Health Promotion and Outreach Program

Awareness and educational activities such as Red Ribbon Week, Annual Health Fairs, The Great American Smoke Out and American Diabetes Alert Day are held in communities. Local and Regional Wellness Gatherings are also part of our Wellness Programs.

Health Fairs

Health fairs are held in Health Department communities on a yearly basis, these community gatherings are usually multi day events with activities like movie nights, pizza making, awareness walks, and of course the community Health Fair. The fair is organized to showcase the services that are available to community members and to provide a place for community members to ask questions and offer feedback to staff.

Tentative 2020 Draft Health Fair Dates:

St. George – February
Unalaska – March
Nikolski – TBD
Atka – TBD

* In light of Covid-19, in person regional health fairs have been suspended until further notice. Please be on the lookout for more information about virtual and physically distance wellness opportunities as we try to navigate these unprecedented times and keep our communities safe.

Bike to Work Day

Workplace Wellness

To improve the overall workplace atmosphere a Workplace Wellness Committee has been established to discuss gaps and successful initiatives for employees and to promote a healthy lifestyle/work life balance for our staff. The initiatives are also broadcasted out to our community members to encourage participation in challenges and events with our staff members.

Projects:

Awareness Challenges- These activities and challenges are designed to encourage healthy behavior in our staff members while also having fun with good-natured competition.

Hydration Challenge- Drink at least 60 oz or about 7-8 glasses of water each day
Physical Activity Challenge- Be active and move their bodies for at least 30 minutes a day
Mindfulness Challenge- Practice a daily activity that reduces stress and anxiety, like reading a book, meditate, go to the gym, or practice some yoga. Mindfulness is a state of consciousness that promotes awareness and acceptance of what is happening in the present moment while withholding judgement.

#RaisingAwareness

To promote awareness about important health topics, each month of the year a national campaign is highlighted to bring awareness to the topic. Awareness walks or other community events may be arranged around the event to promote community awareness about the event as well.

Projects:

Color of the Month- The last Friday of each month look for staff wearing the color of the month to raise awareness, if you would like to participate feel free to share a photo of yourself wearing the color of the month and tag us in the photo, also use the hashtag #APIARaisingAwareness

Awareness and Educational activities- Various other activities are arranged throughout the year to promote awareness and educational opportunities such as Red Ribbon Week, Great American Smoke Out, and more.

#APIARaisingAwareness 2020 National Health Observances
Month	Observances	Color
January	Cervical Health & Stalking Awareness	Teal
February	Heart Disease & Teen Dating Violence	Red/Black
March	Colon Cancer	Dark Blue
April	Alcohol, Sexual Assault, & Child Abuse Awareness	Teal
May	Physical Fitness & Mental Health Awareness	Yellow
June	Men’s Health & Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder	Green/Blue
July	UV Safety & Dental Access	Pink
August	Immunizations	Orange
September	Suicide Prevention & Healthy Aging	Yellow
October	Domestic Violence (DV) & Breast Cancer	Purple/Pink
November	Diabetes, Alzheimer’s Disease & Tobacco	White
December	AIDS & Safe Toys and Celebrations Month	Red

Community Wellness Advocates (CWA)

Community Wellness Advocates (CWAs) are trained Behavioral Health Aides (BHA’s) that provide outreach and advocacy to the residents of Atka, Nikolski, St. George and Unalaska. They assist with wellness programs and help in completing applications for services such as Medicaid, Medicare, Elder Services and Denali Kid Care.