Submitted by Peggy Marone, Director
If you had to guess, how well do you think Genesee County is doing in terms of the health and human services we offer? We’re doing great!! We’re doing OK! Things are not going so well.
The Leadership Genesee Class of 2025 spent Wednesday June 25th asking those very questions and finding out that Genesee County is indeed doing GREAT! There is nothing in this world that is perfect, we are fortunate to have hundreds of health care professionals and many organizations that help minimize the imperfection and work towards a better community health for everyone.
Raising awareness of present healthcare and human service issues and related services available in Genesee County is the goal of Leadership Genesee Community Health Report Day. As always, our agenda is tight to be sure we offer as much information as possible in one day from a Straight From the Health Experts panel discussion to visiting 13 organizations to learning about our older generations’ challenges and experiencing disability awareness training.
Lynda Battaglia, Director, GC Mental Health Department, Dr. Dan Ireland LG ’06, EVP/ Chief Nursing Executive & Patient Care Officer, RRH and Paul Pettit LG ‘15, Public Health Director, Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments presented information regarding the current state of healthcare and public health in our community. Lynda shared, and it might surprise you to learn, the largest population receiving mental health services are ages 10-19, the next largest are ages 30-39 – an eye-opening statistic.
Dr. Dan Ireland LG ’06 shared that RRH’s purpose is to uplift humanity through care for our community, working to become a national model of health and healing. They are working on expanding the Residency Program, addressing the nursing shortage and partnered with the GLOW YMCA to create the Healthy Living Campus on Main Street, Batavia.
Paul Pettit LG ’15, Public Health Director, Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments gave the group a lot of statistics about the health of our county. Our Population Health and Well-being ranks about the same as the average county in New York State and better than the average county in the nation.
In a busy agenda, it’s always good to provide a break to re-energize, Holly Sharpe LG ’04, Sharpe Training LLC provided the group with chair exercises that can be done anywhere.
Members of the class experienced disability and sensitivity awareness from Rae Frank LG ‘18, Director, Independent Living-Genesee Region. They also learned the difference between social isolation and loneliness, especially in our older population, from Laurie Watson, LG ’23, Specialist, Aging Services, Office for the Aging. The group visited several human service agencies in Genesee County as well as touring the new YWCA/ RRH UMMC Healthy Living Campus.
UConnectCare’s Prevention Educators presented “Hidden Mischief” a prevention training to find more than 65 instances of drug reference and paraphernalia hidden in a mock bedroom. The group was astonished where they found items hidden.
June’s session was hosted by Mercy Flight EMS who also sponsored breakfast and GLOW YMCA who sponsored lunch. A sentiment shared was Leadership Genesee is an opportunity to connect with individuals from the community who have a desire to be informed about the programs and services offered in Genesee County and join in future collaborations.
With a mission of “Exploring the Community & Encouraging the Leader Within,” Leadership Genesee is a yearlong program designed to raise awareness of the needs and challenges that affect Genesee County and to enhance individual leadership skills with a focus on giving back to the community. Leadership Genesee is currently accepting applications for the Class of 2026.
Leadership Genesee is a program of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County, an employer and educator recognized for providing equal program and employment opportunities in accordance with applicable laws. For more information, visit LG’s website at Cornell Cooperative Extension | Leadership Genesee “like” LG on Facebook at www.facebook.com/leadershipgenesee; or contact Program Director Peggy Marone at (585) 343-3040, ext. 118 or mem77@cornell.edu.