Pitt Partners for Health - Implementation Strategies
Pitt Partners for Health (PPH) is a community health improvement partnership with representatives from local churches, businesses, communities, and human service agencies. The Partnership collaboratively responds to the compelling health needs of Pitt County residents through assessment, resource identification and development, citizen advocacy, comprehensive planning and coordination of health intervention and prevention strategies.
Since its inception in 1995, there have been several action teams that operate out of PPH, in which the majority of work within the Partnership takes place. Specific initiative teams are formulated around priority areas established by the Community Health Needs Assessment. These three health priorities are:
- Access to Care / Social Determinants of Health
- Healthy Lifestyles
- Mental / Behavioral health
Our mission: To improve the population health of Pitt County through coalition building and partnership.
Review the 2022 Pitt County Community Needs Assessment here.
Why Is This Important?
Description
Know It, Control It is designed to help people self-monitor their blood pressure and make healthy lifestyle changes to control high blood pressure. The Know It, Control It program provides blood pressure related education and equipment to improve an individual's access to care. Blood pressure coaches teach this program using evidence-based strategies to manage cardiovascular disease. These strategies include self-measured blood pressure monitoring with additional support and team-based care.
Partners
- Bethel Youth Activity Center
- ECU Health Medical Center
- Greenville Housing Authority
- Pitt Partners for Health
- Faith-based Organizations
Description
ECU Health Medical Center, in partnership with Pitt Partners for Health, aims to positively impact the re-enty experience of previously incarcerated individuals by:
- Exploring opportunities for re-entry simulations with community partners to better understand the challenges of this high-risk population
- Exploring a systematic way to collaborate with health and social support organizations to connect this population with resources to improve health and quality of life
Partners
- ECU Health Medical Center
- Pitt Partners for Health
Description
Vial of Life is designed to provide pertinent medication information to emergency personnel to assist in administering the proper medical treatment.
Partners
- ECU Health Medical Center
- Greenville Fire-Rescue
- Pitt County Community Paramedics
- Pitt County EMS
- Pitt Partners for Health
Why Is This Important?
Description
Cooking Matters at the Store (formerly Shopping Matters) is a grocery store tour program that empowers participants with 4 key food shopping skills:
- Reading Food Labels
- Comparing Unit Prices
- Finding Whole Grain Foods
- Identifying three ways to purchase produce
Partners
- Share our Strengths
- ECU Health Medical Center
- ECU/BSOM medical students
- Local grocery stores
- Pitt County Health Department - Diabetes prevention program
- Pitt Partners for Health
Description
Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH) is a suite of programs designed to prevent childhood obesity and launch kids and communities toward healthier lifestyles. CATCH PE helps children identify and choose healthy foods and increasing moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. The CATCH My Breath program is a peer-led teaching approach that empowers students with the knowledge and skills needed to make informed decisions about e-cigarettes and resist social pressures to vape.
Partners
- CATCH Global Foundation
- Eastern Carolina Injury Prevention Program
- East Carolina University Department of Public Health
- ECU Health Medical Center
- Pitt County Health Department
- Pitt County Schools
- Pitt County School Nurse Program
- Pitt Partners for Health
Description
Healthy Food pantry initiatives combine hunger relief efforts with nutrition information and healthy eating opportunities for individuals and families with low incomes. Such initiatives offer clients healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, and lean proteins, and can implement client choice models. Healthy food initiatives can also modify the food environment via efforts such as on-site cooking demonstrations and recipe tastings, and healthy meal kits. Some food pantries and food banks establish partnerships with health and nutrition professionals to offer screening for food insecurity and medical conditions (e.g., diabetes), provide nutrition and health education, and health care support services as part of their healthy food initiatives.
Partners
- Catholic Charities
- Churches Outreach Network
- Food Bank
- Pitt County Cooperative Extension
- Pitt County Health Department
- Pitt County Farm and Food Council
- Pitt County Schools
- Pitt Partners for Health
Description
Lifestyle Medicine is an evidence-based approach shown to prevent, treat, and reverse chronic disease. The aim is to treat the underlying cause of disease rather than its symptoms. Because it treats cause and not just symptoms, only through Lifestyle Medicine can we alter the course of spiraling health care costs.
Partners
- ECU Health Lifestyle Medicine Clinic
- Pitt Partners for Health
Description
Kids In Parks is an expanding network of family-friendly outdoor adventures called TRACK Trails. Each TRACK Trail features self-guided brochures and signs that turn a kid’s visit into a fun and exciting outdoor experience. In Pitt County, there are four trails:
- Alice F. Keene District Park
- John Lawson Trail
- River Park North
- Trevathan Pond
Kids in Parks encourages and supports active family engagement, increases trail use, introduces recreational opportunities available in parks, forests and communities, and creates a network that offers an almost unlimited variety of experience. Each TRACK Trail features self-guided brochures and signs.
The benefits of outdoor play for children are dramatic and long lasting. From studies that show increased brain activity and higher SAT scores when children play in natural settings, to research that links a lower incidence of bullying, ADHD, and depression in kids that play outside, there is clear evidence that children benefit from spending time in nature. Increased physical activity decreases obesity, diabetes, ADHD, and other physical and mental ailments that are becoming too common with today’s sedentary lifestyle.
In addition, increased activity can also impact childhood obesity rates as a cost-effective intervention to address these issues.
TRACK Rx is a component of Kids in Parks that partners with doctors and health-care providers to place Kids in Parks materials in the hands of their patients. Partnering doctors prescribe outdoor activity to their patients called Park Rx, or Park Prescriptions.
For more information, please visit: https://www.kidsinparks.com/
Partners
- Community Schools and Recreation
- ECU Health Medical Center
- Kids in Parks
- Pitt Partners for Health
- Town of Grifton
- Town of Fountain
- Down East Diabetology
- Carolina Clinic for Health and Wellness
- Greenville Pediatric Specialist
- Farmville Pediatric Specialist
- Winterville Pediatric Specialist
Story Behind the Curve
Over the past few decades people have become increasingly disengaged with nature, spending less time in our parks and outdoor places, while spending more time “plugged-in” to electronic media. Recent studies show that on average kids spend 7.65 hours per day “plugged-in” and only an average of 7 minutes per day in unstructured outdoor play. The Kids in Parks program grew out of a vision to address these trends by getting kids “unplugged” and physically active in parks for their health and the health of our parks.
Likewise, parks benefit when people use them. Finding ways to create stronger connections between children and our parks cultivates current and future stewards who understand the value and appeal of our public lands. These stewards can be advocates for protecting our public lands from current and future threats.
While there are many parks, trails and outdoor areas already accessible to both urban and rural families, hiking and other outdoor activities are often perceived to be too difficult, potentially dangerous, or unexciting to newcomers. Kids in Parks is a proven program that gets beginners outside using a network of TRACK Trails established through partnerships with municipal, state, federal, and other partners to provide introductory level, family-friendly trails that are equipped with self-guided materials designed to make the experience more educational, enjoyable, and fun.
Description
WalkWiseNC is a community led walking program that emphasizes walking as physical activity, social support, and policy change based off of the evidence base intervention WalkWorks. Pitt Partners for Health and Healthy People Healthy Carolinas collaborate with community-based partners to increase physical activity by creating walking opportunities for residents in Pitt County by:
• Identifying and establishing safe walking routes that are accessible to people of all ages and abilities
• Establishing guided community-based walking groups
• Influencing policy related to health and active transportation – both pedestrian and bicycle – in the built environment
Partners
- ECU Health Medical Center
- Local community groups, neighborhoods, and/or churches
- Pitt Partners for Health
Why Is This Important?
Description
Community-wide positive messaging initiative promotes positive messaging on buses, billboards, etc. to promote mental well-being of the community at large.
Partners
- Pitt Partners for Health
- Local churches
Description
ECU Health Medical Center engages with community partners to improve access to culturally appropriate mental health services for individuals living in Pitt County. Building Resilience and Courage to Excel (BRACE) is an initiative that leverages a team of professionals and invested community leaders who meet monthly to address trauma through systemic and organizational change and community education.
Partners
- East Carolina University
- TEDI Bear Advocacy Center
Description
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training is 6-8 hour in-person and virtual training that teaches lay persons how to help a person developing a mental health problem, experiencing a worsening of an existing mental health problem or in a mental health crisis; both adult and youth versions are offered.
Description
Clear Impact Suite is an easy-to-use, web-based software platform that helps your staff collaborate with external stakeholders and community partners by utilizing the combination of data collection, performance reporting, and program planning.