Robertson County Health Council
February 12, 2020
Members Present: Anne Marie Bryant, Lisa Cobb, Rachel Ellis, Stephanie Evans, Kathy Finley, Rachel Goodman, Donny King, Lauren Patterson
Members Absent: Tony Cowan, Brad Edwards, Danielle Frazier, Kelley Harris, Crystal Lemus, Rebecca Macfarlane, Ryan Martin, Johnny Norton, Jackie Pipes, Jackie Rawls, Asailio Timmermeier
Staff: Shirley Corker (Community Development Coordinator)
Guests: Ashley Clinard (Cheatham Health Dept.), Susan Cope (TCCY), Sara Cox (MCRO), Jenni Dusky, Amber Hester and LaSaya Mullin (Robertson County Schools), David Limpus and Angela Marino (YMCA), Anne Marie McKee and Nik Mabry (Vol. State), Kara Merriam and Andrea Sonnabend (Centerstone), Anna Pearson (RCHD), Rachel Ragsdale (UT Extension), Ray Render (Congressman John Rose 6th District), Megan Williams (Cohen Clinic)
Business: The meeting was called to order by Co-Chair Rachel Goodman.
Housekeeping/Announcements:
- Welcome was extended and introductions were made.
- The January 8, 2020 minutes were approved with a motion from Kathy Finley and a second from Lisa Cobb.
- Appreciation was extended to 24-Catering for their meal and presentation of the food.
New Business:
- Senior Director of the Clarksville YMCA David Limpus stated that 5 years ago the facility was slated to close. Since that time they have turned things around. Today they have over 7000 members and a very nice 50,000 sq. ft. facility. They are fee based but offer memberships on a sliding fee scale. They raise over 230,000 a year to help toward reduced memberships. Seventy percent of their members receive a scholarship. Their mission is to serve and strengthening the community is their call. The average fee is $34 a month. They have many diverse programs, work with kids, have a new kitchen and organic gardens. Their YCAP program has served 863 at risk teens and they have an outdoor pool. They are planning a 10,000 sq. ft. expansion to serve active older adults and are working with Northcrest to provide activities for their cardiac and pulmonary patients.
Angela Marino talked about new small program services. One of the programs is Grief-Journey to Freedom. It is an 8-week program for a fee of $25 that covers the cost of a book and other materials. It is faith-based and covers all kinds of issues. It starts February 25 from 6-8pm, meets every Tuesday for the 8 week period and is co-ed. They also offer a 12 week weight loss program for $69 for members and $99 for non-members. The class meets every Monday at noon at 1:00. It can serve 8-20 people. Everyone attending gets a tool-kit. Trips are offered for older adults.
David Limpus closed out the presentation asking for questions. He stated the YMCA was doing very well, was reaching out to the community like meals on wheels, and was open to ideas and suggestions.
- Mental Health Therapist Anne Marie Bryant provided a member spotlight. Ms. Bryant provides online counseling services. She can do video counseling with a person making it seem like they are in the same room, or can offer the service by phone or app. She works with children, young people, adults and military. The sessions can be done on a lunch hour or whatever works for the client.
Old Business:
- Health and Wellness – Lauren Patterson provided the following report.
A. Youth:
The Prevention Coalition had a great January meeting and engaged the County Mayor consistently as well as judges, recovery court, county commissioners, media, etc. They are currently collecting data through coalition members. Each coalition member has been asked to complete an environmental scan to determine baseline for markets and stores with their marketing and ID checks. Once this data is collected, they will begin the community assessment piece which will help set goals for the coalition. The next meeting is February 28th at noon.
B. Adult:
The Robertson County Park and Race Guide has been updated for 2020.
Through some investigation, Springfield and White House both have adult sports leagues and currently have open registration for softball. There is registration information on the Healthier Robertson County Facebook from a post a couple of weeks ago.
Help is needed promoting the RCSTN Challenge! This race benefits Robertson County Schools. There are two free training groups to prepare for the 5K! Both will meet at the YMCA outdoor track beginning on Sunday and will follow the training calendar. There will be a 5:30 AM group for adults and 5:30 PM group for families (stroller and pet friendly). The training calendar is available online. Like and follow RCSTN Challenge on Facebook and Twitter. Sponsorship opportunities are available.
Robertson and Cheatham Counties are the first in the state to offer an Extension Health and Wellness Ambassador program. This is a program to train volunteers in the area of health. It is a five week course providing 40 hours of in-depth training on a range of lifestyle and health issues. The program provides structured opportunities for volunteers to develop leadership skills by identifying, planning and conducting projects to improve health in their communities as they fulfill a 40 hour volunteer service commitment in the year following the training. The mission of the program is to improve health in Tennessee by engaging community members in using their knowledge in a service role to help others live healthier lives. Applications are open for this program!
C. Mental Health/Substance Abuse:
NAMI and Interfaith Coalition representatives were not present, but Rachel Goodman shared the list of support groups that is available and up to date.
- Promotion and Awareness – Rachel Goodman reported the committee’s goals were to try to be more visible, putting out information on their web page and keeping it updated. She also reported it was time to update the Resource Directory. Three more volunteers are needed to split the directory into 4 sections to vett the current information. The directory has 9 pages.
- Vulnerable Populations – No Report.
- Faith Based – There are not enough churches to open up their doors. There is some discussion about buying or leasing a building next year that is centrally located.
Adjournment:
- The meeting was adjourned at 1:30 pm.