SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — More than 100 state and local officials met Monday to discuss ways to provide better health services in the region, and help people battle obesity and drug addiction.

What some learned at the event — Public Health 3.0: Moving Health Forward, a program set up by the state Department of Health and held at Penn State Schuylkill — is that one of the keys to success is knowing what resources are available.

“Concerning education and awareness and prevention, how and what can you do? There is nothing that I’m aware of in the county right now for, like, any kind of education and awareness programs,” Mary Beth Dougherty, staff assistant to state Sen. David G. Argall, R-29, said at the forum, held at the campus Health and Wellness Center.

“Actually, that’s what I do,” said Diane Rowland, prevention services coordinator for Schuylkill County Drug and Alcohol Program, Pottsville.

“I work with all the school districts in the county. I provide classroom education anywhere from grades K to 12. But when I’m going in and talking to the kids, I see them one time a year. The real key is to pursue evidence-based prevention programs. A really good example of that is something called LifeSkills Training developed by Dr. Gilbert J. Botvin. And it has about 35 years of research behind it,” Rowland said.

The website for the state Department of Health contains information about the Pennsylvania State Health Improvement Plan, a multi-year strategic plan that began in 2015.

Its three primary health priorities are obesity, physical inactivity and nutrition, primary care and preventative services, and mental health and substance use, according to the site.

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