Austin Community

Foundation
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Name of Organization: Appalachian Carolinians
Street Address/P. O Box: 3075 Crosswind Dr

City: Boone

State: NC

Zip:28607

County: Watauga
Name of contact person: Pete Hatton
Title of contact person: Health Promotion Program Coordinator
Phone number: 336-508-3823
Name of project: Hydrate4Health Initiative

Geographic area and/or target population served: Residents at Southminster Continuing Care
Retirement Community

Project Dates: March 1, 2017 -August 16th 2017

Amount requested: $3871
Signature of Authorized Agency Representative:
Date: February 28th, 2016

Pete Hatton

1. Organizational capacity to conduct the project (Describe Appalachian Carolinians

mission, goals, programs/services, etc.)
Appalachian Carolinians is one of the five pilot coalitions across the state that works in
conjunction with Healthy North Carolina with the goal of living in a society in which all people
live long, healthy lives. Formed in 1998, Appalachian Carolinians works in partnership with
other agencies such as the District Health Department, Social Services, Project on Again, and the
Health and Hunger Coalition in order to mobilize the state to achieve a common set of health
objectives. These 40 objectives within 13 specific focus areas were based on the Healthy People
Objectives for the nation and provide a common set of health indicators that we, as a state, can
work toward. The mission statement of Appalachian Carolinians coalition works to improve
communication, identify, obtain, and more efficiently distribute resources, and more effectively
utilize partnerships to improve health and quality of life in Watauga County. Partnering with
Harden County Project on Aging one of our priority areas includes senior health where we are
currently administering fitness classes, health screenings and health presentations. Due to these
efforts Appalachian Carolinians has received numerous awards locally for health and human
service activities, including recognition from North Carolina Cooperative Extension for work in
physical activity and nutrition.
Appalachian Carolinians has effectively implemented Body Recall senior exercise programs at
the Council on Aging, the Project Direct diabetes prevention grant with the American Diabetes
Association, and numerous other grants. We have also monitored the local, state, and national
health statistics and in conjunction with the District Health Department performed community
assessments.

2. Provide a description of the project including key strategies, timeline for project.
Through the Hydrate4Health program residents of Watauga County will learn information and
practical strategies to prevent dehydration, support efforts to remain physically active, and
prevent common, potentially preventable conditions (e.g., urinary tract infection, urinary
incontinence, and sleep loss) in community-dwelling older adults. This program is a multiphased intervention dealing with individual behavior and practices related to staying hydrated
and its effects on mood, risk of disease, and prevention of obesity. This two week program will
be held on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month from 530-630 in Great Room A at
Southminster Retirement Community in Boone, NC. Pre- and post-surveys will be developed to
assess health behaviors, beliefs, and interests of participants before and after the program.
During the two week session a tool kit will be provided that is based on evidence based studies
on topics including but not limited 1) the role of hydration in exercise and heart health; 2)
hydration and bladder health; 3) hydration and sleep; and 4) hydration and medications. The
Toolkit also includes consumer-oriented aids (i.e., daily planners, daily fluid requirement
calculators) to help older adults to apply this information into their daily routines. The Hydrate
for Health Toolkit is being developed by an interdisciplinary team and with consumer
participation. There will be six multi-phased interventions held and the program start date is
March 1, 2017 and will end on August 16th 2017. Classes will be limited to 20 residents each
month. Registered nurses from and therapists from Legacy Healthcare will be recruited to lead
the classes. Once recruited, Appalachian Carolinians will provide training to the instructors on
Jan 16th.

3. Describe the need that the program will address Needs Statement
Watauga County, home of Appalachian State University, is nestled in the beautiful mountains of
western North Carolina. In part due to this beautiful and growing university the population in
Watauga county has grown every decade since 1990, but the rate of increase is expected to slow
by 2020 (WCCHA, 2011). Despite this expected decrease in the total population, it is apparent
that this will not apply to the elderly. According to the 2011 Watauga County Community Health
Assessment the population of Watauga County adults over the age of 60 is increasing and is
expected to continue to increase over the next 20 years. In fact, though all segments of the
elderly population are growing, the segment expected to grow the fastest in the 20 years between
2010 and 2030 is the group aged 75-84, which is predicted to grow by 44% over that period,
from 3.4% to 4.9% of the total county population. (WCCHA, 2011). That along with the higher
than average poverty rate in Watauga County for all ages since 2006 (WCCHA, 2011), its
obvious there is a need for free health educational programs for people of all ages but
particularly seniors and especially in regards to dehydration.
Keeping hydrated is one of most underappreciated preemptive strategies that Watauga County
could introduce for the seniors. According to a study in 2010 dehydration has been associated
with increased mortality rates among hospitalized older adults and can precipitate emergency
hospitalization and increase the risk of repeated stays in hospital. (Begum, 2010) As a result of
these hospitalizations, dehydration is one of the ten most frequent diagnoses used for admitting a
patient and costs may be as high as 1.14 billon dollars according to a study conducted in 1999.
(Xiao, 2004). With this grant, Appalachian Carolinians will be able to start an already an
established program, Hydrate4Health, to keep seniors in Watauga county healthy and hyrdrated.
4.

List the overall goal (s) of the program.

1. To improve quality of life for Southminster residents through education on proper hydration
and how staying hydrated effects mood, risk of disease, and prevention of obesity.
2. To reduce the number of hospitalizations associated with dehydration at Southminster
Retirement Community.
5.

List the objectives. These should be measurable.

1. By August 16, 2017, at least 60 participants will have completed the Hydrate4Health
initiative.
2. By August 16, 2017 at least 75% of the participants will be able to cite the recommended
daily fluid intake.
3. By August 16, 2017, at least 50% of the participants will be successfully utilizing a fluid
intake journal.
4. By December 31, 2017, the number of hospitalizations contributed to dehydration will be
reduced by 25%.
4. By January 31, 2018 an evaluation will be completed to determine expansion of program to
retirement communities other than Southminster

6. List the strategies you will utilize to reach the program objectives- Methods
1. Talk to nursing and therapy staff, wellness coordinator, and committee leaders about benefits
of Hydrate4Health initiative.
2. Identify therapy and nursing staff members as possible Hydrate4Health coordinator and
instructors/trainers.
3. Train two nurses and two therapists to lead Hydrate4Health initiative.
4. Create a budget
5. Order Hydrate4Health toolkit. Toolkit includes consumer-oriented aids (i.e., daily planners,
daily fluid requirement calculators, and fluid intake journals.)
6. Print advertisements and pre-and post-surveys; develop summative evaluation
7. Post advertisements around community, on web-site, and on residents Ipad via CATIE
8. Print additional educational materials and summative evaluation.
9. Administer pre-survey and compile data.
10. Have monthly meetings with wellness coordinator, nursing staff, and therapists regarding
progress of program.
11. Administer post-survey and evaluations-collect and compile data.
12. Report success of program to wellness coordinator, committee members, and nursing staff
7. State how, when, and by whom an evaluation will be conducted including any reports
that will be compiled and how the evaluation will be used for program improvements.
Appalachian Carolinians and Southminsters healthcare staff will evaluate the Hydrate4Health
initiative to determine whether the desired objectives have been met. Evaluations will include:
Pre- and post- surveys to assess health behaviors, beliefs, interests, and hospitalizations
of Southminster residents before and after the program.
Documentation of number of participants
Survey to determine participant fluid intake consumption and knowledge and to evaluate
success of fluid intake journal
Participant satisfaction survey.
Upon the completion of Hydrate4Health initiative, a summative evaluation will be compiled to
evaluate the overall effectiveness of the program. The results will be reported to Southminsters
wellness coordinator and residents by an announcement in CATIE via the Ipad no later than
January 31st, 2018. Once the results are made public to the residents via CATIE a town hall
meeting will be held in Great Room A on February 15th at 5:30pm to discuss the results and
specifically areas in need of improvement.
8. Describe how your program will be continued after the funding period. Specify source
of funding and commitment of your agency Sustainability Strategies
Hydrate4Health is committed to sustaining and growing the program by mobilizing the
Southminster community to assist with 3 fundraisers per year, along with researching and writing
additional grants to the H4KH Research Initiative and Donald W. Reynolds Foundation Aging
and Quality of Life Grants. Seven thousand five hundred dollars has already been contributed by
the H4KH Research initiative and the Southminster Community Fund. Once the evaluation is
completed to determine needs for expansion Southminster will assist with implementation of the
subsequent expansion. Following implementation, each retirement community becomes
responsible for its own sustainability.

Budget Sheet (delete extra lines not needed)

Program name and number of participants expected: Hydrate4Health Initiative 120
participants expected
Project/program budget year (s): March 1, 2017- August 16th 2017.
Total amount of request:
Item
In-kind salaries
Training lay leaders
In-kind materials
Hyrdrate4Health instructor
packet
Southminster Great Room
A
TV/DVD/computer

Item cost/amount needed

Total amount

$25/hr 8hr x 2 trainers

$400

$50 X 6 packets

$300

Provided by retirement
community
Provided by retirement
community

$150

Total In-Kind
Contribution
Funding Request
Therapists
Registered nurses
Daily planners
Daily fluid requirement
calculators
Fluid intake journals with
notebook
Hydrate4health water bottle
Food (Panera) for Training
Session
Pre- and Post-Surveys
Community Brochures for
Advertisement
Total requested from
Austin Foundation

$800
$1650

$30/hr 2hr/month for 3

months & 8 hr training for 2
volunteers
$30/hr 2hr/month for 3
months & 8 hr training for 2
volunteers
$5 for 120 residents
$4 for 120 residents

$840

$6 for 120 residents

$720

$2.50 for 120 residents

$9 for 6 people

$300
$54

$0.05/page; 2 pages x 120

copies
$1.25 X 20

$12

$840
$600
$480

$25
$3871