Grants will improve service to community

Thanks to three new grant awards, Tuscarawas County children and older adults will benefit from new injury-prevention programs, and families will have improved access to services that will pave the way for healthy pregnancies.

The Tuscarawas County Health Department was recently awarded three new multiyear grants totaling $295,000 from the Ohio Department of Health. Two of the grants will help prevent injuries in children and older adults, and one grant will assist adults of childbearing age with health improvements.

“Here at the Tuscarawas County Health Department, we are always searching for grant funding to increase the quality of life and improve health outcomes in our community,” said Katie Seward, MPH, Tuscarawas County health commissioner. “Grant awards provide for a significant amount of our organization’s income, and we are thankful that funders put their faith in our staff to create and maintain high-quality programs for county residents.”

Specifically, the new child injury-prevention grant will reduce childhood injuries and deaths by enabling TCHD’s public health educators to provide services to improve transportation safety for children through teen driving, bicycle and pedestrian programming. The grant also enables staff to focus on reducing youth violence and child maltreatment.

Through the new injury prevention among older adults grant, TCHD’s public health educators will work with older county residents to emphasize fall-prevention strategies.

TCHD’s new preconception health and wellness grant will improve the overall health and well-being of county residents of childbearing age by promoting healthy lifestyles, reducing barriers to care, providing access to health services, and encouraging the establishment of a reproductive life plan to improve maternal and child health outcomes before, during and even after pregnancy.

“We are excited to launch these new grant programs and build upon our existing services to help area residents of all ages thrive,” Seward said. “In 2022 we served more than 3,000 county residents through our public health education efforts and nearly 1,000 residents through our reproductive health and wellness program. Thanks to these new grant awards, we look forward to serving even more people in the coming year.”

For more information about TCHD services, visit www.tchdnow.org or email healthed@tchdnow.org.