Our Impact

Coalition Connections Create Powerful Partnerships

The value of networking with coalition partners at OPHCC meetings is immeasurable as we work towards our goal of policy, systems and environmental changes to improve the health of residents in our community.

DECEMBER 2020 – The Olympic Peninsula Healthy Community Coalition’s largest asset is partner connections through the Coalition and our ability to work together to build strong relationships and share resources. This was a key factor during the COVID-19 pandemic when all of Clallam County was suddenly on lock down in our remote community filled with needs.

Five years of hard work building a powerful network of partnerships as the Olympic Peninsula Healthy Community Coalition in Clallam County came to fruition in 2020 with the advent of the COVID pandemic, during which we proved our resilience and rapid response time in changing course to meet our partner’s and community’s urgent needs. Adopting a broader health lens, to include emotional and behavioral health, aided us in quickly providing a multitude of resources to our ever-growing number of partners.

Our primary goal is to encourage Policy, Systems & Environmental Changes (PSE)

Policy Changes
[Formal or informal written statements designed to protect or promote a culture of health]

Recognizing the need for healthy, nourishing food to sustain food-insecure children during the weekends, Sequim Food Bank instituted a policy of providing healthier food options in their Weekend Backpack Program for youth aged Kindergarten through Senior High. OPHCC provided an assessment of the offerings, and the menus were revised to decrease sodium and preservatives, and increase fiber and nutrient density while remaining within the financial and food safety constraints.

Olympic Medical Center conducted an exploratory project offering vegan/vegetarian taste samplings in their cafeteria, and this successful pilot led to the adoption of a strategy to provide a vegan and/or vegetarian menu option each day for their cafeteria customers. Since (pre-COVID) many of the public also eat at this cafeteria when visiting the hospital, this step provides a leadership example to other food venues in the county to move toward more plant-based offerings in the effort to decrease chronic disease.

System Changes
[To help facilitate change in health care or community systems to improve prevention and management of chronic disease and other risk factors]

OPHCC developed and coordinated the implementation of the “Hunger Vital Sign,” a two-question screening tool used by providers to assess food insecurity so as to intervene earlier in the course of care with providers, in addition to providing a robust resource list for providers and healthcare social workers to link folks to food.

Practically overnight, OPHCC pivoted to develop the 833 Clallam County Toll Free Helpline in March of 2020 in coordination with partners from Peninsula College, Clallam County Emergency Operations Center, Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, Clallam County Commissioners, Security Services NW and Olympic Community of Health (Spanish translation) to provide a one-stop information source for county citizens looking for COVID assistance across the spectrum. Current resources available include access to COVID-19 clinic resources, addiction services, children and family services, clothing needs, crisis services, DSHS, employment resources, food resources, health clinics, housing, legal services, mental health services, Tribal assistance programs, transportation and Veterans. The foundation and ultimate success of this project was primarily built on the extensive connections already created through OPHCC partnerships across the county.

Environmental Changes
[Changing the economic, social, or physical surroundings or contexts in order to positively influence health outcomes]

In a rapid response effort by multiple OPHCC partners, 9,800 cloth masks were sewn and distributed across Clallam County during March and April of 2020 to help decrease the spread of COVID-19 and decrease hospitalizations. Simultaneously, over 180 cloth isolation gowns were sewn for our health care staff at the hospital, clinics and nursing homes to assist inventory while we waited for PPE manufacturing to ramp up. Not only was this expeditious project due to prior relationships established through the OPHCC over the last few years, but it incorporated many different partners from numerous sectors working together for a common goal—saving lives in our community.

With the end goal of increasing access to health care and decreasing health inequities, a simple questionnaire was developed by OPHCC for mobilization at meetings and partner community events across the county to identify those in need of health care services, accompanied with a referral list of available providers and agencies. This will go into full implementation upon our return to “in person” events.

The disabled population has a higher incidence of chronic disease, and are a group often missed by traditional methods of education such as classes and events. As a means of increasing their fruit and vegetable intake to help decrease their disease risks, OPHCC developed a fruit smoothie recipe card solely using simple pictures rather than words to assist these folks in making their own healthy smoothies at home. Clallam Mosaic provided the smoothie cards to clients in take home bags.

Community Health and Food Access Connections
OPHCC contributed to the adoption of a new wellness theme for the Quileute Valley School District (QVSD) in Forks. The roll-out was paused due to COVID-19, but will include staff training, student projects, parent education at school events, and a partnership with Forks Hospital.

WSU staff was a guest speaker on the local radio station KSQM and gave a 60-minute talk on social determinants of health and food insecurity, and highlighted local solutions and resources.
Along with a UW Seagrant, WSU established a Sea to Institution Foundation in our community with purchases of more than 4,000 pounds of local fish from a tribal fish cooperative to be distributed at local food banks.
Peninsula Food Coalition transitioned to a virtual meeting format and hosted meetings to maintain agency networking throughout 2020. One of the highlights was a result of our SNAP-Ed advocacy and continued capacity building in newly established western Clallam County farms. The very first connections between the Jefferson County Farm to Food Bank Program (WSDA, HAH, and local Funds) and the Queets and Hoh Tribal Food Pantries were made this year. These remote Tribal Food Pantries in west Jefferson County have not been able to be recipients of a program that purchases local produce from farmers to be distributed at food banks.

WSU/SNAP-Ed Partnerships

Building a network of volunteers and champions to host 11 new Little Free Food Pantries throughout the county
Providing Spanish nutrition information, seed and plant starts along with food resources to the Forks Human Rights Group
Successfully adapting the Native Harvest program – (a tribal gleaning program partnership) to continue to serve food insecure and vulnerable tribal community members during COVID-19 precautions
Establishing a new farm gleaning program which harvested more than 3,000 pounds of organic vegetables for meal programs and non-profits serving food insecure community members
Creating an exhaustive (bi-lingual) COVID-19 food resource list used in local government and non-profits in Clallam County

Olympic Community of Health (OCH) and Medicaid Transformation Project (MTP)

A collaborative project with OPHCC, North Olympic Health Care Network (NOHN), and First Step Family Support Center designed to screen for health-related social needs with follow-up of robust resources/support received the “Most Creative Partnership Award” in 2020 from OCH!
OPHCC’s contract staff serves on the board of OCH. We represent the needs and perspective of Chronic Disease Prevention throughout our region.
OPHCC completed a Social Determinants of Health Assessment which took the place of our scheduled site visit with the OCH.

Community Outreach

OPHCC initiated Wellness Committee Meeting for the QVSD in Forks. The wellness committee included a representative from each of the Forks schools, that included food services, director of finance, district nurse and physical educations teachers. They are excited to bring 5210 programming to Forks!
OPHCC attended a meeting with the QVSD Superintendent to discuss 5210 options. Forks would like to start with a “soft rollout” and work towards a full roll out when school starts so they can prepare ahead for the upcoming school year.
OPHCC participated in the Lower Elwha Health Fair and Lower Elwha Kid’s Day with 5210 programming and the smoothie bike.
OPHCC presented “Addressing the Social Determinants of Health – What are they and why it matters” to the Jamestown Family Health Clinic.
OPHCC hosted the Clallam County Healthy Leader Challenge and received community wide support. Olympic Medical Center, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, Peninsula Behavioral Health, and the Sequim & Port Angeles School Districts all participated. Jamestown Family Health Clinic hosted an additional in-clinic challenge.
OPHCC hosted a coalition meeting requesting local food resources. Lower Elwha Health Department created a booklet with a local food resource list that inspired WSU Extension to create a comprehensive bilingual food list for all of Clallam County. This version is also currently used with the Clallam County 833 line.
OPHCC created a Giving Back Behavioral Health Project and hand-delivered to behavioral health providers at 16 community non-profit agencies – 342 individual jars, each containing 31 different inspirational quotes and a gift card purchased from local businesses from Sequim to Neah Bay. This was extremely well-received and greatly appreciated by the providers who have been carrying high caseloads.

“As the manager of Behavioral Health Services at NOHN, I had the great privilege today of receiving the incredibly thoughtful, endlessly warm gift of jars of appreciation from your team. It was an honor to get to distribute the jars to my staff and take a few moments with each of them to express the tremendous gratitude expressed in your gift. The potted plant to adorn our front desk area is a great reminder of the hard work of the behavioral health team and also brightens the space tremendously. Thank you so very much for the time, effort, and energy that went into these gifts. Thank you for thinking of us.“

OPHCC Participated in 2020 Community Outreach Events

OPHCC attended virtual Family Fun Day with Sequim Irrigation Festival and provided a video that featured local children making healthy smoothies with Dr. Monica Dixon. OPHCC also provided sugar math cards, 5210 stickers and printed recipe cards for take-home goodie bags. Design work and printing provided by Olympic Medical Center.
OPHCC coordinated “When I feel stressed, I Can…” with Peninsula Behavioral Health. This project turned into a hand out for events, schools and Boys & Girls Club.
OPHCC staffed a 5210 booth with sugar math and smoothie bike at Kids’ Fest.
OPHCC provided materials for Clallam Mosaic’s Health Fair and weekly bags.

New OPHCC Community Partnerships in 2020
OPHCC gained dozens of new partnerships with organizations across Clallam County and established a valuable partnership with Senator Cantwell’s office (Casey Duff).

Funding
All of this valuable work was funded in large part by the Healthcare Partnership MOU – Olympic Medical Center, North Olympic Healthcare Network, Forks Community Hospital, Peninsula Behavioral Health, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. OPHCC received some additional funding support from Molina Healthcare, Amerigroup, Albert Haller Foundation and Olympic Community of Health.

Community Recognition

OPHCC received a Most Creative Partnership Award from the OCH
Clallam County recognized OPHCC for being nimble during a pandemic
Local social media and newspapers featured OPHCC partner organizations work to create the face mask challenge
OPHCC’s Kindness Jars project was featured on the front page of the Peninsula Daily News on Christmas Day

Summary
As the world quickly changed during 2020, we were all faced with challenges that required us to grow beyond our comfort zones. Never could we as an organization have realized the tremendous value our work building relationships with our partners and our strong networks would have once COVID-19 hit our county. As such, we were able to mobilize quickly, pool critical resources across sectors and have a greatly enhanced impact beyond what one single organization could have done during these tough times.

2019 – The Web We Weave

OCTOBER 2019 – The Olympic Peninsula Healthy Community Coalition (OPHCC) conducted an exercise at our October 9, 2019 monthly meeting to determine the breadth of value attained from collaborating together between numerous, government, health care, non-profit, business and community members. The OPHCC, in existence since 2015 and a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, was founded under the mission of helping to make the Olympic Peninsula a healthier place to live, learn, work and play through the sharing of ideas, resources and relationships.

Participants shared how being a partner with OPHCC had impacted individual partners, and what cross-sector benefits might have been gained from partnering with the Coalition. Though not an exhaustive list, the following represents some of the significant work accomplished this year.

Coalition partners are highlighted in bold.

In March 2019, United Way of Clallam County’s Clallam Resilience Project partnered with OPHCC to host NEAR Science training (Neuroscience, Epigenetics, Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Resiliency). Twenty-two community members attended. While some participants learned about NEAR, others shared how NEAR could influence their clients or agency.
In recognition of Clallam County Commissioner Mark Ozias’ dedication to public health, Clallam Resilience Project offered a Proclamation, and Clallam County Commissioners declared October 2019 Resiliency Month in Clallam County.
Washington State University, Clallam County Extension (WSU Extension) expanded its gleaning program and partnered with Lower Klallam Elwha Tribe to start a Native American Gleaning Program.
WSU Extension worked with Port Angeles and Sequim Food Banks to make direct purchases of produce from farms for a Farm to Food Pantry program.
Connections through OPHCC resulted in WSU Extension receiving matching funds for their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) from Olympic Community of Health.
WSU Extension partnered with local farmers markets to increase knowledge of Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) benefits at the market. FMNP provides coupons for fresh, unprepared, locally grown fruits, vegetables and herbs to individuals certified to receive WIC (at-risk women, infants and children) program benefits.
Larry Jeffryes, founder of Meals for Sequim Kids Fund, connected with the Boys and Girls Club of the Olympic Peninsula summer lunch program, Sequim Food Bank weekend food distribution programs, became a member of Sequim School District’s Community Truancy Board and was appointed to the Sequim School Board.
Olympic Medical Center initiated a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and invited North Olympic Healthcare Network, Peninsula Behavioral Health, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and Forks Hospital to participate. This joint MOU will provide $47,000 per year for four years to support OPHCC’s community health improvement work.
Olympic Medical Center facilitated the 2019 Healthy Leader 5210 Challenge in which 19 prominent community leaders incorporated the 5210 healthy habits into their daily lives for the entire month of July. They also shared their challenge with family, friends and coworkers to spread the 5210 message. Challenge leaders represented Sequim Gazette, Olympic Community of Health, City of Port Angeles, Port Angeles School District, Dungeness Valley Lutheran Church, WSU Extension (2), North Olympic Healthcare Network, Clallam Mosaic, Sequim School District, Peninsula Behavioral Health, Compassion Clallam County, Parenting Matters, Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe (2), YMCA of Sequim, Meals for Sequim Kids and Olympic Medical Center (2).
When Olympic Medical Center requested community support to block the Medicare reimbursement cuts, OPHCC partners wrote an avalanche of letters and provided overwhelming support.
OPHCC Founder Monica Dixon and Sequim Food Bank Executive Director Andra Smith’s connection led to a partnership between quilters at Andra’s church and Peninsula Behavioral Health.
Jim Stoffer of the Sequim School Board, Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce and Prevention Works! partnered on projects with Molina Healthcare, Sequim Free Clinic, Sequim Food Bank, City of Sequim and Meals for Sequim Kids. The Sequim School Board works very collaboratively with YMCA of Sequim and the Boys and Girls Club.
Sequim School District placed 5210 posters in all district school gyms, included 5210 on a new SSD wellness website, and revised the district wellness policy to include 5210.
OPHCC wrote a letter of support for a wellness annex during the funding phase of Shipley Center’s expansion. OPHCC helped illustrate the advantages of a commercial kitchen versus donor kitchen for the annex. Shipley Center supported Olympic Medical Center’s letter campaign to battle Medicare reimbursement cuts. The Center obtained senior information assistance from Olympic Area Agency on Aging and provided Medicare information sessions to members. Shipley Center knitters will provide hats and scarfs for the Boys and Girls Club.
Sequim Food Bank explained that relationships made and informal partnerships within OPHCC allowed nine organizations to collaborate formally to create the Sequim Health and Housing Collaborative (SHHC) which is working together with the City of Sequim to create a solution Hub that will promote community health and pathways to housing in a synergistic and unified approach.
Relationships formed through OPHCC made Sequim Free Clinic’s collaboration with the City of Sequim much easier. Sequim Free Clinic worked with the Sequim School District to allow teens to use Clinic services – with the Sequim School District nurse acting as a proxy guardian. Molina Healthcare provides funding and their smoothie bike for the Sequim Free Clinic’s Fun Walk and Health Fair event. “Sugar Math” cards provided by OPHCC are now in Clinic waiting rooms.
Boys and Girls Club of the Olympic Peninsula worked with DSHS to support homeless students and foster kids. Port Angeles Food Bank comes to the Club one day a week to support kids with nutritional needs. The Club provided the facility for OPHCC’s annual Thanksgiving meal. The Club’s summer lunches program promotes 5210.
Port Angeles Food Bank collaborates regularly with Sequim Food Bank. Port Angeles Food Bank also connected with Olympic Peninsula Community Clinic for the REdisCovery program – doctors help clients choose appropriate foods for dietary needs. Port Angeles Food Bank provides food for Clallam Mosaic’s cooking classes. Olympic Community Action Programs (OlyCAP) brought the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) to Clallam County. WSU Extension helps provide fresh meat and produce to the food bank.
After realizing that regular Salvation Army weekly lunches were stopping for the summer, Port Angeles Food Bank, Peninsula Behavioral Health and WSU Extension worked together to fill the gap and provide lunches in the park on 17 days for people who otherwise would not have had a meal.
Benji Astrachan of WSU Extension became one of the leaders of Compassion Clallam County’s Food Equity subcommittee and helped create Little Free Pantries in Port Angeles to provide a no-barrier source of emergency food to anyone at any time. WSU Extension also partners with Peninsula College and other nonprofits for additional Little Free Pantries.
Through connections made during the Healthy Leader 5210 Challenge, WSU Extension worked with Solid Waste and Environmental Health and Olympic Medical Center Seasons Café to mitigate food waste and encourage donations to local food agencies.
WSU Extension expanded a list of local food resources created by Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. This extensive living list is now available on many agency websites across the county. DSHS, Food Lifeline, local food banks and community organizations work to educate people on various food resources available to them. https://extension.wsu.edu/clallam/food-and-nutrition/
Sequim Food Bank and OPHCC worked to create a weekend food backpack program with the Sequim Independent School District.
Texas A&M coordinated a Cooking with the Seasons program for west end residents.
Clallam County discovered some overlap between Clallam County Health and Human Services and WSU Extension.
WSU Extension office works with local farmers markets on using food stamps and benefits. OPHCC partners helped promote WSU Extension’s Produce Gleaning program and suggested new locations to donate produce such as to the Boys and Girls Club and OlyCAP’s Senior Nutrition Program.
Peninsula Daily News and Sequim Gazette covered our 2019 Healthy Leaders 5210 Challenge as a four-page, pull-out article in September’s Healthy Living section, and ran numerous health-related articles contributed throughout the year by OPHCC partners.
Sequim Food Bank and Texas A&M representatives went to the Collaborative on Hunger at Baylor University to present “What’s happening on the Olympic Peninsula” and highlighted the Cooking with Seasons program.
Port Angeles School District connected with the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, North Olympic Healthcare Network and the Overdose Walk. A PASD board representative shared 5210 materials with students visiting from Sister City – Mutsu, Japan.
US Representative Derek Kilmer attended OPHCC’s September meeting and was impressed and inspired by OPHCC’s work. He is working in D.C. to protect and expand the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), healthcare and preventative healthcare, opioid care and prevention, and activities for kids. He is also participating on a vaping bill, a low-income housing credit, expanding dental, hearing, and vision in Medicare. Rep. Kilmer also introduced the Protecting Local Access to Care for Everyone (PLACE) Act and advocates for rural healthcare.
Clallam Mosaic connected with Port Angeles Food Bank to source ingredients for cooking classes, and developed opportunities for Mosaic participants to bake food to give back to the food banks.
Bodhi Tree Yoga was a guest instructor for Clallam Mosaic’s recreation class. Bodhi Tree Yoga also provided a connection to a Tai Chi guest instructor for Clallam Mosaic’s Fit & Strong class.
Sequim Farmers Market gave Clallam Mosaic an opportunity to be a SNAP Ambassador and give a tour at the market for Mosaic participants. They learned about using food assistance at the market, market programs and incentives and how to increase their SNAP funds and enjoy good fresh fruits and vegetables.
Clallam Mosaic explored the possibility of having a dentist and dental hygienist from North Olympic Healthcare Network speak with program participants. WSU Extension provided copies of the cookbook “Good and Cheap.”
DSHS is provided a process tour to educate Clallam Mosaic’s staff to answer questions from families and caregivers in order to direct them to the best resources and minimize concerns about working with DSHS.
Molina Healthcare provided gift bags, back packs and infusion water bottles for Clallam Mosaic’s Holiday Dance.
Sequim Farmers Market shared the 5210 message every market day with large banner on display, and message featured at the Kid’s Day Activity Booth every month. WSU Extension helped plan, coordinate, staff and supply the Sequim Farmers Market Kid’s Day Activity Booth, and helped to make the Kid’s Day event sustainable going forward. YMCA of Sequim now hosts and provides activities for Kid’s Days at the Sequim Farmers Market.
DSHS shares information about using EBT/FMNP and Market Match program at the Sequim Farmers Market.
Mark Ozias, Clallam County Commissioner: Wrote letter of support for the Sequim Farmers Market application for 501(c)3.
Molina Healthcare is a Gold Level Sponsor of the Sequim Farmers Market, and provided free give-away items that promote active, healthy lifestyles for Kid’s Days.
OlyCAP distributed Senior FMNP vouchers and information at the Sequim Farmers Market, and promoted the Market Match program that provides matching funds for FMNP and EBT.
Olympic View Community Foundation provided advice and support for community networking and obtaining nonprofit status for the Sequim Farmers Market. OVCF also provided start-up grant funding for community outreach programs at the Sequim Farmers Market.
A Sequim Food Bank volunteer collects extra food from the Sequim Farmers Market for the food bank. Sequim Food Bank hosted a gift-wrapping booth at holiday markets for fundraising and outreach.
Dungeness Valley Lutheran Church provides meeting space for Clallam Mosaic, supports Sequim Free Clinic’s fun walk, and takes a collection monthly for Sequim Food Bank.
Sequim School District middle school students and students in need receive a free student membership from the YMCA of Sequim, have access to weekend lunches and food closets provided by Sequim Food Bank, and student/family medical insurance assistance through DSHS. Sequim Free Clinic helps homeless students get medical care.
Sequim School District promotes 5210 in schools, at the Sequim Back to School Fair, and at Elementary field day events.
Sequim School District culinary skills class plans to create recipes using food ingredients available at the food bank and will provide a Saturday tasting and recipes for Sequim Food Bank patrons.
Olympic Peninsula Community Clinic donated oral health supplies to Sequim School District ninth grade health class students, and students who may not have access to dental hygiene resources at home.
Through OPHCC connections, Patty Waite became executive director of Parenting Matters Foundation as well as a member of the Clallam Resilience Project and the Sequim Health and Housing Collaborative.
Parenting Matters recently took over the Sequim Pre3 program and now holds classes at Boys & Girls Club.
Dungeness Valley Community Church has agreed to host a showing of the Resilience film in collaboration with the Clallam Resilience Project and Sequim Health and Housing Collaborative.
Port Angeles Food Bank and Sequim Food Bank received a grant from Olympic View Community Foundation to fund an Economic Impact Study of food banks in Clallam County.
Olympic View Community Foundation provided an opportunity for OPHCC and many partner organizations to receive donations through #ClallamGives on #GivingTuesday.
OPHCC is building connections with new partners in Forks and will hold the May and September 2020 coalition meetings in Forks. Olympic Medical Center and OPHCC will share 5210 programs and materials with Forks Community Hospital.

2018 – The Web We Weave

APRIL 2018 – The Olympic Peninsula Healthy Community Coalition (OPHCC) conducted an exercise at our April 18, 2018 monthly meeting to determine the breadth of value attained from collaborating together between numerous government, health care, non-profit, business and community members. The OPHCC, in existence for 2-1/2 years and formally a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, was founded under the mission of helping to make the Olympic Peninsula a healthier place to live, learn, work and play through the sharing of ideas, resources and relationships.

Participants at the meeting were polled to learn more about how being a partner with OPHCC had impacted individual partners, and what cross-sector benefits might have been gained from partnering with the Coalition. Though not an exhaustive list, the following represents some of the significant work described at that meeting.

Coalition partners are highlighted in bold.

OPHCC received several grant this year which provided funding to hire our first two contractors, our (.25 FTE) Director of Operations who provides administrative support, coordinates educational events, and organizes coalition meetings, and our website designer, contracted to revise our website and do updates to make it more content-rich.
OPHCC sponsored a regional “Leadership Forum,” attended by over 50 leaders from three counties, to review the findings of the Clallam County Health Assessment, learn how others in the region are solving endemic challenges in their communities, and develop an action plan for implementation in our county.
OPHCC provided a “5210 Train the Trainer” workshop for 60 Early Head Start educators in Clallam and Jefferson counties. OPHCC also provided follow up training to a group of parents. Olympic Medical Center supported the printing of training materials.
The Sequim School District nurses are collaborating with the Sequim Free Clinic to assist students and families in signing up for vital free clinic health care programs.
Peninsula Behavioral Health in Port Angeles and Sequim Food Bank worked together to increase access to foods for Sequim clients in need.
Shipley Center in Sequim connected Molina Healthcare with a teacher at Greywolf Elementary in Sequim who pursued and was awarded a grant offered by the Molina Healthcare Foundation to receive 1,800 books for their school library.
An ideal example of the benefits to our community of our coalition collaboration was our Second annual Community Thanksgiving Celebration Dinner in November of 2017: The Boys and Girls Club provided the venue, the Sequim Food Bank provided much of the food and volunteers (and Santa Claus!), Molina Health Care provided all of the paper products, Costco provided the pumpkin pies, Walmart provided games, photos, food, gift bags and volunteers, Rainshadow Coffee the coffee and the Olympic Medical Center the flyer design in order to feed 150 community members and shut-ins with a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner.
Shipley Center is building a new Health and Wellness Center and is collaborating with OPHCC President Monica Dixon, PhD, RD, for teaching kitchen design, and Port Angeles Food Bank, Sequim Food Bank, Boys and Girls Club, and WSU Extension to develop wellness programs and cooking classes.
Karlena Brailey, WSU Extension, Andra Smith, Sequim Food Bank, and Joe Sharkey, PhD, MPH, RD, Texas A&M University, worked together to obtain a $322,000 USDA grant for the purpose of increasing access to fresh produce in Neah Bay, Forks and the west end of Clallam County. The grant will fund a refrigerated truck and more frequent deliveries to west end grocery stores. Karlena will also work to build local distribution of produce from west end farmers.
OPHCC, Parenting Matters, and Olympic Medical Center provided 5210 information at the Kiwanis KidFest event in Port Angeles.
WSU Extension met with Spring Thomas of Children’s Art Experience! to explore ways to promote healthy habits and the 5210 message to families through art.
WSU Extension is also collaborating with organizers of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe’s garden revitalization project.
Sequim Farmers Market partnered with OlyCAP to distribute senior nutrition checks at the farmer’s market to encourage increased access to produce. OlyCAP will also explore the possibility of distributing senior nutrition checks at the Port Angeles Food Bank.
Sequim Farmers Market is launching a Community Nutrition Program, based on a model of dollar-for-dollar matching funds offered at the Jefferson County Farmers Markets, which has experienced a robust community response from low-income residents wishing to maximize their senior nutrition, FMNP, SNAP, WIC food dollars on nutrient dense local foods.
Sequim Farmers Market is working with the OPHCC to promote the 5210 program at the market booth where currency and matching funds for low-income customers is dispensed. The 5210 program is an educational health promotion campaign designed to improve families’ and children’s health. It spreads a simple message about behaviors that support health-promoting behaviors in children, and how parents can aid in supporting children’s health.
The Clallam County Economic Development Council (EDC) will work with the City of Sequim and City of Port Angeles on housing assessments and opportunities to improve access to affordable housing.
North Olympic Land Trust recently invited Monica Dixon, PhD, RD, OPHCC to be a featured speaker at their annual Conservation Breakfast fundraiser attended by over 300 local leaders and activists. Monica highlighted OPHCC efforts, praised the conservation of lands for the purpose of growing fresh, local produce, and outlined opportunities to improve community health.
Sequim YMCA hosted and attended a “5210 Train the Trainer” workshop to learn how to share the 5210 message with their staff and clients. Over 20 other coalition partners also attended. Olympic Medical Center supported the printing of training materials.
Boys and Girls Club of Clallam County is gearing up for another Summer Lunch Program in which volunteers will provide lunches to over 900 children throughout the summer in Port Angeles and Sequim. 5210 education will be provided and families will receive a 5210 challenge sheet so they can track their progress and successes as they try to live 5210. OPHCC will provide 5210 programming and education to the volunteers. Molina Healthcare will provide prizes for the challenge.
Parenting Matters/First Teacher developed a food education program and field trips to the Sequim Food Bank for families. Parenting Matters also worked to increase awareness of free medical services and wellness workshops offered by the Sequim Free Clinic.
Olympic Medical Center included “implementation of 5-2-1-0 programing” as a specific goal in their 2018-2020 Strategic Plan. OMC will share 5210 programing with employees and the community, and support OPHCC work.
Olympic Medical Center opened a Wellness Services program inside the Sequim YMCA to improve the successful transition for patients from clinical cardiac, pulmonary and physical rehabilitation to ongoing and sustainable exercise programs.

2017 – The Web We Weave

MARCH 2017 – The Olympic Peninsula Healthy Community Coalition (OPHCC) conducted an exercise at our February 15, 2017 monthly meeting to determine the breadth of value attained from collaborating together between numerous government, health care, non-profit, business and community members. The OPHCC, in existence for 1-1/2 years and now formally a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, was founded under the mission of helping to make the Olympic Peninsula a healthier place to live, learn, work and play through the sharing of ideas, resources and relationships.

The Sequim Food Bank discovered a supportive partner in the WSU Extension program, and subsequently brought WSU staff in to conduct healthy food cooking demos at the food bank on a seasonal basis.
Shipley Center introduced their new consultant from Texas A & M’s School of Public Health, Joseph Sharkey, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.D., who was conducting a feasibility study at the Center and had recently moved part-time to the area. Dr. Sharkey quickly became involved as a significant grant writing advisor to the Coalition’s partners, working with the Sequim Food Bank, Nash’s Organic Farm, the WSU Extension and the North Olympic Land Trust. His expertise with the USDA and population health, in addition to the services provided by his department, have been indispensable during the formation months of the Coalition.
WSU and Clallam County Health and Human Services departments had never integrated their work with the county WIC program prior to meeting each other at the Coalition meetings. This important relationship has assisted in avoiding redundancy of services and resources between the two essential county departments.
Through collaboration between Molina Health Care, the Boys and Girls Club, Olympic Medical Center and the YMCA, a fall 5210 Challenge Event was held for the community with prizes for participants. Additionally, these relationships were leveraged with the Sequim School District Wellness Initiative and policy development, leading to a comprehensive wellness plan for the school district and an Advisory Council to implement the findings.
The Sequim Food Bank collaborated with Molina Health Care to receive funding assistance for on-site Farmer’s Market at the food bank with fresh produce supplied by Nash’s Organic Farm. This resulted in food bank clients both receiving more seasonal produce, accompanied by WSU Extension representatives teaching them how to prepare it.
Ryan Juel, a personal trainer employed by a local gym, expressed an interest early on in learning more about health in our community and attended our meetings. From her background in health and her desire to become a Registered Dietitian, she was hired by the Boys and Girls Club to run their kitchen, including the USDA Summer Food Program, and was noted nationally for their exceptional healthy food offerings. She has since gone on to Bastyr University to pursue her R.D. studies and will be returning this summer again to oversee the preparation of 17,000 summer meals for our community’s children.
Parenting Matters Foundation, representing early childhood educators, was one of the initial partners in the coalition and has integrated the early learning community with the rest of partners, giving us access and information to this vital sector for health education.
The County Commissioner, a partner in the coalition, provided the opportunity for Coalition representatives to present at the Clallam County Board of Health meeting, the Olympic Medical Center Board of Hospital Commissioners and the Community Health Assessment Steering Committee to raise awareness of coalition activities and chronic disease prevention efforts in our region.
Molina Health Care partnered with the Dungeness Valley Health and Wellness Clinic to assist in funding patient access to insurance and wellness programs.
As local 5210 program efforts continued to grow at community and school events, adjacent counties Jefferson and Kitsap recognized our efforts and pulled together to develop a regional Healthy Eating, Active Living (HEAL) group, meeting monthly to help share resources, ideas and maximize campaign effectiveness throughout the region. This resulted in two collaborative grant writing efforts and a larger collaboration between the health systems and county health departments in the three counties.
The Sequim School District, Sequim Food Bank and Boys and Girls Club have collaborated on developing, funding and providing a healthy weekend backpack program for students who would otherwise go hungry when school meals are unavailable. This program continues to grow, and this summer (2017) will extend to summer weekends in addition to the school year.
The Sequim School District nurses are collaborating with the Dungeness Valley Health and Wellness Clinic to assist students and families in signing up for vital free clinic health care programs.
The Coalition Chair has presented to the Sequim City Council, Sequim School Board, Peninsula College faculty, Shipley Center members, Parenting Matters parents and others about Coalition activities and healthy lifestyle benefits.
Olympic Medical Center has been a major infusion to the heart and soul of the Coalition by providing essential marketing and branding support to our fledgling work, resulting in professionally designed handouts, logos, graphics and print collateral, but also connecting us to many marketing opportunities, such as writing for the Peninsula Daily News and speaking on KONP’s Todd Ortloff radio show. Additionally, Olympic Medical Center developed a highly successful educational display depicting the hazards of sugary drinks, which has been used across the county at various events to impact hundreds of attendees.
Olympic Medical Center went even further in their collaboration with the Coalition by purchasing Sqord fitness trackers for the fifth grade students of the Port Angeles School District and Crescent School District, and have offered additional support to other districts. OMC’s CEO spent an evening educating Clallam County’s Boy Scout leadership on the benefits of 5210 and how to integrate it into their programming.
The Shipley Center and Sequim Food Bank have established a reciprocal referral network between the two organizations, due to meeting each other through Coalition meetings.
Peninsula Behavioral Health, headquartered in Port Angeles, has learned about several opportunities for integration with Sequim-based events, and assisted in collaborating between the two communities through physician-referrals, food assistance and programming needs.
The Sequim Food Bank has become part of a Food to Table project with the North Olympic Land Trust through meeting at the Coalition.
Nourish Restaurant prepares our Coalition lunches and provides our meeting space, thus the Coalition became the recipients of their Fall 2016 Harvest Event. The restaurant has also begun a 5210-based children’s menu and participated in our Fall 5210 Community Challenge.
An ideal example of the benefits to our community of our coalition collaboration was our Community Thanksgiving Celebration Dinner in November of 2016, now to be held annually: The Boys and Girls Club provided the venue, the Sequim Food Bank provided much of the food and volunteers, Molina Health Care provided all of the paper products, Costco provided the pumpkin pies, Rainshadow Coffee the coffee and the Olympic Medical Center the flyer design in order to feed 147 community members and 15 shut-ins with a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner.
Many partners wear multiple “hats,” and there’s been significant traction gained by identifying these and building upon them. For example, one partner sits both on the Olympic Area Agency on Aging and the Olympic Community of Health Boards; another sits on the Sequim Food Bank and the Dungeness Valley Health and Wellness Clinic Board, yet another works at both the Shipley Center and volunteers with the PTO’s at the schools. These multiple roles have assisted us in “cross-pollinating” across sectors and beyond any singular scope we may have with one organization.

A perfect example of these wonderful, impactful partnerships was the posting on Facebook by a Boys and Girls Club Board member and Coalition member requesting knitted caps for needy Club children. A Shipley Center partner immediately recognized the requester and volunteered the donation of hundreds of homemade hats, mittens and afghans by the Shipley members, which has now become a monthly donation program giving both the seniors making the hats a great cause, while addressing the children’s needs for warm items. A local church’s quilting guild learned of the Coalition through our partners, and a similar exchange to Club children has been set up with monthly quilt donations.

Coalition Connections Create Powerful Partnerships

2019 – The Web We Weave

2018 – The Web We Weave

2017 – The Web We Weave

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