Monthly Archives: October 2009

In 2003, I began studying at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Nursing. As I approached this field I failed to realize the challenge that I faced with seeking this degree. I then had a change of heart to Public Health Education, in which I am glad that I made this change. I graduated from UNCG in 2007 with my Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health Education and later submitted an application to the Chatham County Public Health Department to apply as their Tobacco Prevention Coordinator in 2008.

My employment was accepted and began working in the community as a resource in tobacco education which focused primarily on tobacco cessation and informing youth about the consequences of smoking while providing them with information and resources to prevent initiation of smoking and assist in quitting if needed. While employed through a grant with the Health and Wellness Trust Fund , we recruited youth to assist in providing education to their peers and their community as well. The youth and I traveled to surrounding counties and completed trainings and activities to obtain the skills and data needed to inform Chatham County youth about the risks associated with tobacco consumption. As funding and the grant were close to an end, I then accepted the position as the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Health Educator.

The Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention position’s purpose is to develop and implement policy and environmental level interventions to address the adolescent public health issues of sexually transmitted infections, HIV/AIDS and adolescent pregnancy prevention. Education is provided in schools and the community through interactive materials and presentations elaborating on the consequences of sexually transmitted infections, an unwanted pregnancy and HIV/AIDS prevention. Along with this position is the opportunity to serve as the Executive Director of the Chatham Coalition for Adolescent Health. The Coalition’s primary focus is to support, advocate for and develop strategies that improve the quality of adolescent life and reduce pregnancy among adolescents. The coalition also advocates for positive management of adolescent pregnancy, birth and parenting in Chatham County. Through these positions I am able to serve as a resource for the county and collaborate with those interested in reducing the teen pregnancy and STI/HIV rates of Chatham County, and develop skills, strategies, and programs needed in our approach.

Personally, I am a very driven, motivated, and serious individual dedicated to my jobs. In my free time I like to listen to music, cook, read, entertain and enjoy family and friends. I also like to be active in the community and meeting teens in the community to understand their mindsets and how well they function within their communities.

Kelcy Walker is our third health educator featured during National Health Education Week. She works in the areas of diabetes and health promotion. Read below to find out more about Ms. Walker.

I am Kelcy Walker, a Public Health Educator with the Chatham County Public Health Department. A native and current resident of Raleigh, I received a Bachelor of Science degree in 2005 from East Carolina University in Health Education and Promotion with a concentration in Community Health. In December of 2006, I earned a Master’s Degree in Health Education also from East Carolina University.

Currently with the Chatham County Public Health Department, I work with Diabetes Prevention and Control in the areas of facilitating a monthly Diabetes Support Group meeting and co-facilitator of the ADA recognized, Diabetes Self-Management Education Classes. Of the patients having received a three month follow up since the classes, we have had a success of 100% of patients lowering their A1C levels. The AlC level reveals the average blood sugar over a two to three month period.

In addition to Diabetes Prevention & Control, I also serve as Program Coordinator for the LIGHT Way program, which stands for “Living in God’s Holy Temple.” This program focuses health promotion within the faith community by recruiting and training churches to develop health ministries and health promotion programs. Since March of 2007, 11 churches have been trained and at least half are implementing health promotion programs.

In my spare time, I enjoy exercising, decorating, shopping, being active in my sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., but most importantly, spending time with family, friends and my church community.

Kelly Evans is the Chatham County Public Health Department’s second health educator featured during National Health Education Week. Read below to find out more about Kelly.

My name is Kelly Evans, and I am a Public Health Educator. My path to health education was not direct. I started college with the intention of attending medical school, and later had plans to receive a PhD in molecular biology or genetics. After four years of working in a biochemistry lab I realized that I wanted to work in a position where I could see the results of my work in more than just a scientific journal. I remembered from my undergraduate years how much I enjoyed volunteer outreach work with various organizations, and thought about the time I passed out condoms and information about HIV to my fellow students when presenting on HIV treatments. I knew then that Public Health was where I was meant to be. I attended the UNC School of Public Health (now the Gillings School of Global Public Health). In 2007 I received my MPH in Maternal and Child Health in addition to completing the interdisciplinary certificate in Health Disparities.

After graduation I knew I wanted to work with an organization whose goal was to eliminate health disparities. I began working with the Chatham County Public Health Department in the Community Health Promotion and Advocacy Division (CHPA) in September of 2008. After interviewing here I knew this was the place I wanted to work. I recognized the value of the work they were doing to help eliminate health disparities, such as the dismantling racism project, and I loved how involved the community was in working towards improving health in Chatham County. Not only that, I thought I would be a working with a great group of people (and they are!).

I thoroughly enjoy my job here in the CHPA. I was given the opportunity to write a grant to fund a full-time position working in an area that is not only needed, but one that I am very passionate about. As the Chatham County Saving Babies Campaign Coordinator I work to reduce infant mortality disparities and to improve birth outcomes by promoting preconception care, specifically dental health and smoking cessation. I work not only in the community increasing awareness of infant mortality and the importance of dental health, but also with health care providers and other organizations, such as Piedmont Health Services to help eliminate barriers to dental care. Recently we received $5,000 from the NC Public Health Association Wolfe Endowment to start a dental care program for young women in need of a dental home.

I think working as a health educator in Chatham County is great because I get the chance to work in the community to help create a healthier community but at the same time have the opportunity to work on the repairing the social issues which lead to health inequities. Not only that, but as a health educator I get the opportunity to listen to the community, to discover what issues they think are important and design programs based on needs the community has identified. For instance, during a focus group I facilitated on the issue of dental health during pregnancy, many women expressed their concern over the cost of dental care, and the fact that many dental offices do not accept payment plans. From this knowledge I have begun working with Piedmont Health Services to implement payment policy plans for women referred to Piedmont Health through the Saving Babies Campaign.

Overall, working as a public health educator in the Chatham County Public Health Department is very rewarding.