Ever since she assumed the reigns of Healthy Communities of Clinton County Coalition, Lorra Archibald has had one big goal for the organization — bring a whole bunch of health organizations into one place.
That goal was definitely put on display Monday afternoon in the new digs of both Healthy Communities and the Clinton County Health Department.
“For the seven years I’ve been here at Healthy Communities, this has been one of the goals — a big vision picture for us,” said Archibald. “This isn’t the end. Our large scale vision is we have an annex in the back and we bring even more organizations together. Any social service or health organization that we can get in one location is a win-win for our community.”
An overflow crowd attended the ribbon cutting ceremony early in the afternoon for Healthy Communities and a group of around 20 or so gathered for the official dedication of the Stephen D. Tharp Immunization Clinic, which is housed within the building, later in the afternoon.
One group has already said they are joining Healthy Communities and the Health Department.
“The United Way is coming in here in probably October,” said Archibald. “It was originally going to be November. But now, I think it will be in October. As soon as we can get this building paid off, building on and getting more organizations here is the goal.”
Currently in the building located at 1234 Rossville Avenue are Healthy Communities, the Health Department, and Changes, which is a group out of Sycamore Springs. Archibald said it would be amazing to have another 10 or more organizations join them.
Tharp said the honor of the immunization clinic is not just for him.
“It’s an honor for me,” he said. “But it’s really for the health department. It represents our development. The things we’ve done to become a better more helpful department for Clinton County. I’m very proud of that.”
Tharp was asked what does the health department need to do in the future.
“Our long-term problems are things like smoking, obesity, exercise issues and cancer,” Tharp said. “All of these things are getting better very slowly. Our hope is we can help facilitate people going to healthier lifestyles so that not only can live better, they can live longer. They can enjoy the life they have as their years get older.”