TPC provides grant funding to Health Ed Pros (HEP) to manage Breathe at a statewide level. HEP is a local health education company that provides customized programming for students, teachers, parents, and staff on a variety of health topics. The HEP team has experience in health education expertise including: curriculum development, staff development, and program delivery for early childhood through adults.
Health Ed Pros is responsible for the following deliverables during the 2023-2025 grant cycle related to the Tobacco Free Families Indicator/Breathe:
Priority Area: Protect and maintain state and local infrastructure necessary to lower commercial tobacco use rates.
Tobacco-Free Families – Increase proportion of organizations serving marginalized populations with the Breathe: Healthy Steps to Living Tobacco Free education program.
Objective 1: Provide training and technical assistance on the Breathe program for the local Tobacco Prevention and Cessation (TPC) funded partners that select the Tobacco Free Families indicator. Assistance will include annual in-person/virtual trainings, webinars/conference calls, online toolkit, email communications, on-going evaluation support, processing of Breathe kits, a private Facebook group, and individual consultations, as needed.
Objective 2: Provide training and on-going support for a minimum of 5 Head Start or other organizations serving marginalized families in counties not funded by TPC as well as those counties that did not select the Tobacco-Free Families indicator. Support provided will include holding introductory meetings, conducting annual Breathe staff trainings and associated evaluation components, sending monthly newsletters, engaging on social media, offering feedback on tobacco policies and health assessment forms, promoting Quit Now Indiana, and serving on relevant committees, when possible.
Objective 3: Assist in the development and continual improvement of resources and training guides for the successful implementation of the Breathe program. Key resources will include the physical and online Breathe Kit components, Breathe website/online instructional guide, Breathe PowerPoints, evaluation tools, training assessment and follow up data reports, and monthly electronic newsletters.
Objective 4: Serve as a liaison between TPC and the Indiana Head Start Association/Head Start State Collaboration Office and at least 3 other state/regional-level organizations serving marginalized families. Collaboration will include in-person/virtual meetings, securing letters of support for the Breathe program, sending monthly electronic newsletters, and coordinating efforts to promote Breathe to their affiliate sites and/or partner organizations.
Objective 5: Implement Breathe with Local Health Departments and provide them with Breathe kits as they work to carry out the Health First Indiana Key Performance Indicators related to tobacco. Health Ed Pros (HEP) plans to promote and conduct up to three virtual Breathe trainings for Local Health Departments (LHDs) that are interested in implementing Breathe. Staff trained at LHDs will receive a Breathe flipchart, bag, magnet, and flyer as well as access to all Breathe materials online and on-going support from HEP, including annual Breathe Refreshers.
Objective 6: Translate the Breathe parent worksheets into Spanish so we can improve health equity and better serve the Latino community. The translated parent worksheets will be added to the Breathe website for all Breathe partners to access.
The Health Ed Pros Team
Tanya Shelburne, MPH, CHES
Consultant/Project Manager
tanyas@healthedpros.org
317-902-4505
Delyte Meardith, BS, CHES
Consultant/Project Specialist
delytem@healthedpros.org
Brian K. Lucas, MS, MCHES
Lead Agency Supervisor and Co-Owner of Health Ed Pros
brianl@healthedpros.org
TPC Funded Partners are encouraged to join the private Facebook group for Breathe to share ideas and challenges and gain additional support. Request to join here.
TPC Funded Partners and partner organizations can also sign up to receive the Breathe monthly e-newsletter here.
