By LORI PADILLA 
Chair
Los Alamos County Health Council

This is the third column in the monthly series by Los Alamos County Health Council (LACHC) members, highlighting the work of the Health Council.

I am the Chair of the LACHC, and for this installment, I would like to share some of the many collaborations and projects that LACHC members are involved with, including a couple of upcoming events.

These are certainly not comprehensive, but rather represent the varied interests and experiences that LACHC members bring together when working to advocate and advise for community health needs.

Several Health Council members are involved in organizations that support the needs of older adults. For example, LACHC members Jenn Bartram and Lisa Hampton both volunteer with the Older Adult Network, part of the Los Alamos Retired and Senior Organization (LARSO), which meets monthly at the Betty Ehart Senior Center, located at 1101 Bathtub Row, Los Alamos.

In addition to a very successful Resource Fair held this past spring, they are preparing to host an Older Adult Summit on Oct. 30, which will take place at SALA and feature sessions on healthy aging. More details will be coming out in the next couple of weeks, but interested individuals can call 505.662.8920 to receive a registration form.

In addition to this important work, I am personally connected with the Grandparents Raising Grandkids and Kinship Care group, which supports the family members that are raising grandkids or other children when the parents cannot do so. Meetings take place (insert) with support from Family Strengths Network. Our inaugural conference took place at Northern New Mexico College on May 10, with more than 85 attendees receiving information about how to access food benefits, income support, legal and guardianship rights, and more, provided through a working collaboration that included Las Cumbres, the LANL Foundation, the Los Alamos Social Services Division, and the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department.

Another LACHC member, Joyce Richins, works at the Los Alamos Medical Center, which will be hosting its annual drive-thru flu clinic later this fall. Set to take place from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 5, this event helps promote community health by providing free flu shots to those 18 and older, including high-dose vaccines for those who are 65 and older. More details will be coming in the next few weeks!

These collaborations helps strengthen our community, our connections, and the overall health of Los Alamos. The LACHC meetings take place noon to 1:30 p.m. the first Thursday of each month, both in person at 1000 Central Avenue, room 110 and via Zoom. These are open to the public, and we invite you to join us; the next meeting is Thursday, Oct. 3.