Winner of the
2005 Ocala/Marion County Chamber of Commerce
Walter Driggers Environmentalist of the Year Award

MARION COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT
May, 2006 PACE-EH Progress Report

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Date: May 23, 2006

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

From: Herman Hale, RN
PACE-EH Coordinator

Subject: Update - West Ocala Neighborhood PACE EH Project.
Marion County Health Department, Environmental Health Division

Project Summary

The PACE-EH process begun with the West Ocala Neighborhood PACE-EH Project continues to move forward. The Marion County Health Departments PACE-EH coordinator Herman Hale, RN and regional PACE-EH consultant, Samuel Brobbey, attended a community meeting of Neighborhood Citizens of Northwest Ocala, on May 4, 2006. This meeting was significant, in that, it allowed the PACE-EH coordinator an opportunity to meet community representatives and generate interest related to the status of the current PACE-EH project.

Read the final report of the West Ocala Neighborhood Environmental Health Assessment Survey

As part of the agenda for the meeting, Mr. Brobbey was able to introduce Mr. Hale to the group. Mr. Hale discussed several issues during his presentation. He shared with community members; that the report related to the air quality samples taken by the Health Department in West Ocala should be available soon and that a public meeting would be convened to review those results. Mr. Hale also informed the group that he was aware of other issues, which were identified during the community assessment process and that he welcomed the opportunity to join this community in addressing those issues.

During the meeting, a report was given by a representative of the City of Ocala. This report detailed the follow-up status of an issue, which was identified by the West Ocala Neighborhood PACE-EH Project. It was reported that eight complaints related to un-kept properties were addressed by code enforcement and that five of the complaints had been remedied. This report and the actions mentioned are a direct result of the PACE-EH process, which allows communities to approach local environmental concerns in a systematic and orderly fashion.

The Marion County Health Departments PACE-EH team also attended a meeting of the Governors West Ocala Neighborhood Revitalization Council, on May 9, 2006. This meeting afforded Mr. Hale and Mr. Brobbey the opportunity to make additional PACE-EH contacts within the West Ocala neighborhood. It also presented this team the ability to engage in a dialogue with the local governmental officials who were in attendance. These contacts will provide a vital community link for the current, as well as, future PACE-EH projects.

PACE EH Work Plan and Process Update

PACE-EH Tasks	Action	Outcome	Target Date
Task 1: Determine Community Capacity	Specific resources, skills and capacities needed for the project have been identified. New working relationships with other agencies, businesses and organizations have been formed. Current collaboration possibilities have been broadened. Expressed community concerns have made this project a timely venture. Potential strengths and weaknesses of community outlined. First community meeting conducted.	Completed Completed
Task 2: Define and Characterize the Community	Identify political, social, economic and cultural systems of community Research additional stakeholders that need to be engaged in this project.	Completed Ongoing
Task 3: Assemble Community Health Environmental Team	Community Environmental Health Assessment Team Meeting - Ongoing o Clarify expectations of team. o Vision Formation o Develop governing and decision-making structure, and ground rules o Describe scope of environmental health issues to address o Encourage and recruit community and other organization involvement.	Completed Completed Completed Completed Ongoing
Task 4: Define the Goals, Objectives, and Scope of the Assessment	Geographic/Topical scope Expected outcomes and decisions of process	Completed
Task 5: Generate Environmental Health Issue List	Data collection of community concerns Create manageable list Evaluate and select data-gathering methods	Completed
Task 6: Systems Framework Analysis	Understanding the framework Mapping process - Linking health of the community and health of the environment	Completed
Task 7: Develop Locally Appropriate Indicators	Develop list of potential indicators Identify key indicators based on selected criteria	Pending	10/1/06
Task 8: Select Standards	Identify externally driven standards Agree upon locally appropriate standards	Pending	11/15/06
Task 9: Create Issue Profiles	Adopt a standardized format for organizing information Gather information Collect data for locally developed indicators Develop a summary statement	Pending	12/15/06
Task 10: Rank Environmental Health Issues	Determine the biggest/most serious problems in community	Pending	1/5/07
Task 11: Set Priorities for Action	Determine local priority-setting criteria Select priorities	Pending	2/15/07
Task 12: Develop an Action Plan	Develop goals and objectives Identify community assets and barriers Develop timeframe Determine level of success	Pending	3/15/07
Task 13: Evaluate progress and Plan for the future	Agree on questions to be answered by the evaluation Evaluate the success of the evaluation process Prepare for community-based environmental health assessment activities	Pending	5/15/07