Photo: Health Council Coordinator, Chris Debolt
Silver City, New Mexico, April 25, 2014: Grant County Community Health Council is pleased to welcome Chris DeBolt as its new coordinator. DeBolt is the first coordinator who has previously served as a member of the Health Council; she represented the Rural Health sector on the Council.
Debolt said, "My time as a Health Council member has given me a real advantage. I have a good understanding of the community leaders and what to expect to make it a meaningful membership thereby continuing the Council's success."
A nine year resident of San Lorenzo, DeBolt serves on the Mimbres Valley Health Action League, a community group dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in the Mimbres Valley through local based programs focused on health and well-being for all ages.
DeBolt's efforts as a Health Council member, last year, were crucial in the continuation of the Mimbres Health Fair, which had its highest attendance to date. She also helped coordinate the 2012 Community Assessment "Your Home, Your Voice!" focus groups and survey outreach to the Mimbres Valley, which resulted in the highest participation levels yet from that region of the County.
Her first order of business is to present the compiled results of the Community Assessment to the municipalities and rural areas that participated, which offers insights into the residents' priorities and concerns. Next, with the help of the Health Council, she will be finalizing the Community Health and Wellness Plan that outlines the community's efforts to mobilize resources and affect policies thereby increasing the quality of life in Grant County.
The previous 2007 Health and Wellness Plan leveraged over $15 million by community partners and the Health Council, funds which directly addressed the needs of residents from the previous community assessment. The Health Council expects record breaking funds to be leveraged with the results of the 2012 Community Assessment, which had the highest participation rate in the State and broke the previous record held by Bernalillo County.
Health Council Chair, Priscilla Lucero said of DeBolt, "I think she's a fantastic lady who has had great success representing the Rural Sector. Debolt will use that expertise as coordinator of the Health Council to raise more awareness of the rural areas of our county." Lucero represents the Economic Development Sector on the Health Council in her position of Executive Director of the Southwest New Mexico Council of Governments.
DeBolt will serve in a dual capacity as the Health Council Coordinator and the Director of Community Health Partnership for Gila Regional Medical Center. She holds a Bachelors degree in Psychology and a Masters degree in Counseling, both received from the University of Arizona in Tucson.
"My years of experience in community mental health, social services, and substance abuse treatment, grant writing and administrative experiences gives me great insight to the improvements the Health Council wants to make," added Debolt.
The Health Council is the Health and Wellness Planning Authority of the Grant County Board of Commissioners and supported by Gila Regional Medical Center.
For more information on the Health Council call (575) 388-1198 or email healthcouncil@grmc.org<mailto:healthcouncil@grmc.org> or website www.gcchc.org or follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gcchc. The Health Council next meets on Monday, June 16, 2014, from 3 - 5 p.m. at the Grant County Administrative Center, 1400 Hwy 180 East. The meeting is open to the public, with a section available for public input.