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For more information on this project, contact Cheryl Dunn, Environmental Health Director, or Julianne Renk, PACE-EH Coordinator, at the Indian River County Health Department.

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT
March, 2006 PACE EH Report

To:              Daniel Parker, MSP, GAL
                    Assistant Division Director, Division of Environmental Health

From:          Julianne Price, Environmental Specialist

Through:     Cheryl L. Dunn, RS, Environmental Manager

Subject:      March 2006 Wabasso PACE Update

PACE Progress Report for the Wabasso Environmental Assessment

“Slow and steady wins the race.” –Aesop, The Tortoise and the Hare.” While we have accomplished a lot of progress in the past two years and at a quick pace, it is now time to exercise patience and monitor projects to ensure they are being executed as planned. This month was characterized by slow and steady progress with a tinge of encouragement and accolades from attending the National PACE Summit at the end of this month.

On March 6th, a Wabasso Community Meeting was held at which the Utilities Department and the water project consultants, Fred Fox Enterprises, attended to give an update on the water project and answer questions from the residents. A petition to extend the sidewalk to the park was circulated to formally request a sidewalk project so that the connectivity of the neighborhood would be improved. Many community leaders took copies and will get more residents to sign the petition before next month’s community meeting.

A health fair occurred on March 18th in Wabasso and was sponsored by the Indian River County Health Department. Many turned out and it was a very successful event. Alma Miller, who works in Environmental Health and whose husband grew up in West Wabasso, organized the event and her hard work was evident in the event. My 4 year old daughter and I attended the event and upon leaving she was very excited about eating vegetables and “growing healthy” as she put it! It seems that the Wabasso community is very interested in health issues and more so, improving or maintaining their health. Some have suggested the community is “ripe” for a health assessment and the idea is being causally tossed around at this point in time.

This leads me to the last significant event that occurred in March which was the first meeting of a committee to discuss the future of West Wabasso. The intent of the meeting was to talk about a “5 year plan” for Wabasso. Residents and leaders realize that projecting a path of where they would like the community to be in 5 years is beneficial and so we will continue to meet to flesh out the details and plan accordingly. The two topics of development encroaching upon the community and a health assessment were the main discussion items.

On March 28-29th, I attended and gave presentations at a national PACE EH Summit in Louisville, KY. The presentations were in regards to using the local media to promote PACE in communities, and the Wabasso community specifically. Eric Grimm gave a great presentation on PACE as it related to the state of FL and then I spoke about Wabasso. It was a great opportunity to see what other states and agencies are doing with the PACE EH methodology and definitely confirmed to us that we are on the right track with our project. It was pointed out to me that not only can one use the PACE guidebook and steps as a tool, but also the PACE facilitator and/or coordinator is also a tool in this process.

January/February, 2006

December, 2005

October, 2005

September, 2005

August, 2005

July, 2005

May, 2005

April, 2005

March, 2005

February, 2005

January, 2005

December, 2004

November, 2004

October, 2004

September, 2004

July and August, 2004

June, 2004

May, 2004

The following files are provided in the Adobe Acrobat pdf format. Files over 100 kb in size that may take longer to download and view, have their file size listed.

April 13, 2006 - West Wabasso's long road to county water about to end

February 18, 2006 - West Wabasso finds success in long quest for county water

January 23, 2006 - Gospel Fest to raise money for hurricane repairs in Wabasso

December, 2005 - In My Opinion: West Wabasso Assessment Project Update (From the Florida Journal of Environmental Health)

October 10, 2005 - West Wabasso residents rejoice over water project

October 7, 2005 - West Wabasso to get county water

September 20, 2005 - Indian River County replaces septic tanks for 10 families in west Wabasso

July 8, 2005 - Indian River health officials receive national award

June, 2005 - Spring 2005 PACE Progress Report for the Wabasso Environmental Assessment (380 kb) (From the Florida Journal of Environmental Health)

June 17, 2005 - World Changers group fixes homes in West Wabasso

June 15, 2005 - Impoverished area to get waterlines

June 12, 2005 - World Changers redo Wabasso

May 1, 2005 - Water System on its way to Wabasso

December 25, 2004 - Woman's work aids west Wabasso residents

October 18, 2004 - Storms stall Wabasso help

September, 2004 - PACE Progress Report for the Wabasso Environmental Assessment (620 kb) (From the Florida Journal of Environmental Health)

September 28, 2004 - Storms run Wabasso family out of own, borrowed homes

August 28, 2004 - Families get new homes

August 11, 2004 - Draft Brochure, Bringing Basic Needs to a Forgotten Community (1.4 meg file)

July 30, 2004 - Kindness rules in Wabasso (109 kb)

July 28, 2004 - Teens team up to build man's house

June 2, 2004 - Indian River seeks aid for water

May 26, 2004 - Groups enlist residents to help revive Wabasso

May 11, 2004 - Wabasso may have to wait a year for street lights to come on

May 9, 2004 - Town hall meeting to address Wabasso's needs