On Friday, Jan. 29, the Madison County Senior Center hosted a kick-off meeting geared toward improving the health of the citizens in Madison County. The emphasis of this project is to create a community-based program to raise awareness about the autoimmune disease Lupus and provide support to those who suffer from this disease. Coordinating the effort was Dr. Rob Thomas of Big Bend Area Health Education Center (AHEC). Dr. Thomas, the Executive Director and CEO of the Big Bend AHEC, is also a certified tobacco treatment specialist and a certified worksite wellness specialist. Community health workers on the team are Kimberly Adams and Sharita Scott, Allied Health Professional students at NFCC. Retired physician, Dr. Robert Auston is working in conjunction with Dr. Thomas in regards to the facts about Lupus.
The community members who attended the meeting were Gloria ‘Gigi’ Auston, who has a Ph.D. in Pastoral Psychology and is an educator and community activist; Robert J. Auston, M.D., a FAAFP retired physician; Lisa Leary, Asst. Public Relations Officer for Community Awareness Committee (CAC); Dolores Jones, Community Leader/Advisor of Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) Sorority; Lisa Frieman of the Madison County Chamber of Commerce; Rosa Richardson, community leader and employee of the Madison County Senior Center; Johnnie Mae Burgess, retired educator and member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and Peggy Williams, President of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, retired educator and community leader.
During the kick-off meeting, the plans for a six month program via various community events from January to June were discussed. Big Bend AHEC has been awarded a Lupus grant appropriately named “Loop Us & Love Us” which will allow for public, patient and provider education of Lupus in Madison County.
There are many events scheduled in Madison County in the upcoming months and churches and event holders will be contacted to solicit their support in providing locations for forums and/or sharing information about the times and location of these forums. Forums are planned to be held throughout the county, covering Lee, Greenville and Madison. The community will be informed on an ongoing basis as to when and where they will be held.