COMMUNITIES COMMITTEE TO MEET AT JACKSON

JACKSON -- The first of six town hall meetings conducted by the Healthier Communities Committee will be at 7 p.m. Monday at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Jackson.

The Healthier Communities Committee, a joint effort of seven organizations interested in improving the health and quality of life in Cape Girardeau County residents, is organizing the meetings. Members are seeking input from people of all ages and income levels.

The committee was established in February through the Missouri Department of Health and the Community Caring Council. About 200 individuals representing a cross section of Cape Girardeau County took part in an October kickoff session.

The key community health issue identified at that meeting was community and family values, followed by access to primary care, health promotion education and teen pregnancy. Issues tying for fifth places were transportation, individual accountability for health, access to social services, affordable health care, substance abuse and school drop-out rates.

Jeff Krantz, a committee member and director of planning at Southeast Missouri Hospital, said the holidays caused a delay between the kickoff meeting and other meetings. Now the committee is ready to get out to various cities to get more input.

The Jackson gathering on Monday will be followed by meetings at several sites in Cape Girardeau during January, February and March, at Oak Ridge in February and at Delta in March. All the meetings are open to interested county residents.

"We realize that the issues in Jackson are not the same as the issues in Cape," Krantz said. "We want to get some general themes and help various communities with the needs they have identified. People should open their eyes to what can make Cape Girardeau County a healthier place."

Charlotte Craig, a committee member and in the administration of the county public health center, said that through the town meetings participants will be encouraged to look, not only at health care resources and concerns, but at other quality-of-life issues.

"Our communities already are fine places to live, work and rear our families," Craig said. "Working together, we can make our communities even better, not just for today, but for generations to come."

Once the town hall meetings conclude, the committee will compile input gathered from those sessions and determine what projects should be started to address the county's needs.

"We don't know what that project will be at this time," Craig said. "That's what the town hall meetings are about, and that's why it's so important that everyone participate. Cape County isn't just an outline on the map of Missouri, it's all of us."

Residents unable to attend the meetings are encouraged to send their ideas to: Healthier Communities Committee, P.O. Box 1806, Cape Girardeau, 63702-1806.