Wellness Programs

Wellness Programs focus on preventing chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Many of our programs promote healthy behaviors such as quitting tobacco products, eating a balanced diet, and being physically active. FDOH-Escambia has a team of subject matter specialists consisting of health educators, nutrition educators, and registered dietitians working to create informational materials and deliver presentations to the community.

Staff provide screenings, education, interventions, referrals, and other support services for individuals and families. Services are aimed at reducing risk factors and modifying behaviors to prevent chronic disease and promote optimal health for all residents. These programs, aimed at early detection and prevention of common health problems, serve individuals throughout each life stage, with special services for pregnant women, infants, and children.

Health Information (HI) Network

The HI Network aims to improve the health of our community by providing residents with evidence-based information on factors that can affect health. Faith-based organizations play a key role in improving the health of their congregation members as well as community residents through health promotion and disease prevention. Since 2016, HI Network program staff has provided faith-based organizations with important health information in the form of toolkit modules, featuring educational presentations, print materials, and short messages to share with members via social media, email, or church bulletins.

47 HI-NETWORK PARTNERS

6 COMMUNITY PRESENTATIONS

Diabetes Prevention Program

The PreventT2 Lifestyle Change program began in 2016 and is part of the CDC’s National Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP). DPP has been proven to help participants make modest lifestyle changes and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by more than 50 percent. The program’s goals are to aide participants in reducing body weight by at least five percent and reaching a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-to-intense physical activity per week. FDOH- Escambia’s program achieved full recognition through the CDC in 2018, which signifies that, on average, the participants who enrolled meet the program goals of regular attendance, physical activity, and weight loss.

For the fourth consecutive year, FDOH-Escambia has earned CDC Full Recognition for its diabetes prevention program, PreventT2 Lifestyle Change Program. This designation is reserved for programs that have effectively delivered a quality, evidence-based program that meets all standards for CDC recognition. PreventT2 is part of the National Diabetes Prevention Program, led by the CDC and proven to help people with prediabetes prevent or delay development of type 2 diabetes. This continued achievement demonstrates the success of the lifestyle change program, with a commitment to reducing the preventable burden of diabetes within the community and nationally. Since January 2021, 24 participants enrolled and attended at least one session.

54 SESSIONS HELD

88.9 POUNDS LOST

24 PARTICIPANTS

Continued CDC Full Recognition (Pending recognition for the Online program)

Virtual DPP

In January 2021, FDOH-Escambia began offering the CDC’s National Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) completely online. To facilitate the program online, FDOH-Escambia’s DPP cohorts utilized the Health and Lifestyle Training (HALT) Diabetes software platform, provided by the ProVention Health Foundation, in partnership with the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD). The platform includes the CDC-approved National DPP video-based curriculum, participant and coaching dashboards, mobile apps, photo food-logging, and data collection and reporting functionality. This new platform allows our organization to continue offering the program safely to the community at a distance.

5-2-1-0 Healthy Escambia!

As part of our local chronic disease prevention efforts, the 5-2-1-0 Healthy Escambia! Program actively promotes daily healthy behaviors of 5 fruits and vegetables, 2 hours or less screen time, 1 hour of physical activity, and 0 sugary drinks in various community settings, reaching audiences of all ages.

2,051 PEOPLE RECEIVED 5-2-1-0 EDUCATION AT 25 EVENTS, OUTREACHES, AND PRESENTATIONS

Former FDOH Employee Kaili Calasso at the Oakwood Terrace Back-to-School Giveaway.

Hillcrest Baptist Church Preschool gets ready to learn about 5-2-1-0.

FDOH Employee Frankie Walker teaches children at Ebonwood to Rethink their Drink.

FDOH Employees Ashley Majors and Skye Owens prep for a Stress Management Lunch and Learn Class.

Spotlight

Promoting Summer Safety at Pensacola Splash Pad Event

FDOH-Escambia’s health education team members participated in the City of Pensacola Parks and Recreation Legion Field Splash Pad event on Saturday, June 26, 2021. The event was held to celebrate the grand re-opening of Legion Field and the completion of the Legion Field Improvements Project. Our health education team provided participants with health information about summer safety, outdoor safety and water safety. Promotional materials distributed included sunscreen, Chapstick, sunglasses and water misters, all of which encourage healthy, safe outdoor activity. In total, approximately 250 children and parents attended the community event.

Pictured above from left to right: Georgette Megarry, Alyssa Hudson, and Tanisha Thompson participate in the Legion Field Splash Pad Ribbon Cutting event on June 26, 2021.:

Legion Field Splash Pad Ribbon Cutting event on June 26, 2021.

School Health Education

The School Health Program focuses on education helping children, families, and school personnel increase physical activity, improve nutrition, prevent the spread of infectious disease, and reduce teen pregnancy. Our team of Registered Nurses deliver presentations on a variety of topics to elementary, middle, and high school students in Escambia County.

School Health continued to promote our 5-2-1-0 Healthy Escambia! education program. The 5-2-1-0 Healthy Escambia! Program actively promotes healthy behaviors of eating 5 or more fruits and vegetables every day, 2 hours or less of screen time per day, 1 hour or more of physical activity per day, and 0 sugary drinks. This program is also promoted in various community settings, which allows us to reach audiences of all ages.

This year, School Health nurses assisted the Escambia County (Florida) School District in meeting their mandated Kindergarten and 7th grade record review requirements by completing 6,175 record reviews. This assures students are up-to-date with their immunizations and allows students to be in school and ready to learn. FDOH-Escambia School Health nurses also transcribe out-of-state immunization records for new and transferred students throughout the school year. By partnering with the Escambia County School District, our nurses are able to identify students that may have fallen behind in their immunization requirement and provide support to bring them up to date in a timely manner.

FDOH-Escambia School Health nurses collaborated with the Escambia County School District to administer Flu-Mist vaccines at seven middle schools. In addition, our nurses offered Tdap vaccines to those students who had not yet received their required 7th grade dose. FDOH-Escambia is dedicated to protecting children in our community from vaccinepreventable diseases, while also helping the state of Florida reach statewide immunization goals.

Throughout the pandemic, School Health continued to work closely with our local schools in Escambia County to identify positive cases of COVID-19 and help minimize the spread. To help provide for a healthy environment, HEPA filtration systems, along with replacement filters, were purchased for all public and charter schools in Escambia County.

School Health celebrating Dixie Bray’s retirement after 17 years of FDOH-Escambia service.

Pictured from left to right: School Health Nurses Debbie Tucker, Melissa Alexander, Dixie Bray, and Brenda Antone sport Super Nurse T-shirts received for Nurses Appreciation.

Tobacco Free Florida Escambia

The Tobacco Free Florida in Escambia County (TFF-Escambia) program encourages tobacco use prevention and behavior change through media and marketing, policy change, group counseling, community presentations, and activities that engage youth. Amid the global pandemic, TFF-Escambia switched to a virtual based workplan and adapted to changes in COVID-19 protocols.

Students Working Against Tobacco

Since January 2021, TFF-Esambia has reached 25,000 youth via social media campaigns, marketing ads throughout the county, and virtual meetings and trainings. The Statewide Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT) meeting took place virtually on June 15-16, 2021. Two youth from Escambia County SWAT participated in this two-day event. The theme of this year’s meeting was ‘Game Over.’ Topics from the meeting included Health Equity, Get MAD Smart, Social Media Training and Engaging Youth Virtually. Also, a SWAT regional training was held on October 23, 2021. Two Escambia County youth attended the virtual regional meeting. Through the use of technology and the students’ willingness to participate, 12 SWAT meetings were held virtually via Zoom and GoTo Webinar.

Escambia County SWAT youth, Davy Bradley, educates on the importance of ‘Not Being A Lab Rat’ for the tobacco industry at the Healthy Halloween event. This tobacco observance was commemorated statewide, as SWAT youth spread the word on the addictive and dangerous natures of e-cigarettes and vaping products. SWAT, Florida’s youth-led movement to combat the tobacco and e-cigarette industries, is encouraging their peers to protect themselves and future generations from nicotine addiction by fighting back against the corporations.

Increasing Cessation Services

TFF-Escambia identified CAN Community Health as a partner for increasing cessation access across healthcare systems. The goal is to further CAN’s tobacco use screening protocol, determine interest in adopting a formal cessation referral policy and determine training needs in the upcoming year.

TFF-Escambia continues to partner with AHEC of West Florida to provide cessation services for those in need. Cessation classes are held virtually or in person (as long as safe social distancing measures allowed) as a resource for those interested in kicking their habit. In 2021, 455 Escambia County residents benefited from inperson or virtual cessation classes administered by West Florida AHEC. Of those, 350 were referred from Behavioral Health and 115 were referred from General Population.

TFF-Escambia Health Educator Consultant, Sarah Judd, signs her name pledging to remain tobacco free during a Red Ribbon Week event held at NAS Pensacola.

Spotlight

TFF-Escambia Hosts E-Cigarette and Youth Town Hall Part 2

TFF-Escambia hosted Part 2 of the E-Cigarette and Youth Town Hall on Tuesday, July 13, 2021 in Pensacola, Florida. The discussion took place with local decision-makers, school faculty and staff, community members, and influencers providing key insight into this issue. TFF-Escambia focuses on youth-based programs and used this opportunity to engage youth in our community. The discussion began with an introductory presentation about Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) followed by an open discussion on the impact of ENDS usage and possible solutions to curtail the impacts of this epidemic in Escambia County. Attendees also learned about marketing and social media and participated in trivia.

Kimberly Pace presenting on marketing and social media at the E-Cigarette and Youth Town Hall Part 2 event on July 13, 2021.

Brandon Minor and Davy Bradley participate in the panel discussion at the E-Cigarette and Youth Town Hall Part 2 event on July 13, 2021.

Healthy Start

The Healthy Start program aims to reduce infant mortality, reduce the number of low weight babies, and improve the health and developmental outcomes for all Florida babies. Services are provided regardless of socioeconomic status to ensure early interventions/care to prevent or minimize adverse outcomes. Care coordinators provide education, support, and guidance to pregnant and postpartum women, women who have experienced a loss, and women who have a child under age three. Program staff also work to connect families to community resources. Any woman can elect to be screened by their OB provider, or can self-refer for eligibility during pregnancy, at the time of delivery, or before their child reaches age three. The confidential screening helps to identify women and infants who may have a greater risk for poor health outcomes.

Adapting Services Amid COVID-19

The Healthy Start program has continued to provide services during the COVID-19 pandemic with continuation of virtual and telephonic visits. The program was able to distribute diapers, wipes, formula and pack and play cribs to our clients using contact-less delivery.

Healthy Start Services

Since January 2021, Healthy Start has provided services to 646 prenatal/postpartum women and infants/children, with a total of 7,556 direct services provided. These services include initial client assessments, care coordination, education, support, and guidance. Healthy Start also made over 300 referrals to community resources to help meet our aim of reducing infant mortality and reducing the number of low weight babies.

Safe Sleep Environment

Healthy Start continued the mission to help prevent sleep-related infant deaths by educating parents and caregivers on the importance of practicing safe sleep. Education was provided using handouts, web links and telephone calls. The Healthy Start Program and the Healthy Start Coalition collaborated to provide 141 pack and play cribs and safe sleep kits to families at no cost, allowing these families to provide safe sleeping environments for their infants. Healthy Start Care Coordinators provided non-contact deliveries to the client home and used text links to demonstrate pack and play crib set-up and safe sleep education. The program aims to reduce sleep-related deaths.

Healthy Start Cribette

WIC

The WIC program serves pregnant and breastfeeding women, infants, and children up to age five. Each participant is counseled by a registered dietitian, or other trained nutrition staff, and provided an electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card to purchase prescribed healthy foods. Foods are selected based on individual needs and include milk, cheese, juice, eggs, fruits and vegetables, whole grain breads and pasta, brown rice, yogurt, and baby food and infant formula. Participants may use the EBT cards at local participating grocery stores and farmer’s markets.

6,584 AVERAGE WIC ENROLLMENT

6,501 CONTACTS SERVED

671BREAST PUMPS PROVIDED

Breastfeeding Support

Every pregnant woman enrolled in WIC receives information regarding the benefits of breastfeeding. Peer counselors are assigned to women who express an interest in ongoing support. Counselors remain with these women throughout pregnancy and during the first few months following birth. Breast pumps are loaned to nursing mothers who return to work or school or have an infant in the hospital. Staff also work with businesses and child care centers on how to develop breastfeeding-friendly policies and support nursing women in their organizations.

Pictured from left to right, WIC Breastfeeding Counselors; Nisla Morales, Alanni Hall, Trimia Bettis, and Patricia Ryder.

WIC client, Elizabeth Hardesty picking up a breast pump from Patricia Ryder, WIC Breastfeeding Consultant.