The Ohio State University

CELLebrate Good Health: Impacting Childhood Obesity in Our Counties

Cellebrate Good Health formed a new partnership between Education Outreach at Ohio State Lima, OSU Extension West District Office, Putnam County Extension, Allen County Extension, Hancock County Extension and Hardin County Extension to deliver a new outreach activity to area students that addressed an emerging concern: childhood obesity. Education Outreach's STARLAB portable planetarium Cell cylinder program combined with innovative child-oriented information on nutrition and follow-up new physical activity. Over 1250 students in grades 2-8 participated and were provided with hands-on information that enabled them to begin to make healthy lifestyle choices. OSU Lima Education Outreach staff developed and facilitated the planetarium program, and Extension staff developed the grade-appropriate nutrition information based upon Team Up for Good Nutrition (2003), and conducted the evaluation.  Extension agents in each partnering county recruited and trained 4-H Junior Leaders to facilitate follow-up classroom physical activity through games and interactive exercise units.  An OSU Lima student also involved in 4-H helped to supervise Junior Leaders. Ohio State Lima students who are members of the new Education service club volunteered their time to participate in the proposed program. This was a true partnership and all involved were committed to delivering a quality program.

Education Outreach at OSU Lima began offering K-12 programs using the STARLAB portable planetarium in September 2003. OSU Lima now owns 11 different programs (or interchangeable cylinders) for use in the portable planetarium. Each program/cylinder provides new opportunities for education and outreach to our communities. This grant opportunity enabled Outreach to use a new program cylinder, the Cell, and combine it with exciting information on nutrition and physical activity.  All information developed and delivered was grade-appropriate and aligned to grade level content standards in language arts, science and mathematics.  The goal was for children and teachers make good decisions that lead to healthy lifestyles. The planetarium provided a unique way to deliver information to students of all ages. See http://www.lima.ohio-state.edu/academics/Outreach/CELLebrate.htm.

The grant was submitted by Lynn Sametz, OSU Lima; Niki Nestor McNeely, OSU Extension; Jason Hedrick, OSU Extension; Nancy Recker, OSU Extension; Ken Lafontaine, OSU Extension; Susan Russell, OSU Extension and Dawn Wingate, OSU Lima

The Center for Family Research (CFR): Developing "Family Research and Engagement Partners" in Order to Augment Outreach and Engagement Efforts with Ohio Families

The Center for Family Research (CFR) is a coalition of OSU faculty, students, and staff who have interest and expertise in research, assessment, and treatment efforts as they relate to the family, with particular emphasis on the family's role in the development and well-being of children and adolescents. Ultimately, the research conducted through CFR will help Extension and OSU to better serve and engage Ohio families by putting the research into action.  The formation of an advisory council is an important component of the CFR's ability to meet its goals/objectives, as well as creating lasting partnerships both within the university and beyond. There are three main clusters of advisory council members - OSU Membership, State External Membership, and County Membership - that collectively are known as the "Family Research and Engagement Partners." The advisory council guides the CFR as a family research incubator to help Extension and OSU to better serve and engage Ohio families by putting Center-generated research into action.  See http://familyresearch.osu.edu/.

The grant was submitted by Scott Scheer, OSU Extension and Stephen Gavazzi, Human Development and Family Science

Leadership Training: Over the Wires

The development of leadership skills is important to maximize productivity, shape positive culture, and promote harmony. A good leader develops personal leadership skills and encourages and trains new leaders who will follow. The Ohio State Health Network (OSHN) and the Leadership Center of OSU Extension used this OSU CARES grant to provide leadership training courses to healthcare professionals simultaneously around the state of Ohio via videoconferencing.

OSHN is comprised of seven organizations that have worked together effectively since 1995 to support high-quality health care throughout central Ohio. OSHN already provided benefits such as negotiating group contracts for discounted supplies and services; and providing clinical services such as patient advocacy and peer review, shared instruments such as Cholestech instruments and portable computerized kiosks for public health screenings. OSHN developed the Learning Network, comprised of ten professional roundtables that meet at least quarterly, grand rounds, and ad hoc educational programming for physicians and healthcare professionals.

Annual leadership training courses enhance the portfolio of offerings through the Learning Network. Four courses were offered throughout the year. The courses were broadcast over videoconference simultaneously to the following sites: Barnesville Hospital, Bucyrus Community Hospital, Madison County Hospital, Mary Rutan Hospital, Wyandot Memorial Hospital, and the Ohio State University Health System. The instructor taught from a different site each quarter in order to enhance group participation.

The grant was submitted by Joann Ort, Ohio State Health Network and Garee Earnest, OSU Extension

Online Sports Turf Certificate Program

Since the launch of the Buckeye Sports Turf Program in the fall of 2001, over 100 high school and sports facilities across the state of Ohio have used the Sports Turf Outreach service. In addition, members of the turfgrass faculty & staff have offered educational seminars at sports facilities, universities and professional stadiums & ball parks throughout Ohio & the Midwest. In most cases, the Superintendent, Athletic Director, or Stadium Manager has requested the Extension service because they are trying to provide athletic field safety & performance on a much-reduced operating budget, and with little or no turf management expertise. With over 800 school districts, 382 municipalities, 80+ colleges/universities, and numerous minor and pro-league facilities in the state, a wider-reaching method of program delivery via the Internet was required.

The Buckeye Sports Turf Program website (http://buckeyeturf.osu.edu) receives approximately 60,000 hits per month, and has 2800 e-mail subscribers worldwide. In addition to the timely messages & news items on the website, the goal was to add an Online Certificate Program that would effectively be a course in sports turf science and management that could be taken over the Internet. The certificate program would offer two valuable benefits to the community; (1) reduce school operating budgets, and (2) reduce the risk of athlete injury and cancelled events due to poor playing conditions. This program would also open up our audience to the International community and become self-sustaining in the future, creating a stepping-stone for further development of the Turfgrass Science Extension & Outreach program at OSU.

The grant was submitted by Pamela Sherratt, Horticulture and Crop Science; David Gardner, Horticulture and Crop Science; John Street, Horticulture and Crop Science and Tim Rhodus, Horticulture and Crop Science

Downtown and Business District Market Analysis:  Using Market Data and Geographic Information Systems to Identify Economic Opportunities in Small Cities

Wisconsin Extension has correctly noted that for the last three decades, small cities (population of less than 100,000) all across the United States have experienced the continued leakage of retail dollars from their downtown central business districts. Once the center for community and economic activity, downtowns have suffered the loss of retail and other business activities to sites in outlying shopping centers and commercial strips. Fierce retail competition from large discount stores, regional shopping centers, and the lack of market research capacity available to the big retailers and shopping center developers put these downtowns in a disadvantageous competitive position. To compound the problem, downtowns do not have the resources or capacity to engage in effective market identification and analysis large retail chains and shopping center developers do. Without this knowledge they cannot compete.

This proposal is for the Downtown Market Analysis project. The initial project was piloted in the City of Cambridge, Ohio, located in Guernsey County. A collaborative partnership was established with Ohio State University Extension, The Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University, Downtown Ohio, Inc., Muskingum College, and the local community. The Market Analysis provided tools and techniques to help local business leaders, entrepreneurs, developers, and economic development professionals understand the changing market place in their downtowns. Based on a model produced by the University of Wisconsin Extension, this project identified business and real estate development opportunities that were realistic and feasible for each community. This project provided local leaders and business owners with techniques needed to analyze specific development opportunities for their downtown area. The final plan identified potential business development strategies and implementation teams for enhancing the economic and social vitality of the downtown business area.

Support through OSU CARES allowed Ohio State University Extension, Fisher College of Business, Muskingum College, the Food and Agricultural Technology Commercialization and Economic Development Program (ATECH) and Downtown Ohio, Inc., to work cooperatively to provide communities with analytical techniques that can be put to work immediately in economic revitalization efforts. The initial project provided a model to be replicated in 23 other Ohio Main Street Communities for long-term impact and sustainability.

The grant was submitted by Cindy Bond-Zielinski, OSU Extension; Myra Moss, OSU Extension; Bill Grunkemeyer, OSU Extension and Sharon Feinblatt, Fisher College of Business

A University and Community Collaboration to Address Self-Care Management in Youth with Type 1 Diabetes 

The Department of Human Nutrition and the General Clinical Research Center of the College of Medicine at Ohio State University collaborated with the Central Ohio Diabetes Association to conduct a needs assessment study at Camp Hamwi, a camp for children with type 1 diabetes. The camp provides social support to youth with a chronic disease and promotes diabetes control through self-management. Failure to control diabetes with blood glucose monitoring, diet, and exercise will result in diabetic complications that will have long-term health consequences and economic impact because of excessive medical claims for treatment services. An assessment of the impact of camp attendance on clinical outcomes, measured as Hemoglobin A1c (diabetic control) and Body Mass Index (measure of body weight) can be used to measure the impact of an educational intervention to foster self-care behavior. This initial study solidified a collaboration begun over the past year and identified areas of educational need and the methods to best address those needs. Future collaborations and grant proposals are planned for the development of an educational curriculum and to measure economic impact of the education through claims records to insurance companies. Nationwide Insurance Company has given verbal commitment to joining this collaboration to provide the claims information that will strengthen the impact of this study. The educational curriculum that is developed in the future will be made available to other agencies serving the community with diabetes on a cost recovery basis.

The grant was submitted by Lydia Medeiros, OSU Extension; Reena Oza, College of Medicine and Karla Roehrig, Central Ohio Diabetes Association

Extending the Reach of Community Connection

The P-12 Project used this grant to support the expansion of services provided by Community Connection, the web-based volunteer matching and management system, to all of the Ohio State University's regional campuses, incorporating selected local OSU Extension Offices. The grant supported a 0.25 FTE graduate assistant to facilitate this process. Active internal and external collaborations have been created at the Columbus campus as a result of the development and implementation of Community Connection. Extending the program to the regional campuses and involving OSU Extension Offices provided the means to enhance, document, and harmonize The Ohio State University's mission of service to the community. See http://communityconnection.osu.edu/homepage.html.

The grant was submitted by Nancy Nestor-Baker, P-12 Project; John Snyder, OSU Lima; Evelyn Freeman, OSU Mansfield; John Berry, OSU Newark; Wayne Rowe, OSU Marion; Mary Forster, OSU Extension and Isaac Campbell, OSU Extension

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