HEALTH AND WELLNESS: Working together

The Coalition for a Healthy Greater Grand Forks wants people to live in a vigorous community.

The nonprofit coalition, made up of health care for profit and nonprofit and public and private organizations in the area, was formed to advocate health and wellness in the Grand Forks area. The coalition seeks to find ways to make connections between health care-related providers and to ensure that health care related community activities aren’t duplicated.

One of the benefits of the coalition is to help bridge gaps in health care, said Cindy Janssen-Holweger, coalition president. Janssen-Holweger, an occupational therapy professor at UND, said that through the coalition, members can access scientists for information, share news about health care and work together on community health care related activities.

Meanwhile, the coalition also provides its members with an opportunity to work together on projects and grants. The coalition serves as a kind of clearinghouse for health care related grants so organizations aren’t duplicating applications, said Molly Soeby, a board member who helped incorporate the coalition. Granters don’t look on it favorably when two similar organizations in a community are competing for the same grant, she said.

Resources

The coalition also serves as a resource for people who want to volunteer for health care related causes, said Soeby, vice president of Ascent Health Resources, a local business that promotes health and wellness.

“There are a lot of people who want to help and don’t know” where to go or who to ask, she said.

“It helps generate more partnerships and volunteers for community events such as Winterfest,” Janssen-Holweger said.

Health care coalitions are common in other communities because people in the industry recognize that one of the coalition’s benefits is providing strength in numbers, Soeby said. More than a dozen Grand Forks area organizations belong to the Coalition for a Healthy Greater Grand Forks, which was formed a few years ago.

The Coalition for a Healthy Greater Grand Forks meets the second Wednesday of each month at 2 p.m. at the Grand Forks Park District office. Information: www.healthyggf.@gmail.com

Bailey writes for special features sections. Reach her at (701) 787-6753; (800) 477-6572, ext. 753; or send e-mail to abailey@gfherald.com.

Tags: health, features