By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Last October, the Barton County Health Department was awarded nearly $61,000 as part of a Kansas Department of Health and Environment Universal Home Visitation Expansion Project grant. The program was designed to educate and positively impact the behaviors of pregnant women and mothers by increasing access to comprehensive services before, during, and after pregnancy. With only $20,337 of those funds used, Health Department Director Karen Winkelman asked the county commission Wednesday for approval to use the remaining funds locally.
"We were awarded a supplement award to our Universal Home Visiting Program, and this was to expand on our original grant," she said. "This money was awarded in October to go through Oct. 1 through June 30 of this year. We had some remaining funds left that need to be utilized. With KDHE approval, we have asked to spend it on advertising."
The commission approved the use of $40,620 to be used on advertising the program with Eagle Radio. Winkelman said the funds used went to supplies and wages, and the remaining funding had been allocated to positions that have been vacated, hopefully on a short-term basis.
As Barton County operations continue to change facilities ahead of the upcoming HVAC renovation, the next regularly-scheduled commission meeting for Wednesday, June 28 at 9 a.m. will take place in the conference room located on the first floor of the courthouse.