Health Education through Extension Leadership

The Health Education through Extension Leadership (HEEL) Project is successf~lIy engaged in efforts to improve the health status of citizens of the Commonwealth. Three broad goals provide the overall direction for HEEL Project efforts. 1) Educate and empower individuals and families to adopt healthy behaviors and lifestyles. 2) Build community capacity to improve health. 3) Educate consumers to make informed health choices. During the past 12 months, great strides have been made to achieve these set goals and the underlining objectives. HEEL is often sited by top-level university administrators as a leading example of how the Cooperative Extension Service can work across the total university in multidisciplinary, multi-departmental endeavors to solve the health problems of Kentuckians. Partnerships have been formed wit,h the College of Medicine, College of Public Health, College of Social Work, Area Health Education Centers, Kentucky Cancer Program, College of Dentistry, College of Nursing; College of . Pharmacy, UK Wellness Program, Markey Cancer Center, Bluegrass Care Clinic, and the Kentucky Rural Health Works Program. These partnerships playa key role in HEEL's efforts to implement educational outreach programs to address cardiovascular disease, diabetes, social/emotional weIl~being, cancer and other health issues plaguing Kentuckians. Staff working with the HEEL Project dedicate their time to outreach program design, curriculum development, inservice training, program implementation and impact evaluation. A ITmltitudeof outreach programs have been launched through HEEL, and staff work with county Extension agents to facilitate coalition building and local program implementation. Major programs currently being implemented include Get Moving Kentucky! (an 8-week physical activity program), Weight: The and Reality Series (a ten-week education course to help adults learn to control their weight), LEAP for Health (a ten lesson curriculum centered around children's books encouraging healthy' lifestyles 'for preschoolers and their families) and the Drug Endangered Children's Alliance (a resource for identifying children exposed to methamphetamine production). Efforts are underway to develop a cancer curriculum, oral health curriculum and pilot the Brian Litteral's Healthy Hearts Club project. The HEEL project is bridging people, resources, ideas and actions, using the unique model of the land grant system of outreach and education combined with university-based research and long-term partnerships. With the multitude of partnerships formed and programs launched, HEEL is actively workingto improve the health of Kentuckians.