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Noble County Health First Indiana

Mission Statement:

Our mission is to enhance whole-person health and resiliency of Noble County residents by offering all core public health services through the Noble County Health Department in collaboration with state and local health partners.


Goals:

Goal 1: Address local core public health service gaps by offering chronic disease prevention, injury prevention, vector control, and pool inspections by the Noble County Health Department through program development, program enhancement, and health education in partnership with state and local health partners.

Goal 2: Improve accessibility to health and social services supporting whole-person health by connecting Noble County residents to clinical care offered by state and local health partners.


Local Key Performance Indicators - KPIs:

Maternal and Child Health, Tobacco Prevention and Cessation 

Reduce the smoking rate during pregnancy in Noble County from 7.0% (2022) to 5.0% (2027), with progress measured by annual data collection on birth certificates and associated risk factors, through smoking prevention programming, education, and connection to cessation resources through state and local partners.

Chronic Disease Prevention  

Reduce the number of deaths due to coronary heart disease from 118.8 per 100,000 (2020) to 113.0 per 100,000 (2029), with progress measured every three years by the Parkview Noble Community Health Needs Assessment, through funding and collaborating with local partners to increase accessibility to healthy eating/active living programming and educating on healthy lifestyle factors to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.

Trauma and Injury Prevention 

Reduce Noble County hospitalizations due to unintentional falls from 220.7 per 100,000 (2022) to 200.0 per 100,000 (2027), with progress measured annually from hospital discharge data for Noble County, through evidence-based fall prevention programming through local partnerships.

Maternal and Child Health

Decrease the number of mothers not receiving prenatal care during the first trimester from 33.3% (2022) to 28.0% (2027), with progress measured annually from the Indiana Department of Health Birth and Maternal Outcomes Dashboard, through the promotion of education on pregnancy and prenatal care, increased home visiting referral systems, and pregnancy testing.

Pest and Vector Control and Abatement

Increase local health department vector surveillance and mapping from 0 days (2024) to 15 days (2025), measured monthly by the local health department vector surveillance and mapping data, through certifying a new Environmental Health Specialist in vector control, beginning vector surveillance and mapping, and collecting vector samples to submit to IDOH by the end of 2025.

Inspection and Testing of Public and Semi-Public Pools

Increase pool inspection rate (bi-annually) from 0% (2024) to 100% (2026), following up on all critical violations, with progress measured monthly by the local health department inspection data, through certifying a new Environmental Health Specialist in pool inspections, utilizing a database for populating all public and semi-public disinfected aquatic venues throughout Noble County, and inspecting all public and semi-public pools in Noble County.


Noble County HFI 2025 Funding Application

Application Process: The Noble County Health First Indiana (NC HFI) Committee will review applications in 2025. Please submit your application by the 7th day of each review month (April, July, October). Within a week of being reviewed, the email provided in the application will receive follow-up information.  *Please email your application to melayna.gingerich@nobleco.gov with the required documents attached.*

Background: Health First Indiana (HFI) is an initiative created by Senate Enrolled Act 4 legislation passed by the 2023 Indiana General Assembly that transforms public health. The legislation provides funding so counties can determine the health needs of their community and implement evidence-based programs focused on prevention. HFI establishes a public health infrastructure through a state and local partnership where services are delivered at the county level. Counties decide whether to opt-in to the new funding to provide core public health services such as trauma and injury prevention, chronic disease prevention, maternal and child health and more.

Noble County Commissioners opted-in July 2023 to the new funding available to local health departments in January 2024. The NCHD is now accepting funding applications for programs and activities addressing core public health service areas (see "Core Public Health Services" section in the application for these core public health service areas). The 2025 focus areas include Chronic Disease Prevention, Trauma and Injury Prevention, Tobacco/Vaping Prevention and Cessation, Maternal and Child Health, Pest and Vector Control, Inspection and Testing of Public and Semi-Public Pools.

Contact Melayna Gingerich, HFI Coordinator, for more information:    260-636-3029    melayna.gingerich@nobleco.gov

Filling Out a Funding Application

To see the funding application questions in a Word Document

Click Here 

Funding Application

For a list of expenses that cannot be covered with HFI funding

Click Here 

Unallowable Expenses


PARTNERSHIPS

Programs

  • McMillen Health

    Information on the McMillen Health and NCHD's partnership

    Click Here

Program Enhancements

  • Activate Noble County

    Information on the ANC and NCHD's partnership

    Click Here

Referrals

  • ASPIN

    Information on the ASPIN and NCHD's partnership

    Click Here

Contact Information

Health First Indiana Coordinator for Noble County

Melayna Gingerich, CHES

Telephone: 260-636-3029

Email: melayna.gingerich@nobleco.gov


Learn more about the HFI initiative at the Indiana Department of Health website: https://www.in.gov/healthfirstindiana/