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23
ANNUAL
REPORT
2014
and their family members, the oncology nurse
navigators also host support groups throughout
the year.
Faith & Health Network
The MCHS Faith & Health Network is
actively working with 15 Odessa
congregations with close to
1,000 members. With a focus
on improving activity in Ector
County, the Faith & Health
Network
has
launched
Steppin’ Out Saturdays and
a Health Challenge. The
current inactivity rate
in Ector County is 30
percent, and the Faith
& Health Network
staff and volunteers are
challenging the community
to get up and move. Other
activities include health fairs
and community health lectures.
Grant Funding/Ector
County Physical
Activity Coalition
To combat the community health
rankings, Ector County received
a grant in 2014. Community
organizations came together to
create the Ector County Physical
Activity Coalition in January 2015
to look at proactive ways to improve
the county’s health issues. In 2015,
Ector County ranked 208 out of 237 in
health behaviors. The reports also show that
one-third of Ector County residents report
complete physical inactivity which has resulted in
one out of three residents being obese, and two-
thirds being overweight. This grant also focuses on
educating the community about health conditions
such as heart disease and stroke. Heart disease
is the leading cause of death for Ector County,
and stroke is the fifth leading cause of death.
The coalition has worked together to
create a media campaign to educate
about signs of a heart attack, signs
of a stroke and the importance of
physical activity.
Community Events
In June 2014, the MCHS
Community Health nurse
navigators led the first
Sweet Expectations
m o t h e r / b a b y
community event in
an effort to promote
healthy and happy
pregnancies
and
newborns. This event
drew more than 300
attendees and included a
wide variety of education
and services for expectant
and new moms. It is
reported that 10.4 percent of births
in Ector County compared to 8.5
percent in Texas are low birth
weight births and 5.7 percent of
births in Ector County compared
to 3.9 percent in Texas are births
to teen mothers. As of 2010, a higher
percentage of women smoked during
pregnancy in Ector County (8.1 percent)
compared to Texas (4.9 percent).
Babies lined up for the
crawling contest at Sweet
Expectations in June 2014.