Leadership Kitsap’s Healthy Community Day was held at Harrison Medical Center, Silverdale, on January 10, 2020.
Kody Russell (LK16), Kitsap Strong Project Director shared Kitsap Strong’s collaborative impact initiative to improve the overall health and well-being of Kitsap and its residents through the prevention of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and building of resilience, a theme woven throughout the day.
Kitsap County Public Health District Health Officer, Dr. Susan Turner, shared Kitsap Community Health Priorities collaborative process to improve health in Kitsap County. Emily Kleiner, introduced Blue Zones Power 9 as a blueprint for healthy living in Kitsap County. As former Director of Events and Promotions at Pacific Business News in Hawaii, Emily helped launch Hawaii’s statewide Blue Zones initiative.
Lunch prepared by Harrison Medical Center catering provided the opportunity for reflective conversation led by Dedra Miller (LK15) and Marie Singleton (LK09). Following lunch, Matt Wheelus, VP of Operations/COO Harrison Medical Center CHI Franciscan Health shared an update on Silverdale’s campus expansion featuring state-of-the-art medical technology and comprehensive healthcare services for our community.
As Incident Commander for Port Orchard’s tornado, Jeff Faucett (LK14), Assistant Chief South Kitsap Fire & Rescue, shared his experience and perspective on the Positive Leadership capacity of Resilience. Doug Washburn, Director Kitsap County Department of Health & Human Services shared the County’s response to Mental Health & Addiction as related to Homelessness & the Opioid Crisis.
The afternoon centered around a case study exercise designed to broadened class members’ knowledge of various health care and social service agencies available in Kitsap County. Class members were given cases reflecting real scenarios in Kitsap County and had the opportunity to visit various agency representatives to find solutions to complex family problems. The participating agencies and representatives included: Coffee Oasis, Holly Ridge Center, Housing Solutions of Kitsap Co., Kitsap Community Resources, Kitsap County Division of Aging & Long Term Care, Kitsap Mental Health / 211, Meals on Wheels Kitsap, Peninsula Community Health Services, and StandUp for Kids. The activity was debriefed by Dedra Miller (LK15), Holly Ridge Center Human Resources Specialist.
It was a very impactful day of learning about Kitsap’s collaborative efforts to keep our community healthy and resilient! Thank you to our Challenge Day sponsors CHI Franciscan Health, Harrison Medical Center, and Holly Ridge Center.