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 The Lycoming County Health Improvement Coalition has accomplished the following to date: A Community Health Center and Dental Clinic has been created at Divine Providence Hospital with the support of Susquehanna Health System. The Health Center opened in 1997 and the Dental Clinic opened in 1998. These new community services have been highly effective in responding to the problem of medical and dental care access. The Community Health Center records over 18,000 visits per year; the Dental Clinic registers over 2,000 visits. Both have enabled waits for emergency care to be reduced from six months to approximately one week. School-based programs (STAR, SHARE/PATHS) impact 1,000+ students everyday – promoting good behavior, positive life skills and internal relationships skills. In collaboration with PA College of Technology, the Coalition has launched an on-line Health and Human Services Directory for Lycoming County as part of its home page. This home page provides information about the Coalition, its work, and its continuing projects. It also identifies Board members, task force information and will include current up-to-date health information. WWW.LCHIC.ORG includes all 260 health and human service providers in the county. Health access information is provided to the public via school counselors, libraries and it provides agencies with information to use about other agencies. Project STAR is working in 5 out of 8 school districts in the County. This project is a “best practice” in Universal Prevention that includes both school and community focused components to promote substance abuse education to promote behavioral and attitudinal change. Project SHARE, an intensive “adopt a school” project, has been successfully implemented in several county schools. Project SHARE is a collaborative effort that engages parents and community members, as well as schools and community organizations, in coordinating services for children. The program promoting alternative thinking strategies (PATHS) is now working as an extension of Project SHARE. A Community Code of Conduct, “Our Community Code for a Healthy and Safe Lycoming County,” has been developed and over 50 county organizations and businesses have adopted it. The Code is based on the premise that violence is on a continuum that begins with lack of respect and discourtesy toward others, and adult leaders are key role models for children. The Coalition collects, evaluates and prioritizes community data from 7,000 community individuals every 5 years to identify need and provide a snapshot of the community quality of life. LCHIC sponsors data-driven health improvement programs with measurable outcomes. LCHIC builds social capital (with 150+ individuals who are representatives of over 50 organizations/a cross-section of community).
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