GADSDEN COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT
December 2005 PACE EH Progress Report

To:                 Daniel Parker, M.S., and GAL
                        Assistant Division Director, Division of Environmental Health

From:             Betty Johnson
                        PACE EH Coordinator

Subject:         Gadsden County Environmental Health Community Project Monthly Progress Report

Project Summary

On Monday December 19, 2005, we held our final PACE-EH meeting at the Gadsden County Public Library in Quincy. Topics of discussion listed on the agenda for this month's meeting included Drug Trafficking and Sidewalks, as it relates to the environment and health. Although this is PACE last meeting, the PACE Coordinator, Community Health Assessment Team, Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson, will continue to look for ways in keeping the PACE-EH Project in existence for Gadsden County, and shall continue to look for additional ways in educating the communities and residents regarding environmental health issues in the county.

Guest speakers on the agenda for this month's meeting were Sharon Saulter, Department of Health-Migrant Program Coordinator for Bureau of Community Environmental Health, and Sgt. Jim Corder, Gadsden County Sheriff Department. Unfortunately, Sgt. Corder was unable to attend as scheduled. However, the meeting continued as planned.

The residents and PACE members were able to gain knowledge regarding the health benefits of having sidewalks in the community. Discussion focused on how physical activity could dramatically improve America's public health. Mrs. Saulter pointed out that the main concern relating to the lack of physical activity is the obesity rate. Obesity, along with heart disease and diabetes, is provoked by inactive and motionless lifestyle. Most of these diseases dramatically affect older people, and a large majority of them are inactive, and this group suffers greatly from depression mental illness, due to prolonged social isolation.

What happens when people do venture outside' A lack of sidewalks and safe places to cross streets discourages walking or bicycling. One reason that cities and towns routinely fail at creating active social environments is that the community is not involved in establishing a vision for the place from the outset. The community should be consulted when designers and planners use a project based approach, whereby they deem what is wrong with the street, park, or other public space, and make the necessary improvements without consulting the community in what they might want to see or do.

The Community Health Assessment Team and residents were enlightened by the information provided regarding the health benefits of having sidewalks, and an absence or lack of sidewalks, crosswalks, and bike lanes. Members discussed ways of trying to implement partnership among local organizations, merchant associations, and government agencies to gain insight and information on improving communities, and the lack of accessible public spaces and parks, prohibiting physical activity.

There were eleven people, including the PACE-EH Coordinator that attended the December 19th PACE-EH meeting. The meeting started at 6 p.m. and ended at 7:45 p.m. Members and residents were informed that the PACE- EH Project will officially end for Gadsden County on December 31, 2005.

The Chairperson, Bill Keyser, and Vice-Chairperson, Sharon Saulter may continue to coordinate future meetings so that the community will continue to be informed of environmental health issues/concerns in Gadsden County.

The PACE-EH Coordinator, Betty Johnson posted all upcoming meetings in the three local Gadsden County Newspapers (Twin City News, Gadsden County Times and Havana Herald). Flyers were also posted throughout the City of Quincy, Midway, Chattahoochee, and Havana areas.

There is no meeting scheduled for the month of January 2006. The PACE-EH Coordinator's position officially ends on December 31, 2005

PACE EH Planning Process

PACE-EH 13 Tasks	Action	Outcome	Target Date
Task 1: Determine community capacity	' Based on the community concerns and needs, Gadsden County has the propensity to undertake the PACE project and carry out a community based environmental assessment in this community. ' Develop a community profile	Completed Completed	10/18/04
Task 2: Define & characterize the community	' Form an Environmental Health Leadership Team (EHLT)
Task 3: Assemble Community Health Environmental Team	' 1st Community Meeting o Introduce the project o Discuss environmental health issues o Encourage community involvement o Develop and shape Community Environmental Health Assessment Team	Completed	10/18/04
Task 4: Define the goals, objectives, and scope of the assessment	' Establish goals and objectives for the assessment ' Describe the vision that will guide the process ' Describe the scope of issues to be addressed by the assessment ' Define key terms	Completed	12/20/04
Task 5: Generate a list of environmental health issues	' Evaluate and select data-gathering method(s) ' Collect data on community concerns ' Collect data on community knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions ' Create a manageable list of issues	Completed	02/05
Task 6 Analyze the issues with a systems framework	' Understand the framework ' Identify the connections among health status, affected populations, exposure factors, environmental agents/conditions, contributing factors and behaviors, and public health protection factors for selected environmental health issues.	Completed	04/2005
Task 7: Develop Locally Appropriate Indicators	' Develop list of potential indicators ' Identify key indicators based on selected criteria	Completed	07/2005
Task 8: Select standards Against Which Local Status Can be Completed	' Identify externally driven standards ' Agree upon locally appropriate standards	Task 8 deals with the determination of what the indicators discuss about the community's environmental health.	09/2005
Task 9: Create Issues Profiles	' Adopt a standardized format for organizing information ' Gather information ' Collect data for locally developed indicators ' Develop a summary statement	Completed	10/2005
Task 10: Rank Issues	' Determine the purpose of ranking ' Decide on ranking criteria ' Select a method for ranking ' Rank the issues	Completed	10/2005
Task 11: Set Priorities For Action	' Determine local priority 'setting criteria ' Select a method for prioritizing ' Determine priorities	Completed	12/2005
Task 12: Develop An Action Plan	' Develop goals and objectives ' Identify contributing factors ' Identify possible intervention and prevention activities ' Identify community asset ' Identify potential barriers ' Select an intervention(s) activities ' Determine resource needs Identify potential partners ' Provide training ' Develop timeframe ' Determine measures of success	Completed
Task 13: Evaluate Progress and Plan for the future	' Agree on questions to be answered by the evaluation ' Evaluate the success of the assessment process ' Begin preparation for ongoing community-based environmental health assessment activities	Completed	12/2005

Note: Currently, we have completed the required tasks regarding the PACE EH Project. .

Issues/Problems

Members and residents of Gadsden County expressed that they would like to see the PACE-EH project continue, because the project engaged the public's involvement, and focused exclusively on environmental health issues. The public was able to gain knowledge and information by receiving handouts, and by professional and trained speakers regarding environmental health issues and concerns in Gadsden County.

As the PACE-EH Coordinator for Gadsden County for the past nine months, I feel that this project has been beneficial to the residents of this county and to me both personally and professionally, because I was able to interact with some of the residents of the county, as well as community stakeholders, and other health professionals. As a resident of this county, and by involving the community in PACE-EH Project process, I was able to gain new insight into community issues and concerns. People cannot be healthy if they are not provided with a healthy environment. Monitoring our environment brings enormous health benefits-this is another advantage for keeping PACE 'EH in existence.

Gadsden County Environmental Health Leadership Team:

Name	Address	Organization
Captain Gerald McSwain Quincy Police Department Captain	121 East Jefferson St. Quincy, FL 321351	Quincy Police Department
Billy Keyser Service Representative	118 Deerwood Circle Quincy, FL 32352	Quincy Social Security Office
Sylvester Henderson Parent/PTA President	811 W. 7th St. Quincy, FL	Concerned Gadsden County Citizen
Beryl Richardson Gadsden CHD	P.O. Box 1000 Quincy, FL 32353	Cardiovascular Health
Officer Tim Murray	121 East Jefferson Street Quincy, FL 32351	Quincy Police Department
Sharon Saulter Migrant Program Coordinator HQ Environmental Health	4052 Bald Cypress Way Bin A08 Tallahassee, FL	Citizen
Ed and Marylyn Feaver	115 Byrd Road Quincy FL 32351	Concerned Citizens
Cedric Spradley	682 Millwood Drive Havana FL 32333	Faith Based Organization Pastor
James Akins	P O Box 614 Chattahoochee, Florida 32324	North-side Seafood Restaurant owner
Patricia Brown	104 N. Adams Street Quincy, Florida 32351	Community Action Program
Patti Gomez	P O Box 65 Greensboro, Florida 32330	Business Owner (Housekeeping) Volunteer-Outreach in community
Sharon Martellaro	1406 Osceola Street Quincy, Florida 32351	Office Manager-Solomon Const.
Verda Owens	P O Box 491 Midway, Florida 32343	Former Midway-Mayor Concerned Citizen
Dedric Streeter	1127 Sherwood lane Chattahoochee, Florida 32324	Big bend Workforce Agency-Quincy
Barbara Stout	27 N. shadow Street Quincy, Florida 32351	St. Thomas Catholic Church Administrator 'Catholic Social Services
Alexandria Walters	489 Shiloh Road Quincy, Florida 32351	Attorney-Attorney General's Office-Leon/Former Attorney-DCF-Quincy
Willie Saucier	Gretna, Florida 32332	Gadsden County Animal Control
Carla Frye	Quincy, Florida 32351	Probation Officer-Leon
Lillie M. Smith	Gretna, Florida 32323	Concerned Citizen
Lavone Hill	534 Dusty House Road Quincy, Florida 32351	Foster Parent
Ruby Hart	1001 Hutchinson Ferry Road Quincy, Florida 32351	DCF-employee
Timothy Dixon	1189 High Bridge Road Quincy, Florida 32351	Concerned Citizen

The Environmental Health Leadership Team will include additional members who represent the key agencies/organizations in the Gadsden County community.

Schedule of Activities/Meetings:

Activities/Meetings	Date/Location	Contact Person	Outcome
PACE CEHAT Meeting	October 18, 2004 Gadsden CHD	Vivian R. Howard	Great meeting - CEHAT members selected, brought out possible issues, gave commitment forms to CEHAT members
PACE CEHAT Meeting	November 15, 2004 Gadsden CHD	Vivian R. Howard	Good meeting - chose chair and vice chair for community meeting, adopted survey
PACE Communitywide Meeting	December 20, 2004 Gadsden County Public Library	Vivian R. Howard	Great success - passed out first surveys, good feedback on issues
PACE Communitywide Meeting	January 17, 2005 Gadsden County Public Library	Vivian R. Howard	Vivian R. Howard Discussed drafting new animal control ordinance. Also, revisiting current code enforcement rules
PACE Communitywide Meeting	February 21, 2005 Gadsden County Public Library	Melissa Brock	Discussed animal control ordinance issues. Discussing developing a draft amendment ordinance to submit to BOCC.
PACE Community Wide Meeting	March 21, 2005	Melissa Brock	Reviewed draft animal control ordinance. Discussed drinking water article.
PACE Community Wide Meeting	April 18, 2005	Melissa Brock	Upcoming
PACE Community Wide Meeting	May 2005 (No meeting held for the month of May-the new PACE- EH Coordinator, Betty Johnson started on May 13, 2005).	Betty Johnson	No meeting held for the month of May
PACE Community Wide Meeting	June 20, 2005 Gadsden County Board of County Commissioner's Office	Betty Johnson	Great meeting! Regardless of the small turnout. Additional CEHAT were selected. Some were unable to attend, due to prior engagements. We do expect a larger turnout at the July 18th meeting. On e of the Gadsden County Animal Control Officer attended the meeting and provided valuable information to members, who appeared very attentive as he spoke. Questions were asked and he answered all questions accordingly. Several handouts provided regarding dog bites and other pertinent information as to how to keep children safe, as well as adults. The drafting of the animal control ordinance was discussed briefly by Bill Keyser. Copies of the Drinking Water Article from the Environmental Health Corner and Surveys results were also passed out and discussed.
PACE Community Wide Meeting	July 18, 2005 Gadsden County Board of County Commissioner's Office	Betty Johnson	Very good meting!! Only seven people attended this month's meeting. Discussion included Mosquito Control problem in Gadsden County. Mac Dunn-with Gadsden County Mosquito Control Agency was speaker at the July's meeting. Also, on the agenda to speak was the Division of Forestry-Shawn Duggar, who was unable to attend, due to illness. Mr. Duggar would like to be added to the agenda to speak at a later date. Also, Animal Control Officer, Willie Saucer was presented. He discussed issues and concerns of the Gadsden County Animal Control Agency. Other items discussed were Drinking Water Quality in Midway, Florida and updating of the current animal control ordinance for the county.
PACE Community Wide Meeting	August 22, 2005 Gadsden County Board of County Commissioner's Office	Betty Johnson	Great meeting once again!!! Twelve people attended this month's meeting. Speaker at this month's meeting was Maureen O'Brien of the Gadsden County Humane Society. Team members and other concerned citizens were able to review the Animal Control ordinance draft review to be submitted to the Gadsden county Board of County commissioner's. PACE and the Gadsden Humane Society are working in collaboration in having the ordinance draft and approved by the Board.
PACE Community Wide Meeting	September 26, 2005 Gadsden County Public Library-Quincy	Betty Johnson	Great and informative meeting! Ten people attended this month's meeting. Two additional residents of the county were present at this month's meeting. Also, Michael Redig-Division of Environmental Protection, and Elliott Duggar-Division of Forestry were guest speakers at the meeting. Discussion included trash burning and toxic waste materials. The group was educated on various waste materials in and outside of the home, rules and regulations regarding trash burning without a permit, and violation/fines for 1st offense.
PACE EH Community Wide Meeting	October 24, 2005	Betty Johnson	Very informative meeting! Residents and members of the October meeting requested that we continue to discuss septic systems for the next meeting. Members would like to bring in additional residents from their community-to enable them to gain more knowledge regarding their septic system, especially in the Midway, Florida area. Members and residents attending the last meeting were able to gain knowledge on Basic Septic System Components, and how do septic systems works, and why/how to maintain your septic system' Discussion at the next meeting shall conclude Septic Systems and Drug Trafficking.
PACE EH Community wide meeting	December 19, 2005 (no meeting held for the month of November 2005)	Betty Johnson	Great meeting! Members and residents were able to learn about the health benefits of having sidewalks in the community. Guest speaker at this month's meeting was Sharon Saulter, Vice-Chairperson of PACE. Mrs. Saulter provided valuable information regarding the importance of physical exercise, and the benefits of having sidewalks in the rural areas especially. Discussion focused on ideas and ways of trying to heal the rural communities.

There is no meeting scheduled for the month January 2006. PACE EH Project funding officially ends for Gadsden County on 12/31/2005.

Past Gadsden County Reports:

August/September, 2004

October, 2004

December, 2004

For more information on this project, contact Addie Brooks, EH Director, or Betty Johnson, PACE EH Coordinator, at the Gadsden County Health Department.

GADSDEN COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT December 2005 PACE EH Progress Report