Message from the Director
BUILDING IS A LIFELONG PROCESSPeople are capable of growing, learning and improving throughout their entire lives. The ability to do so has an impact in many areas for families and community. Failure to navigate primary milestones can influence a person’s inability to grow and thrive and limit that individual’s opportunities in his/her life. We often talk about critical milestones in a person’s life; those milestones include key indicators that the Sussex County Health Coalition has included in our strategic plan. This critical work needs to start even before an individual is born and build upon to provide a strong foundation. The Key Milestones SCHC focuses on include:
- Babies being born healthy
- A baby/young child must attain developmental milestones
- Children entering school are ready to learn
- Children should be math and reading proficient by 3rd grade level
- Help youth navigate middle school without engaging in high risk behaviors
- A youth should graduate high school
- A young adult should be college or career ready
- A young adult should enter a college, certificate program
- or job post-high school.
- An adult needs to earn a livable wage
These Key Milestones need to be taken into context with social determinants such as adequate and healthy housing, nutritious foods, employment, safety and community supports that allow people to reach these milestones. Often, improvement efforts focus intently on each of these milestones independently from a person’s overarching environment, and at a singular point in time. Perhaps we need to look at this as a continuum: A+B+C+D=E.
The Sussex County Health Coalition model allows for each of our committees to identify the relevant touchpoints and to focus on. We tie them together through our communications, meetings and targeted strategies of the organization. The SCHC structure allows us to synergize this work through organizations and providers around common goals and utilize joint resources.
If there is an area your organization would like to become more engaged in, please reach out to our staff. We will make sure you are induded in those meetings. It is through our combined efforts that we can create a landscape for success for all our citizens and those still yet to come.
Peggy Geisler
Director, Sussex County Health Coalition