Health and safety are two things that are on pretty much everyone’s holiday wish list. For the Whitley County Health Department and their long list of community partners, these are the two gifts that matter most not just at Christmastime, but throughout the entirety of the year.
With that in mind, the health department and its employees invited the community to attend a free Holiday Health and Safety Open House event on Friday, Dec. 12. The afternoon’s offerings included free activities, refreshments, and a chance to learn about the many different ways that local organizations are making a positive impact in our everyday lives.
“What we wanted to do was highlight for the community all of the things the health department does, and also to involve our partners to make sure that we’re sharing resources,” said Public Health Director Dr. Marcy Rein. “We just wanted to get together and celebrate the season while sharing information.”
Visitors to the health department on Dec. 12 may have felt like they had walked into the North Pole headquarters of Santa Claus himself, with the facility brightly decorated and workers wearing their most festive Christmas attire. A special selfie station set up in one of the hallways allowed for holiday-themed photo ops, while candy, cookies and other goodies were available for anyone looking for a sugar rush.
“We have been planning this for probably about six months,” Rein said of the first-time event. “It started when our health educator was working with a community partner and they wanted to do something around health and safety. I had the idea of doing a holiday open house, so we decided to combine those efforts.”
“I think it’s really important for us to highlight what public health does, and what the health department does specifically in this community,” Rein continued. “We wanted to share information and engage with the community. Whatever we can do to highlight what we do, and how we work with our partners.”
Community partners present at the open house included Baptist Health, Grace Health, Dayspring Health, Kentucky HANDS, Cumberland River Behavioral Health, Whitley County 4-H, Whitley Community Arts Extension, Williamsburg Fire and Rescue, AA Women’s Services, the Corbin Police Department, Green Dot, Southern Roots, First Baptist Church food pantry, Heritage Nursing Home, Southeast Coalition, CVADD, Volunteers of America, Save the Children, Behavioral Health Group, and the health department itself had several representatives on hand to present information and answer questions.
Leading up to the open house, an art contest was held for all ages. The idea was for submissions to reflect ways in which Whitley County can be a more safe and healthy community for future generations. “This was a visual way to get community input on what is important for health and safety,” Rein said of the contest. “We opened it up to all ages, and while there were no submissions in the adult categories, we have some ideas on how to improve on that later.”
Rein said the health department received art contest submissions from several different area schools, and she thanked 82nd District Representative Nick Wilson for serving as a special celebrity guest judge. In the end, she said she felt this was a good way to share with people and get some community participation.
Winners of the art contest were Samantha Payne, Eden Rose Fuson, Jozie Day and Alyssa Jolly, all of Whitley County.
Health Education Coordinator Ashley Lawson said that the open house event was a great way to bring agencies together in the name of informing and helping the people they exist to serve.
“We just want to provide events like this so that everyone can get together, get to know each other, and partner together to make our community an even better place to live,” Lawson said. “Whitley County is a wonderful place to be. We have so many great resources and great people.”
Lawson said she felt the open house was especially useful for people who had never actually visited the health department before. By welcoming them inside and providing them with useful information, as well as some free food and prizes, she said that she hopes they will remember moving forward all of the valuable health-related services that exist right here in the local community.
To learn more about the work that the Whitley County Health Department is doing, visit them at 368 Penny Lane in Williamsburg or call them at (606) 549-3380. Access information online anytime by visiting www.whitleyhealth.org and following the department’s official Facebook page.
