MARSHFIELD – Security Health Plan of Wisconsin, Inc., today announced eight Healthy Communities Grants totaling $250,000 to address significant community health issues ranging from binge drinking, to safe use of prescription medications, to health education for young girls.

“We’re very pleased to be able to announce these Healthy Community Grants,” said Interim Chief Administrator Julie Brussow. “Each grant represents an investment in the future of the people and communities Security Health Plan serves. It is important to support programs that solve real problems in our communities, and these grants are a way we can contribute to that progress.”

In awarding grants, Security Health Plan focused on important health problems in many communities: children’s health, behavioral health and aging health, said Jay Shrader, assistant director of Health Services. In addition, Security Health Plan required all applicants to address health literacy – making health information accessible and easy to understand – as part of their projects.

“There were many great applications, and the decision-making process was difficult,” Shrader said. “In the end, the eight organizations receiving grants to implement initiatives that address the targeted health priorities have terrific potential for improving health and health literacy within the populations they reach.”

The 2014 Healthy Community Grants are:

• Eau Claire City-County Health Department– $50,000: Binge drinking is a serious health problem and this project will identify and create culturally-relevant materials and tools for the 18- to 25-year-old population, which is at high risk.
• Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes– $30,000: Go Girl Go is a health, fitness, education, and self-esteem enhancement program for girls ages 5-18.  It reaches out to Girl Scouts, but also to girls not in traditional Girl Scouting.
• Health Literacy Wisconsin– $50,000: Let’s Talk about Medicine will be a series of educational workshops to help adults 50 years and older better understand how to effectively use medications.
• Marshfield Area United Way– $20,000: Nutrition on Weekends (NOW) provides nutritious supplemental food packs to students living in households facing hunger.
• Northland College– $37,500: This will allow Northland College to purchase flash freezing equipment for its Food Lab, an education and food processing facility. Locally grown and raised foods can be flash-frozen for seasonal storage and used by the College, community members, and food pantries.
• Price County Northwoods AODA/Mental Health Coalition-$7,300: Medical personnel, police, students, parents and other community leaders will be trained in the Good Drugs Gone Bad program and then take that knowledge to area residents in this large, rural county.
• Wisconsin Alliance for Women’s Health– $45,000: The Wisconsin Adolescent Health Care Communication Program (WAHCCP) is an innovative, teen-delivered educational program targeting barriers that interfere with the ability of health care providers and teens to communicate effectively with one another about sensitive health topics, such as mental health, sexual and reproductive health, drug and alcohol use, and violence.
• Central Wisconsin Literacy Council-$8,490: The Meal Site Health Literacy Program focuses on providing useful health information to people getting food from shelters and food pantries throughout Marathon and Wood counties. The health information topics include preventing and/or managing chronic diseases, increasing awareness, acquisition and consumption of adequate foods, increasing exercise and fitness.

“Investing in the health of our communities is central to Security Health Plan’s mission as a corporate citizen, as a part of the community,” Brussow said. “Through these grants we will be able to improve the health and well-being of not just our members, but also our neighbors. “