TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Union Health Foundation announced Thursday in a news release the launching of a new program to help improve the living environments of Wabash Valley families.
The Foundation was awarded a $46,362 grant by the US Environmental Protection Agency to create the “Healthy Homes Initiative”. With help from the Lugar Center for Rural Health and other community partners, the program will expand the existing services provided by the All Babies Initiative, founded in 2016 to address the community’s high infant mortality rate.
The All Baby Healthy Home Initiative’s goal, the release said, is to identify environmental hazards in the home that might negatively impact health, reduce hospitals admissions to related unhealthy homes and increase environmental awareness of health factors impacting the health and wellbeing in the Wabash Valley.
This pilot program specifically targets homes with pregnant women and children through 18 months of age. According to the EPA, children are often more vulnerable to pollutants than adults due to differences in behavior and biology, which can lead to greater exposure.
“Home environment can directly and indirectly impact our health and wellbeing,” Matthew Herrick, program manager at West Central Indiana Healthy Start, said. “The All Babies Healthy Homes Initiative will look beyond the walls of a clinic or hospital to identify risk factors associated with negative health outcomes. Our comprehensive approach will focus on housing-related hazards in a coordinated effort, rather than addressing one hazard at a time.”
The All Babies Healthy Homes Initiative will use existing home-visit programs to provide environmental health assessments and interventions to 150 under-resourced families and reduce negative environmental risk factors including: mold, lead, allergens, asthma, carbon monoxide, home safety and pesticides.
“The Foundation’s mission is to improve health and wellness in the Wabash Valley, and the best way to improve lifetime health is at the very beginning stages of life,” Joel Harbaugh, executive director, said. “Through the generosity of our donors, we have funded several programs and services to proactively advance the health of our community. This federal grant demonstrates the value of those efforts and builds on the important groundwork accomplished thus far.”
For information on how to support Union Health Foundation, visit www.unionhealthfoundation.org or call 812-238-7534.
