SCALE Grant

Please join me in congratulating the Cattaraugus County Department of Health for receiving a grant from the Institute for Health Improvement (IHI) as a Pacesetter Community. Cattaraugus County is one of only 20 communities nationwide to be selected for IHI’s Spreading Community Accelerators through Learning and Evaluation (SCALE) program. The program will pair 20 Pacesetter Communities with 10 Mentor Communities to accelerate the pace of change toward better community health. The county applied for SCALE based on the success of the Cattaraugus County Healthy Livable Communities Consortium. The consortium formed in 2011 to address poor county health rankings. As a founding member of the consortium, STHCS drafted a letter of support for the county's SCALE application. This grant award is a testament to Public Health Director Dr. Kevin Watkins' vision of a community-wide response to improve health and wellness. It also highlights the hard work of County Public Health Educator Deb Nichols who is the driving force behind the consortium. I want to thank them for including us in their SCALE application.

SAAM Outreach

I’m very happy to report that our Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) campaign is having an impact. At our request, New York State Senator Catharine Young sponsored a resolution recognizing Sexual Assault Awareness Month that was passed Wednesday by the New York State Legislature. At the local level, the posters we distributed to area restaurants and taverns have created a buzz. A woman from Wellsville posted on her Facebook page how happy she was to see the posters at a local restaurant. She said she was “shocked and surprised” to see the posters and was excited to tell her friends about them. The posters include clear definitions of consent, advice on how to help a friend, what to do if someone is sexually assaulted and how to contact the SAFE programs at Olean General Hospital, Jones Memorial Hospital and WCA Hospital. We also created a Sexual Assault Awareness Month release that was sent to the Olean Times Herald, the Wellsville Daily Reporter and the Jamestown Post Journal. I want to thank Senator Young for once again helping and supporting our work. We’re truly fortunate to have such a concerned and committed representative in Albany.