Linn County Public Health

With funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, NCHH has funded two rounds of Healthy Homes Workforce Development Mini-Grants, with applications open during late 2017 and spring 2018. These mini-grants help communities develop their workforce capacity to offer home-visiting services related to healthy homes, and to build a pool of trained community health workers (CHWs) trained in the healthy homes principles.
Linn County Public Health (LCPH) exists to prevent disease and injuries, promote healthy living, protect the environment, and ensure public health preparedness. In 2015, Linn County completed a community health assessment (CHA), which identified safe and affordable housing as a priority need. Like many states, Iowa faces challenges related to housing quality, including an aging housing stock and high housing cost burden.
As a 2017 mini-grantee, LCPH organized and hosted two community trainings for community health workers. Partners from the Children’s Mercy Hospital Environmental Health Program (Kansas City, Missouri), facilitated the trainings, utilizing Healthy Housing Solutions’ Healthy Homes Assessment for Community Health Workers. The trainings incorporated components that support home-based asthma services and lead poisoning prevention/follow-up services. The target audience includes healthy homes service providers such as community health workers, nurses, social service agencies, the social determinant of health subcommittee members, and housing agencies. The goal of the trainings was to prepare attendees to better educate their clients and communities about lead poisoning and asthma triggers.