Healthy Waco Women

Haley Engel, and Shamerah Lowe 

The soon to be launched local health program, Healthy Waco Women, reaches out to the population of women in Waco by focusing on prenatal healthcare in Mclennan County. Haley Engel, a Community Advisory Board member for Healthy Waco Women, allowed me to interview her at the Waco-Mclennan County Public Health District to get information about what Healthy Waco Women is, and how this program will be of service to the women in Waco in the near future.

"Tell me about Healthy Waco Women, what fueled the desire to start this program?"

"The Healthy Women and Children Coalition is a group of various organizations and agencies in Waco who serve women and children in some capacity. We work on collective strategies to improve the health of women and children in Waco. We have four focus areas, the fourth one being preconception health, and that’s where Healthy Waco Women falls in.

Our target age group are women between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five and so we are looking to educate them on healthy behaviors, and how to be healthy for themselves. Our program is aimed toward making sure women get the preventative health care that they need. The main focus of Healthy Waco Women is to increase access for women to go get their Well Woman Exam, which is a routine checkup so that they are helping themselves stay healthy."

" And how is this information made available to access for the women within the Waco community?"

Healthy Waco Women Wellness Bag 

 "The program Healthy Waco Women is really a campaign, so with the campaign comes a lot of media components. We’ve developed a website and promotional flyers and posters that are going to go up around Waco, so the main way that we’re looking to increase the number of women in Waco who are getting their annual Well Women Exam is through that social media promotion. 

We’ve also put together Wellness Bags that has different educational things inside. There is a booklet containing information on women's health including healthy eating, physical activity, birth control and the different options that are available to women, also contains vitamins that contain folic acid which is helpful for in the future when she does get pregnant, folic acid is an essential vitamin to have for the health of your pregnancy. The Wellness Bag also contains other cute little things like a lip balm, Healthy Waco Women earphones, and a water bottle. 
All of these items are things we’ve put together  as a result of focus groups."

"As a starting program getting that type of feedback is essential for improving your methods of distributing feminine healthcare information. How would Waco Women want to see women in the community be involved with their preconception health care?"

  "Healthy Women and Children Coalition, which Healthy Waco Women are born out of, well it is housed at the Waco-Mclennan County Public Health district, so we want everything we do here to be data-driven. One of our big data indicators from the most recent community health needs assessment showed that they’re really low percentages of women accessing annual preventative health care, as well as high infant mortality rates. With well woman exams falling under that category of annual preventative health care, that’s one of the big goals that we want to see change. So as Healthy Waco Women starts to reach more women and we see women start signing up for a bag on the website, we really wish to see that the percentage of women accessing Well Women Exams increase. That is a huge goal for us." 

"When the program officially launches, are there any long-term goals this program has for the women of Waco?"

"Of course, one of the big things Healthy Waco Women is trying to focus on is empowering women to know that they have choices available to make, so we’re addressing that through

Home Page of Healthy Waco Women Website

Healthy Waco Women. On our website specifically, there’s a feature where there’s a map and it’s kind of like a google map and there are different categories that a woman can check the box when the women are looking for her provider. So she can click the categories that she’s looking for in a provider then the website will narrow down the search to find a provider that is one, closer to her because you can input your zip code, and two, best fits the criteria of what she is looking for, you can get birth control the same day you have you’re appointment. LGBT friendly, Spanish speaking, accepting of financial assistance programs. So I think it is important for women to be educated on how to think through the things they need specifically and advocate for themselves to get their own needs." 

"Well, I certainly look forward to seeing Healthy Waco Women be officially established so women in the community can start signing up for their Well Women Exams and get a Wellness Bag! I hope Women living within the Waco community can look to this program to assist them in healthcare. Thank you Haily for allowing me to interview you today."

"Thank you, Shamerah I'm honored. Have a great rest of your day."

Healthy Waco Women plans to be officially established soon. Please note that the Wellness Bag shown in the photograph above will not be openly available until Healthy Waco Women is officially launching in the near future. If you would like to explore the website for Healthy Waco Women, please click on the provided link below.  

https://healthywacowomen.org/