19 Named to Panel Advising How to Spend $1 Million on Local Health

Nineteen people with ties to business, city government, churches, schools and local media have been named to a panel helping decide how to spend $1 million on Lemon Grove health.

Among them are Lemon Grove schools Superintendent Ernie Anastos, school board member Blanca Brown, City Manager Graham Mitchell, Lemon Grove Historical Society President Helen Ofield and Lemon Grove Patch editor Christine Huard.

Community Health Improvement Partners (CHIP)—the San Diego-based nonprofit agency administering a $—announced Friday it has appointed the advisory panel to shepherd the project from its planning phase through implementation.

Steering committee members also represent service organizations, child-care agencies, health-care providers and those who call Lemon Grove home.

“Together, we are working to create an environment that makes the healthy choice the easy choice for Lemon Grove residents,” said Melanie Briones, senior project manager. “The vision of the Lemon Grove HEAL Zone is that the 26,000 people living in the community will be able to eat better and move more as a part of daily life.”

The steering committee will work with CHIP and the Kaiser Permanente team to refine project strategies and engage residents and stakeholders. Panel members will serve as liaisons in the community to communicate information and seek feedback, Briones said.

Other steering committee members are:

• Beverly Franklin-Atkinson

• John King

• Paula Murdock

• Angeles Nelson

• Robert Robinson

• Marianne West, yoga instructor

• Laura Avila Taylor

• Pastor Jeff Lettow, First Baptist Church of Lemon Grove

• Pastor Mark Stapleton, Cornerstone Community Church

• Dr. Ellen Beck, founder of the UCSD Student-Run Free Clinic Project

• Katie Judd, County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency

• Jim Ellis

• Rick Oser, principal of combined K-8 Golden Avenue School and Lemon Grove Academy of Sciences and Humanities program

• Jennifer Mendoza, Soroptimist International of Lemon Grove

The three-year plan to make better behaviors a daily habit for all of Lemon Grove is part of the $7 million Healthy Eating Active Living Zones initiative the health-care provider is rolling out across Southern California.

Also receiving $1 million grants from Kaiser Permanente Southern California are Anaheim in Orange County, north Long Beach in Los Angeles County, Ontario in San Bernardino County, West Ventura in Ventura County and East Riverside in Riverside County.

HEAL Zones are designed to help make healthy choices accessible to more people in underserved communities.

Among the group’s goals over the next three years: creating a health and wellness hub close to the center of town, a healthy vending machine policy throughout the city, a wellness program for school district employees, healthy menu options at local restaurants and walking clubs.

“There will be numerous opportunities for the community to participate in the Lemon Grove HEAL Zone project in the months and years to come,” Briones said. “Stay tuned to the Patch and connect with steering committee members to learn more about how you can get involved!”