(GREAT FALLS) Healthy Lives, Vibrant Futures was the name of a symposium held on Thursday at Great Falls College MSU.
It’s also the name of a committee geared towards changing the lives of those in Cascade County to better their health.
In the fall, the city health department conducted an online survey about personal health priorities and concerns.
It’s required of the city every three years and is a joint effort between the health department and local hospitals.
Survey results revealed the community has a variety of concerns from substance abuse to healthy weight, access to care and even child abuse and neglect.
“Every child deserves a safe environment and that’s part of being healthy. Children deserve that safe environment in order to thrive,” Cascade County Commissioner Jane Weber said.
Weber was among many public leaders. Those from United Way of Cascade County, City and County Health Department, Alliance for Youth, Indian Family Health and many others were on hand.
Weber says she’s always been an active person and wants people to know it’s a simple life style to get in to.
“Take a step one day at a time. It’s not about going out and running a marathon. It’s about thinking about what you are eating. It’s maybe going to see a doctor for preventative health care. It’s maybe going to see if you qualify for Medicaid expansion if you haven’t been to a doctor for a long time. . Go and seek professional health because we have it in Cascade County,” Weber said.
Something she says is not surprising her is that people have difficulty getting access to health care.
“”Hopefully we’ll be working collaboratively through the community to improve the health of the whole community. Working together we can make our community better,” Weber said.
Those who attended were handed a bingo card to complete if they went to one dozen interaction tables.
The tables touched upon categories such as vaping, drug use, keeping kids safe, breaking barriers to access services and many more.
