The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON - The folks who work in the healthcare field in Columbia County know that having a well-run hospital and clinic here is an important part of keeping our community healthy. But access to health profession­als is only part of what's needed to improve the health of residents of our com­munity.

"Wellness and prevention are equally important," says Cheryl Skiffington, who is clinic manager for the Co­lumbia County Health Sys­tem. It's her job to make sure the Columbia Family clinic in Dayton and the Waitsburg Clinic are providing the best possible care to patients. But she's also leading an effort in 2014 to help improve health among resident s of Colum­bia County.

The Columbia County Wellness Project is spon­sored by CCHS, the Colum­bia

County Public Health Department and several other local organizations. "We're trying to help both adults and kids make choices that lead to healthier lives," Skiffington said.

The program will have a different focus each month. Planning began in Novem­ber when a group of lo­cal agencies put together a diabetes awareness cam­paign, in conjunction with a national focus on diabetes prevention.

January has featured an anti-smoking campaign. The group is working with the Dayton schools on programs for students, including a video contest and a poster contest.

Middle and high school kids are invited to create videos with an anti-smoking theme. A group of judges will pick the top ten videos and post them on the Well­ness Project's Facebook page.

"The winner will be the video with the most 'Likes'," Skiffington said. A $200 cash prize will be awarded to the winner. All of the videos created will be compiled and presented at the Liberty The­ater during a special "Pre­mier Night" on February 19.

Elementary school stu­dents are participating in an anti-smoking poster contest. The winner will get a $100 prize.

The group has also cre­ated a series of posters fea­turing Dayton native Cougar Henderson, with the theme "Smoking Doesn't Suit Me." The images use photos taken by Dayton photographer Nick Page.

During the week of Janu­ary 27, Columbia County health professionals will moderate a series of tobacco cessation classes. Using the theme "Five Days to Quit," the sessions will be led by doctors and P.A.'s. The ses­sions will be held from 7-8 p.m. in the CCHS adminis­tration building conference room. They are open to any­one, and cost of $5.

February's wellness theme will be heart health. According to Jody Mar­tin, CCHS's dietitian, who worked with Skiffington to create the Wellness Proj­ect, the focus will be on improving lifestyle choices relating to heart health, and on screening for potential like high blood pressure and cholesterol.

"We're doing a special 'Paint the Town Red' project, sort of tying in with Valen­tine's Day," Martin said. The group is planning a special "Heart Run" on February 21. It will likely be a 5K run along the Touchet River dike path.

For the remainder of 2014, the Wellness Project will have a series of focuses:

March and April - Drug and alcohol prevention

May and June - Women's health

July and August - Healthy eating and exercise

September - Back to school

October - Men's Health

November - Diabetes

Other organizations spon­soring the Columbia County Wellness Project include the City of Dayton, The Dayton School District, The Dayton Chamber of Commerce, the Coalition for Youth and Families in Columbia Coun­ty and Columbia Cares a lo­cal group promoting healthy youth and families.

For more information on the Columbia County Well­ness Project, contact Skiff­ington or Martin at (509) 382-2531.