Community Outreach

A community outreach team has been assembled from several key areas with the primary goal of reaching out to our community in a consistent, sustainable manner. Although individual departments have performed specific outreach events in years past, the organization as a whole has not done so under this model. The team is comprised of Michele Renninger, Dr. Jerry Sanders, Robert May, Michael Unruh. Members of the team have met multiple times to discuss key strategies that are in alignment with the WGH 2010 strategic plan. A few of the key concepts consist of scheduled, quarterly community forums with educational speakers rotating between community locations north, central and south. This also provides opportunities for community questions in regard to general hospital business or time to ask questions of the team, commissioner, or administrative representative that may be present.

Participation in local events will include staff from multiple departments providing interactive education on health promotion. An example of this happened at Coupeville Elementary School. This was a great way to promote disease prevention and listen to the fears and concerns of the children about illness in a non-threatening environment. For two weeks prior, the children collected pledges in the community wagering how long they could dance. During the dance there were tables and clinicians present to teach about health topics such as bullies, sun-protection, nutrition, hand hygiene, exercise, and tobacco. The children spent time with the clinicians and availed themselves of printed information about tobacco. One boy commented, "My dad quit smoking,  but today I think he forgot." The nurse spent the next half hour teaching and encouraging him on how our hospital could support his family in their efforts to become tobacco free. This is just one example of how being present at such an opportune time can begin to build trust with out community.

Upcoming Events

DIABETES HEALTH GROUP
For information and registration call
Don Miller, RN, Certified Diabetes Educator
360-678-7656 ext 2661 or 321-5173

Group 2: Discussion of success and challenges with intervention, modifying intervention.
Date: Mon Feb 27 2012
Time: 6:30 pm

One of the resources for the series is “Diabetes Burnout” by Dr. William Polonsky. Dr. Polonsky has spent the major portion of his career on this topic and has developed tools for developing interventions for diabetes burnout.