MONTGOMERY: Township focused on improving health

The township would like to hire a health educator.

By Jennifer Kohlhepp, Staff Writer
   MONTGOMERY — The township would like to hire a health educator.
   According to Health Officer Stephanie Carey, the township would like to hire a temporary health educator as soon as possible before filling the position with a full-time health educator by July 1. The cost of the new hire would be $17,000 for the first six months, she said.
   The health educator would provide health screenings, health counseling and health support to create a healthy environment and to make “the healthy choice the easiest choice,” according to Ms. Carey.
   ”There’s also potential to save thousands of dollars on health insurance premiums,” Ms. Carey said, adding that the position would pay for itself by Jan. 1, 2015.
   Some of the funding for the position would come out of the regular township budget and some would come from grants, according to Ms. Carey.
   She said the health educator would be a pooled shared service with other municipalities and that Montgomery is currently in active discussions about sharing the service with Hopewell, Pennington and Branchburg.
   ”It’s the first time having a full-time health educator,” Ms. Carey said. “We had contractual work for a number of years. It’s nice to be able to have someone with ties to the community that will be able to provide ongoing services on a regular basis.”
   The role of the health educator is still being developed but the township wants to “move away from the idea of having a table of brochures and move toward evidence-based programs and interventions shown to improve health outcomes,” according to Ms. Carey.
   The position would start as a 32-hour workweek and then would become a 40-hour position once the township deems it successful.
   ”It’s a self-funding position that will increase the quality of services,” Ms. Carey said.
   The health educator would alert the community to health crisis situations and would also help maintain the health of the work force.
   ”When you invest in health you pay less to keep people healthy,” Ms Carey said, adding that the return estimate over four years is $6 or $7 for every $1 spent.