VCHD Receives $5K Grant to Improve Services

The Valley County Health Department was recently awarded a $5,000 Barclay-Giel Seed Grant in order to improve their family planning program and to promote oral health in the community. The Department was one of 20 recipients countrywide to receive the funding in the program’s inaugural year.

“We are pretty excited to be the only public health department in the state of Montana to be awarded this grant,” said Director of Valley County Health Department Crystal Alvarado. “Seeing all the countrywide programs that were funded, really showed us that for a small department the work we do is just as important as the larger organizations that are out there.”

The Department only asked for $2,000 when applying for the grant in order to purchase updated and modern equipment for the family planning program. According to the application submitted to the program, the equipment used for the family planning program was donated by FMDH after 20 years of use at the facility, and is over 30 years old. “Improvements need to be made to make the exam table and necessary equipment more patient-friendly and modern,” said Alvarado.

The Department also requested funds to be able to purchase a medical-grade instrument table, a gel-positioning pillow and other supplies for the oral health program, which is a grant program through the state of Montana. The program offers fluoride varnish treatment to children six months to six years of age to promote healthy mouths and prevent disease through education and prevention. Studies show by age two most children have one or more cavities, and by age five nearly 50 percent of children have cavities. The gel-positioning pillow will allow children the opportunity to be more comfortable when the fluoride varnish is applied. “We want to be able to continue to promote the importance of oral health in the community,” stated Alvarado.

In the application the Department stated: “We are proud of the role we have in our community and want our clients to feel assured of our high standards of care reflected in an environment that instills confidence in our skills and our programs.”

The Barclay-Giel Seed Grants program is funded by the PHS Commissioned Officers Foundation for the Advancement of Public Health. The program supports community-based public health programs and organizations may apply for up to $5,000 to support their programs. The Seed Grants program is named after the late Martha Barclay-Giel, a retired Captain of the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service. Captain Barclay-Giel dedicated her life’s work to advancing the health of Americans. After retiring, she generously supported Commissioned Officers Foundation through considerable charitable donations.