Nebraska Association of Local Health Directors to receive $2 million grant

The state’s local health departments were acknowledged last week for their unique position as community conveners as well as for the expertise they bring to communities across our state.

The Veterans Administration announced that the Nebraska Association of Local Health Directors will receive $2 million for a 2-year project. NALHD’s project is one of only five pilot programs funded nationally.

These funds will provide resources to local health departments to assure that veterans returning to their homes in rural Nebraska can access the support they need to successfully reintegrate into their families and communities.

Local health departments have always served veterans and their families as part of a broad range of valuable services they provide in Nebraska communities. This grant will allow the departments to focus on building their capacity to meet the distinctive needs of veterans. It also provides veteran-specific training and support for rural health and service providers.

NALHD will work with many of Nebraska’s veteran and community organizations to:

• Train local health departments and their partner organizations in veteran-specific needs and resources.

• Build veteran outreach teams to connect veterans and their families to services they need. These teams will be led by a veteran outreach worker and based at local health departments.

• Develop online mechanisms for easy identification and navigation of local, state, and federal resources.

The following rural local departments, covering 71 of Nebraska’s 93 counties, are expected to participate in this project.

1. Central District Health Department, Grand Island

2. East Central District Health Department, Columbus

3. Elkhorn Logan Valley Public Health Department, Wisner

4. Four Corners Health Department, York

5. Loup Basin Public Health Department, Burwell

6. North Central District Health Department, O’Neill

7. Northeast Nebraska Public Health Department, Wayne

8. Panhandle Public Health Department, Hemingford

9. Public Health Solutions, Crete

10. South Heartland District Health Department, Hastings

11. Three Rivers Public Health Department, Fremont

12. Two Rivers Public Health Department, Holdrege

13. West Central District Health Department, North Platte

14. Scotts Bluff County Health Department, Gering