Health Action Team: Origination and Objectives

Lawrence County Health Action Team (HAT) celebrates its 15 year anniversary in 2024. The coalition was established in September of 2009 to address the health issues facing county residents and included members from Three Rivers Medical Center, Lawrence County Board of Education, Lawrence County Cooperative Extension Service, Pathways, Kentucky Homeplace, Lawrence County Health Department, and other interested individuals. HAT has grown to include more than 50 community partners. Some of HAT’s successes include the Healthy Living with Diabetes Support Group, Smile Savers Public Health Dental Hygiene Team, 100% Tobacco Free School Policy, and the Health Action Team website.

Lawrence County Health Action Team — 2024

Lawrence County Health Action Team — 2014

To identify priority health issues and strategies for improvement, the Lawrence County Health Department and the Lawrence County Health Action Team (HAT) convened our community partners to conduct a Community Health Assessment and Community Health Improvement Plan in January 2023. The resulting plan is a long-term, systematic effort to address public health issues based on the results of the community health assessment activities and the community health improvement process. The plan was developed collaboratively, defines a vision for the community’s health and describes what we hope to achieve in the next five years.

Our Vision:

Working together to serve our community by creating optimal conditions for health for everyone.

Our Values:

What does a healthy Lawrence County look like?

Collaboration — We believe in the power of working to-gether, contributing our time and skills, and supporting each other to help reach our vision.

Communication — The ability to communicate, connect, and collaborate on issues is the most effective way to achieve our vision.

Whole Person Health — We acknowledge that a person’s physical, mental, social, spiritual, economic, and environ-mental conditions affect their health and whole-person care is critical for improving health outcomes.

Service — We believe in doing the work and contributing to the welfare of others. We seek to serve well by caring, listening, and believing that every person is equally important.

Family — We recognize that healthy families are the building blocks of a healthy community. This means that we value relationships, partnerships, and collaborations that unify and advance our priorities. It is our hope to better communicate with each other, instilling the value of good health and how to achieve it as a thriving connected community.