ANTI-DRUG PROGRAMS TOP HEALTH NEEDS SURVEY

GREENVILLE -- A community health council/task force will concentrate on
finding funding for three of the top five needs identified by Muhlenberg
County residents in a recent survey.

More than a fourth -- 467 -- of the 1,652 respondents in a recent survey
said anti-drug efforts are the county's biggest need. Also cited was a need
for more school nurses and a resource coordinator.

But the council won't concentrate on finding money for two of the top five
vote-getters -- building a wellness/fitness center and putting
defibrillators in schools -- said council member Vicki Yonts.

A project that would convert the old Central City High School into a fitness
center with an indoor pool prompted the council to set aside its idea for a
similar site, which ranked second in the survey.

"We're going to put that on hold," said Yonts, the "community encourager"
who led the survey as part of the county's participation in the Delta
Project.

Muhlenberg is one of 19 counties taking part in the three-year federal
effort to assess health needs in Kentucky and seven other states.

Central City and the Muhlenberg Fiscal Court have been working to get
funding for the former high school site.

"If the fitness center falls through, then we're going to pick it up," Yonts
said.

The council expects to get $15,000 to $17,000 from the Delta Project and
decided to spend $8,380 of that to buy defibrillators, which ranked fourth
on the survey, for the Muhlenberg North and South high and middle schools,
Yonts said.

Muhlenberg Community Hospital has agreed to pay for training for the
schools' staff on how to use the equipment, Yonts said.

Yonts said she was surprised the need for anti-drug programs topped the
survey.

"I thought there was a whole lot of (programs)," she said, citing classes in
schools and the county's new drug court.

The council planned to find money for anti-drug advertising on TV, radio and
billboards, but a similar effort is being studied by the school system.

"We're going to take a whole new approach; we're going to focus on
counseling for elementary age students," Yonts said.

Since school officials recently decided to move sixth-graders to middle
schools next year, elementary schools will not be receiving as much money
for their family resource centers, Yonts said. That means less drug
education, she said.

Plans call for finding money to hire two more registered nurses and five
medical technicians to work part-time in the county schools.

Yonts said the council also wants to concentrate on hiring a resource
coordinator who would, more than anything, make people aware of what health
resources are now available.

A lack of awareness "is the biggest culprit in Muhlenberg County," she said.
"There are people out there who are sick and could get help if they knew
where."

Many people don't realize M.S. Community Health in Powderly has specialists
come in every month, she said.

"People are making appointments to see specialists in Louisville without
realizing they can see them here," Yonts said.

Survey Results

The votes by 1,652 survey respondents for health needs in Muhlenberg County
were:

- -- Anti-drug programs -- 467.

- -- Fitness/wellness center -- 424.

- -- School nurses -- 287 votes.

- -- Defibrillators -- 207 votes.

- -- Resource coordinator -- 93.

- -- Physical health scholarships -- 88.

- -- Mental health scholarship -- 30.

- -- Senior day care -- 39 votes.