Mind. Body. Spirit.

STRATEGIC QUESTION 4
How can the community encourage and support individuals to take action in their own health management and well-being, including prevention?

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
Chester County Hospital commits to providing appropriate and culturally-sensitive educational outreach including health screenings and programs addressing healthy lifestyles to at-risk populations using existing and new community partnerships.

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A Health Partnership Focused on the Faith-Based Community

Chester County Hospital is at the center of a unique partnership that is helping encourage physical, mental and spiritual health.

The effort combines the hospital's mission of going beyond its main West Chester campus to promote wellness in the community, with the outreach of two partners -- one an international organization with a strong local presence, and the other solidly grounded in the local spiritual community since 1887.

Many of the local AKA members are also parishioners of St. Paul's Baptist Church on Hagerty Boulevard in West Chester. For the past 10 years, St. Paul's has had a strong and active wellness committee. It was only a matter of time before the sorority, the church and the hospital were promoting health -- in mind, body and spirit -- in unison.Founded in 1908 at Howard University, Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) was the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African-American college women. For more than a century, the sorority has lived up to its credo, "to be supreme in service to all mankind," most recently by including health and wellness among the initiatives it stresses to its members, their families, and their communities. The organization has about 1,000 chapters and more than a quarter million members around the world. The sorority's local chapter -- Iota Tau Omega -- has been part of the fabric of the West Chester community for more than 40 years.

"The partnership has been phenomenal," said Susan M. Pizzi, MS, RN, coordinator of Community Health Education at Chester County Hospital. "We're not only addressing the information and wellness needs of AKA's Iota Tau Omega Chapter and St. Paul's, but we're letting their members learn more about the preventative and medical support services the hospital can provide. We show women how they can empower themselves to take an active part in their health care plan, and see how wellness plays an important role in maintaining their health."

During one recent program, Medical Oncologist Maureen Hewitt, MD, spoke about cancer prevention, while a dietitian addressed lifestyle and nutritional choices. There have also been events covering arthritis, breast-cancer prevention, women and heart disease, and women's health issues in general.

Though nationally, AKA has emphasized three areas of wellness for its members -- Alzheimer's, Stroke and Heart Disease, and Mental Health -- the hospital is careful to craft initiatives that most interest its local chapter members. Pizzi explained, "We are available to provide guidance and program suggestions to members when planning programs, but most importantly, the direction of whatever activity or program that is planned is based on the health needs and concerns of their members and the community we both serve." Whether this is determined through more formal channels like focus groups or surveys or through informal meetings with chapter members, the hospital's Wellness team makes sure the local AKA women are part of the planning.

Past Iota Tau Omega chapter president Wendy Brown appointed members Sara J. Reeder, PhD, RN, Annabelle Jackson, and Anita Trotman to implement the Iota Tau Omega chapter's health program initiatives. Dr. Reeder notes that the partnership has resulted in offerings on a number of issues, from blood-pressure tests and cholesterol screenings to hearing and dental care. "We're trying to meet the health care needs of people in our community," Reeder said, "and it's not just for women; it's for our entire family."

There have also been programs focused on men's health issues. "They're not always looking out for themselves," Reeder notes, and Iota Tau Omega chapter worked with the hospital on a program just for them, with an emphasis on prostate screenings and other health issues. "We had a large group of men who attended. It was very successful."

Dr. Lisa Croft can vouch for the success of the overall partnership. As both a physician of family medicine and the wife of St. Paul's Senior Pastor Wayne E. Croft, Sr., she knows the importance of connecting the spiritual and the physical. And she has seen the difference this partnership has made for their church members.

"Spiritual health is connected to our physical health. How can you be an effective witness for Christ, and reach out and help the least of these as he did, if your health is failing?" Dr. Croft asks, "So it's extremely important to connect the two. Our goal is to make sure we're teaching and promoting wellness of all types -- physical, spiritual and emotional."

For many church members, Dr. Croft explained, St. Paul's health and wellness ministry, in partnership with the hospital, has made a tremendous difference when it comes to maintaining good health, and made them more aware about the tools that keep them on the right path.

"Since the program has expanded, I can ask people if they know their numbers -- blood pressure, cholesterol, body-mass index -- and 95 percent of them will say yes," Dr. Croft said. "Knowing gives you the power to make effective change. We can't live in ignorance of our health. That's a responsibility the church holds very dearly."

And one that Chester County Hospital is striving to help St. Paul's, Iota Tau Omega chapter and other members of the county's faith-based community meet.

Dr. Sara Reeder, Aquilla Wells, Marcella Roulac, Susan Pizzi, and 
Dawn Richardson plan their next program.

Photography by Rick Davis