Community, Access, Resources, and Education (CARE)

Chronic Disease Prevention Education

Our community-based chronic disease prevention education classes offer health education presentations on hypertension, diabetes, nutrition, and fall prevention. These sessions simplify the definitions of these chronic conditions, provide prevention strategies, and deliver essential information for those diagnosed. The goal is to promote community health and enhance understanding and awareness of these chronic medical conditions.

For more information, please contact:

Tiffany Chukwuma, MPH, CHW, Health Promotion Specialist
Email
Phone: (574) 876-1999

Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders

The St. Joseph County Department of Health aims to bring awareness to the complex challenges that come with mental health and substance use disorders. Our goal is to educate our community on these topics in an effort to increase understanding and reduce the stigma surrounding these disorders. We do this by connecting community members to available resources and providing local organizations with opioid education, naloxone training, and Mental Health First Aid training. We also provide naloxone at no cost to anyone in the community and distribute public access naloxone cabinets throughout the county to ensure this life-saving medication is readily available and easily accessible.

For more information, please contact:

Lindsey Stevenson, BSW, MA, Health Promotion Specialist
Email
Phone: (574) 302-6258

Maternal and Infant Health

The Maternal Infant Health program at St. Joseph County Department of Health is dedicated to improving adverse birth outcomes and supporting the well-being of expectant and new mothers in our community. We achieve this through community-based education, resource provision, and strategic collaborations with clinical health systems and community-based organizations. Our programs empower mothers with the knowledge and tools necessary for adopting healthy behaviors and achieving healthy pregnancies.

Quisha Jordan, BS, RN, Maternal/Infant Health Coordinator
Email
Phone: (574) 250-8680

Chronic Disease CHW Program

The C.A.R.E. Unit of the St. Joseph County Department of Health is excited to announce the launch of our Chronic Disease CHW program! This new program will place greater focus on chronic disease prevention through health education and community health screenings.

Community Health Workers (CHWs) will provide the following services at no cost to community members:

• Blood pressure check
• A1c check
• Cholesterol panel
• BMI check
• Insurance navigation
• Connection to a primary care provider