WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — Washing your hands and planting seeds in the soil may seem like mundane things to some, but health officials across the county are trying to improve health, especially during National Public Health Week. We encourage people to double down on their skills.
The health district offers a variety of lifestyle classes that teach you everything from effective hand washing to gardening basics to applying for college grants.
William Carter, Wellness Program Division Leader, oversees the program implementing the prevention-based efforts offered in these courses.
“Having information about the benefits that are on offer in your area, so if you need housing, if you need food or clothing, you can go there and see who is providing it and all of that. You can get contact information for,” Carter said. “It’s more than just health. It’s really a community health standard.”
It is a community that Carter is dedicated to educating and serving.
“Everybody wants to give you a fish instead of learning how to fish, but if you teach someone to fish, they’ll be good for life,” Carter said. “If you teach someone how to grow a plant, how to prune it, how to cook it, it will serve them for a lifetime.”
Another big advocate for health and wellness, Zoe Lindstrom, the public health district’s disease intervention program manager, works with patients on STI treatment.
“We’re out there looking for patients to test, treat and interview to find out where they got the infection, whether it’s syphilis or HIV,” Lindstrom said.
Once detected, they will test or treat you, also try to find a partner for treatment, and often offer home testing.
While many of these services are aimed at adults, LiveWell Wichita County Help Me Grow Program Coordinator Rebecca Rudy has her sights set on younger generations.
“What we do at the Family Resource Center is provide free events for families with children ages 0 to 8, but all families are welcome,” Rudy said. I did.
The nonprofit partners with local schools, but most of the children it helps develop skills are from social workers.
To learn more about how Help Me Grow can support your developmental process, visit our website or call (844) 543-7464.
Or, to learn more about the various services provided by the public health district, visit its website.
