By Mary Alice Murphy
After approving minutes and agenda, the Membership Committee of the Grant County Community Health Council gave a report to receive approval on four new members for the council. Dan Otero, Hidalgo Medical Services chief executive officer, was approved at the last meeting, but has not yet been approved by the Grant County Commission, as required by the GCCHC bylaws.
Tentative new members approved by council members, at the Monday, Sept. 19, 2016, meeting, include Rev. Jaroslaw "Jarek" Nowacki of St. Francis Newman Center Parish to represent the ministerial sector; Stuart Rooks of Farm Bureau to represent the agricultural sector; Joe Kellerman, Gila Regional Medical Center marketing director, who will represent the hospital; and Connie Glenn of Workforce Connections, who will represent work force.
The next step is for GCCHC Coordinator Cari Lemon to present the new members to the Grant County Commission and recommend approval.
Lemon reported on the 15th annual Red Hot Children's Fiesta that took place last weekend. "Things fell into place. We are tallying the numbers. My goal was 40 booths, which is how many we had. I want to highlight the Juvenile Probation Office students who helped with the setup and helped the booths with needed items. The overall feeling was positive, but I will ask those who participated with booths for their feedback. I know GRMC had a positive day. Their cotton candy machine and those manning it were working non-stop."
Alicia Edwards, Health Council member and one who had a booth, said: "I thought Cari did an awesome job of organizing it. It was fantastic to have youths set up our canopies."
Council member Marilyn Alcorn said having "a stream of JPO kids helping us carry our stuff out of our vehicles and helping us all day long was wonderful. I give them kudos for a job well done."
Terry Anderson, council co-chair, said she was involved with the first one 15 years ago. Although she was out of town for this one, "it sounds like it is much improved. Job well done."
Lemon announced the second meeting of the state Children, Youth and Families Department PullTogether initiative for the next day. "We want to figure out a way to funnel resources to the one-stop shop on the pulltogether.org website. We had a meeting in June and 38 people came. We started talking and introducing ourselves so we can build fluency to know who's doing what in the community. We talked about challenges and about how we can work together. The networking piece is all about relationships."
She said the group is identifying an action plan, identifying gaps and duplications and wants to build the plan so everyone communicates with one another. "We are a small enough community, we can do that," Lemon said.
The health council has received a letter from the Department of Health. "The letter explained the remaining monies would not be allocated, so we have received $4,230 and that's it for this fiscal year," Lemon reported. It was not surprising as the state faces a large deficit.
Lemon said she attended the Conference on Aging, which has been held each year for 38 years. "I was amazed at the number of workshops and seminars, and a health fair with lots of booths." She said she learned about a myriad of services available to seniors. "The theme was of empowerment, which showed that a senior does not have to be a victim of aging. I would like for a team to go with me next year."
She said she would also attend next week's Hunger Summit, which will be the third annual. This Friday she will take the first of three grant-writing workshops. She should have a submission-ready grant at the end of the training sessions.
In sector reports, Alcorn talked about the sector she representsG