Allen County has made gains in recent years in terms of overall community health.
That said, there are still glaring needs for many — lack of access to health care providers, poor housing conditions, drug and alcohol abuse, lack of daycare options for “the working poor,” etc.
With that in mind, a group of about 50 residents from across the county gathered Thursday for a brainstorming session to find potential solutions, even if they were “pie in the sky” goals.
Then, the group came up with names or examples of people around town who could make such dreams happen.
Thursday’s community conversation was held at the behest of the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City, which has funded 53 grants in Allen County totaling $3.3 million over the past 13 years.
THURSDAY’S conversation consisted of answering three questions: Where are Allen County’s greatest healthy living needs? What are possible, achievable solutions? And who can help solve those issues?
“This is a time for us to solicit input,” explained Bridget McCandless, the Health Care Foundation’s president and chief executive officer. “I don’t live here. I don’t know what your unmet needs are, and I also don’t know what ‘cockamamie’ ideas you may have.”
THE IDEAS, she suggested would go something like, “If we could do one great thing, it’d look like this…”
The attendees took it from there, with a litany of suggestions, from converting old nursing home buildings into day care facilities to provide 24-hour services — essential for some parents who work the night shift — to creating “medical care neighborhoods,” in which providers offer a holistic approach to treating patients.
Debbie Bearden suggested a “growing growers” class offering, in which young people are trained in how to grow a garden, then using that produce either for consumption, or as a revenue generator.
Public transportation services also were at the top of several wish lists.
THE DISCUSSION then turned to who could help make some of those wish lists come true.
A few specific names were mentioned: Tracy Keagle of Humanity House, Iolan Donna Houser and business leaders like Joe and Janie Works — all of whom, coincidentally, were at Thursday’s meeting.
Others were more generic in nature, such as doctors and nurses, teachers, church leaders, law enforcement officers, city councilmen, county commissioners, senior citizens or representatives from other groups, such as Thrive Allen County,.
The Allen County conversation is one of several hosted by HCF across six counties this summer and fall, McCandless said.
“When we’re all done, we’ll have visited with more than 400 people,” she said, “And we’ll probably have a list of more than 1,000 ideas. I know we can’t tackle all 1,000 ideas, but we will look at those and figure out how they’ll help us going forward.
THE EVENING began with a history lesson.
McCandless spoke about how the Health Care Foundation’s came about, from the sale of several hospitals, including Allen County Hospital, from Health Midwest — a non-profit organization — to the for-profit Hospital Corporation of America in 2003.
Because Health Midwest was a non-profit organization, the proceeds from the sale were directed back into the communities. The Health Care Foundation is charged with overseeing how those funds are disbursed, to the tune of about $20 million annually; soon to grow to $30 million.
However, the foundation fields annual requests totaling about $60 million each year, McCandless noted.
“We can’t fund all of these great ideas,” she said, and must sort through the myriad requests to select the ones the Foundation deems most worthy.
“If you’ve been rejected for a grant application don’t feel bad,” she said. “There are a lot of requests.”
Allen County is one of six in Kansas and Missouri to receive HCF funding, and the only one not in the greater Kansas City area.
“The Foundation will never be able to make up for every bit of access that’s needed in your community,” McCandless said. “But we can give to that imagination fund, that sparks fund, that allows you to do the hard work of getting together and figuring out what you need.
“I love coming to Allen County,” she continued. “It’s one of my favorite places to go. You are the most can-do, hard-working group of people I’ve yet to meet. Watching you move that football down the field has been a privilege and a joy.”
Allen County’s success, she noted, is evidenced by its inclusion as a finalist for the coveted Robert Wood Johnson Health Fund Award. (The winning community will be announced later this year.)
Angela Henry, executive director of USD 257’s after-school program, SAFE BASE, noted the Health Care Foundation’s vital role in seeing Allen County became a healthier, more vibrant community. She also lauded several in the audience for their efforts.
“We need to know how lucky we are to have so many things have happened to our community,” Henry told the audience. “Thrive didn’t exist 18 years ago, Humanity House didn’t exist. There are so many things we’ve been able to accomplish through our community. Those things have happened because of you guys.”
