$75,000 Community Health Grant
As far as implementing things to make the area healthier, something we mentioned on UGN News at 10 and 11 last night will go a long way.
The Marquette County Health Department and the county YMCA worked together to get a $75,000 ACHIEVE grant for community health.
The Active Living Task Force found out about that today.
ACHIEVE is a partnership between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the national YMCA and other groups.
Health Department community health director George Sedlacek of the Marquette County Health Department says part of the funding will help them assemble a group of 10 volunteers, send the group to Washington for training on how to perform a community health assessment, and then perform the assessment to see what health areas the community could use the most help with.
The rest of the money will be spent on implementing the suggestions the group of 10 comes up with.
Sedlacek is hoping to see results similar to what an earlier ACHIEVE grant winner — Albert Lea, Minnesota — was able to do in just a year.
He says the community saw a 3-year increase in life expectancy.
$75,000 is the most ACHIEVE money that any community can receive.
Marquette County is one of just 10 nationwide to get the full amount.
In all, there are 40 ACHIEVE grant recipients nationwide.