunteer meal group schedule.

Sulzbacher Center is the largest provider of comprehensive services to homeless men, women, and children in Northeast Florida.  The Sulzbacher Center is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.  The center serves nutritious meals, offers safe shelter, has a comprehensive case management and children’s programs, and provides outstanding healthcare, housing, and aftercare programs.  Additionally, the center’s job placement assistance and life skills programs equip men and women for employment and success.  The center’s stated mission is “To empower homeless and at-risk men, women, and children to achieve a better life through a full range of services, both direct and in collaboration with community partners, thus renewing hope and restoring lives back into the fabric of the community.”

The NFHC member will facilitate 40 Life Skills classes per quarter and educate 180 residents per quarter on health related and non-health related issues.  Life Skills topics will include but are not limited to Anger Management, Smoking Cessation, Self Awareness, Safer Sex, Healthy Relationships, Self Esteem, and Resume Writing.  The NFHC member will also be encouraged to grow the Life Skills program and curriculum by assessing resident needs and responding with pertinent Life Skills classes or activities.  The NFHC member will also be helping homeless men, women, and children access community resources through online applications, such as applying for Food Stamps and Medicaid.

The YMCA’s mission is to put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all. The AmeriCorps member will serve on a faith-based cardiovascular health project known as “Your Heart Matters” that targets African-American churches in the Johnson Family service area.  They will assist with project elements, including program planning, evaluation and implementation of activities such as blood pressure screenings and follow-up, health care referral coordination, medication matrix program applications, weight management and fitness programming, and health education workshops

The AmeriCorps member will be responsible for planning, coordinating and implementing a monthly physical activity known as “Heart-Lympics.”  They will have the freedom to use their creativity and expertise to organize this event for the Johnson Family YMCA members.  The AmeriCorps member will also have the opportunity to engage with the youth in our KidZone by developing and conducting an interactive physical activity component weekly, participate in organizing activities to celebrate National Health Observances and internal health awareness and activities such as Go Red!, Celebrate Life 5K, Healthy Kids Day, Men’s Health Week, etc.

The YMCA’s mission is to put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all. The School Age Services division of the YMCA offers before and after-school care that meets the needs of working parents in the community while providing their children a fun, safe, comfortable environment that promotes the YMCA’s four core values of honesty, respect, caring, and responsibility. The same values are integral to our summer camps and school-based mentoring program.

The member will be involved in conducting pre-testing and post-testing and program delivery evaluations for sessions of youth fitness curriculum for after-school programs. Additional member service activities will include:

•Design and implement a health/nutrition component into summer camp schedule.

•Coordinate health-related guest speakers for summer camp

•Schedule volunteers and guest speakers for after-school programs

•Submit and process volunteer applications as needed. Follow-up with volunteer

 assignments including scheduling and clocking volunteer hours.

•Conduct body composition and blood pressure screenings at YMCA community and  health fairs

•Implementation of wellness programming such as weight management and disease management.

•Develop fun activities for youth such as planting a garden on various YMCA campuses.

The YMCA’s mission is to put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all.  The School Age Services division of the YMCA offers before and after-school care that meets the needs of working parents in the community while providing their children a fun, safe, comfortable environment that promotes the YMCA’s four core values of honesty, respect, caring, and responsibility.  The same values are integral to our summer camps and school-based mentoring program.

The AmeriCorps member will conduct pre-testing and post-testing and program delivery evaluations for two sessions of youth fitness curriculum for after-school programs and coordinate Circus Fit challenge week for after-school programs. The member will also be able to design and implement a health/nutrition component into summer camp schedule as well as coordinate health-related guest speakers for summer camp. In addition the member will participate in health fairs as outreach to the community and schedule volunteers and guest speakers for after-school programs.

NOTE: This position requires a member who is fluent in Spanish.

The Beaches Family Health Center is a Duval County Health Department facility offering a large variety of services to the Jacksonville Beaches and surrounding areas.  The clinic provides comprehensive medical care and immunizations for infants and children. Women’s Health services are offered for pregnancy, annual pap smears, birth control and STD testing.  We serve patients primarily covered by the Medicaid program but we also serve many uninsured patients who do not qualify for a program or those that are undocumented residents.  We serve a large population of Spanish speaking families.

The Beaches Family Health Center intends to begin surveying, diagnosing and creating a better educational environment for our asthma patients by implementing The Easy Breathing Program. 

The clinic is in the second year of participating with the CDC and the State Department of Health in the Influenza-like Illness Surveillance.  The program is being greatly enhanced this season and will expand to cover many common viral illnesses.

Our member will be a fully participating member of our clinic.  Our member will be involved with distributing surveys, conducting follow-up assessments and assist with providing asthma action plans and education through The Easy Breathing program.  Our member will assist in very similar services involving the Influenza-like Illness Surveillance.  Our member will be the only person involved with these projects other than the physicians and the Nursing Supervisor.

Our member will also be involved with starting new educational projects including literature on seasonal illnesses, over the counter preparations, illness prevention and safety.

JaxHATS is a primary health care program for young adults and adolescents who have special health care needs.  All of our youth are transitioning from their pediatricians and pediatric specialists to adult providers.  The purpose of our program is to bridge the gap between pediatric and adult medicine and help our patients have a smooth transition to adult providers and to ultimately be as independent as possible in managing their chronic conditions.  The AmeriCorps member will be a fully participating member of the JaxHATS team under mentorship of the host site. 

The AmeriCorps member will be responsible for promoting patient independence in health care transition.  The member will complete all new patient intake questionnaires which include health history and social service screening questionnaires.  The member will guide patients when choosing insurance or Medicaid programs and assisting with Medicaid applications.  In addition, the member will also access low or no cost medications through patient medication assistance programs and create medication schedules with reminders to assist the patients with taking medications regularly. The member will be responsible for distributing and updating the Care Notebooks which are to be utilized by all patients to assist with continuity of care and successful transition.  Also the member will be expected to complete Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaires with patients.  These questionnaires are used to gauge each patient’s independence and readiness for transition and also provide opportunity for the member to educate patient in areas of deficits in order to encourage independence.        

Beaches Community Healthcare, a Sulzbacher Clinic, offers primary medical, dental and mental health services to uninsured residents of the Beaches area whose family income is at or below 200 percent of the area poverty level.  The clinic sees over 500 patients a month, and each patient undergoes comprehensive medical assessment and treatment for any health issues that are discovered. 

The NFHC member will manage the clinic’s Patient Assistance Program providing over $1 million in medications to patients.  The member will work with pharmaceutical companies and medical providers to enroll patients in Patient Assistance Programs to receive free medications.  Enrollment requires meeting individually with patients to complete and process necessary forms.  As Patient Advocate, the member may be required to instruct employees in use of new patient assistance forms, reports, and procedures.  The NFHC member will also develop curriculum and facilitate wellness and self-care classes for patients.

The Sulzbacher Medical Center, a Federally Qualified Health Care Facility, offers a complete range of health-care services to homeless and transitional residents in the community. The clinic sees over 800 patients a month, and each patient undergoes comprehensive medical assessment and treatment for any health issues that are discovered.  Reclaiming good health gives an individual the ability to return to work and return to the community.

Our comprehensive care includes:

• Primary care

• Dental services

• Vision care/glasses

• Mental-health services

• Child-health services

• Substance abuse-rehabilitation linkage

• Asthma clinic

• Community outreach services

• HIV/STD testing

The NFHC member will manage the clinic’s Patient Assistance Program providing over $1 million in medications to patients.  The member will work with pharmaceutical companies and medical providers to enroll patients in Patient Assistance Programs to receive free medications.  Enrollment requires meeting individually with patients to complete and process the necessary forms.  As Patient Advocate, the member may be required to instruct employees in use of new patient assistance forms, reports, and procedures.  The NFHC member will also assist with coordinating pediatric care for resident children and facilitate wellness and self-care classes for patients.

Through the Reaching our Young Men program, Family Planning Health Education and Health Screening services are provided to teen / young adult males at identified service locations. This is completed through onsite health education sessions (e.g., pregnancy prevention, STD / STI and HIV prevention education, abstinence education and counseling), in targeted male-focused after school and community-based settings (i.e., the Edward Waters College Black male Explorers Program) and through limited health screenings (for STDs, HIV, men’s health services, etc.) to this population, in identified clinical or non-traditional community settings. In addition, there referrals to DCHD clinics are made as needed. The program also addresses comprehensive family planning and other health needs of these individuals through targeted outreach to hard-to-reach / vulnerable populations by partnering with local agencies.

The member will engage male teen program participants in education sessions promoting male family planning services including teen pregnancy prevention, abstinence, STI/HIV, Growing into Manhood, and Male Health Issues. The member will also assist in the administration of teen male Family Planning questionnaires to collect information on the awareness of and perceived access to family planning services within the Duval County health department; assist in the development, distribution, dissemination, and collection of the questionnaires; assist the Site Mentor in developing a community presentation, based on the survey results; develop public service announcements based on input from the program participants. In addition, the member will facilitate teen product development sessions and be responsible for providing community education through health fairs.

AmeriCorps members will be working with the Division of Nutrition & Chronic Disease Prevention. Each member will participate in a fast pace clinic environment serving the Women, Infant, and Children Supplemental Nutrition Program population. Knowledge will include training in basic, child, and prenatal nutrition education. This knowledge will aid AmeriCorps member in activities such as developing educational display boards, planning nutrition themed activities for special events, and conducting group nutrition education classes in the WIC site and in the community with a Registered Dietitian.

The member’s role will be to assist staff developing educational display boards, planning nutrition themed activities for special events, and conduct basic and child group nutrition education classes.

In April 2007, Mayor John Peyton, members of the Jacksonville Children’s Commission board and staff, and other community leaders traveled to Harlem, New York to learn more about the Harlem Children’s Zone® (HCZ).  The HCZ Project is a “multi-year comprehensive community building initiative of the Harlem Children’s Zone®.”  It assists parents and caregivers, business leaders, professionals, residents, teachers and other stakeholders in creating a safe environment and pipeline to success for children who reside in a 97-block area of Central Harlem (www.hcz.org). 

Under the leadership of the Jacksonville Children’s Commission, a Steering Committee was formed to help develop a neighborhood project in Jacksonville using the strategies behind the success of the Harlem Children’s Zone in a specific way that reflects Jacksonville’s unique cultural, geographic and economic character. 

The AmeriCorps member will assess the health needs of New Town families, facilitate services for them and develop health education strategies based on the identified needs.

The member’s focus will be the approximately 100 children enrolled in the New Town Success Zone and their current health—both physical and emotional/mental. The member will work with the school nurses, community health clinics, and health promotion services to make sure physical and mental health barriers are removed so that New Town Success Zone participants perform well in school.