We believe our involvement with CATCH-UP Oklahoma has increased our visibility in Rogers County to a large degree. The promotion surrounding both of our testing dates was significant and drew new and additional attention to our coalition and its mission. This recognition of our positive contributions to Rogers County is priceless. In addition to individual recognition increasing, we now enjoy a strengthened relationship with both our county health department and the Cherokee Nation health department. Our actions within the pandemic response were noted and appreciated by both. With funds made available for promotion by PHIO we were able to purchase our Rogers County Health Department some much needed and very appreciated signage for their use when setting up their mobile testing unit.
Although we already had a great working relationship with the Farmers Market, the other two partner sites (Will Rogers Memorial Museum and Rogers State University) were further exposed to the great work and mission of our coalition through these testing events. Growing community partnerships with these three entities was an unanticipated and very positive outcome of the testing events.
Because of HCP’s involvement with CATCH-UP Oklahoma we received much needed funding from PHIO. Prior to the events, we had very little money to spend in support of our efforts. We had held two fundraisers but those were a drop in the bucket compared to the money generated by the two testing events we held. We were able to purchase promotional signage and banners, gift cards for testing participants, pay for professional printing of our event fliers, etc. With leftover funds we can make plans for future community health improvement interventions which has not been the case for a long while. Already in the works is a professionally-developed website for the coalition, something we have never had before.
As mentioned earlier, we had help with these testing events from the Claremore Farmers Market, Rogers State University and the Will Rogers Memorial Museum. The Claremore Museum of History also helped with the May 1 event by providing access to their Lynn Riggs Memorial Park Gazebo where the antibody testing team was able to set up with access to electricity and shade. At the Memorial we had tremendous help from Grand Lake Mental Health and the Rogers County Master Gardeners group with the provision of volunteers and tables/chairs. The fact that Rogers State University allowed us to participate and provided tables/chairs for us during their Big Tent Day was a huge win – that event alone attracts 2-3 thousand students. These partners now see Healthy Community Partnership in a favorable light and will likely be willing participants in future efforts of the coalition. It would be ungrateful not to mention PHIO and the CATCH-UP Oklahoma team here as well; their guidance and support was invaluable.
The pandemic, as awful as it is, has awakened our coalition and revitalized our members. The opportunity to do something in response to the crisis was made possible by the CATCH-Up Oklahoma program. We would not have had this chance had we not previously taken the steps to become a CHIO and we acknowledge the forethought of our leadership for guiding us through that process. The active involvement of our health departments (both tribal and county) is also a huge contributing factor to the direction our coalition took amid this crisis for our county and our world. Because we took action as a coalition and provided a pandemic-related service on two different occasions, we will reap the benefits far into the future of a great reputation within the community.