ATHENS, Ohio -- The Office of Community Service Programs at Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine will hold its 6th annual recognition luncheon on Friday, Dec. 7, at the Ohio University Inn in Athens. The luncheon highlights outstanding community service contributions by CSP agency partners and community representatives from 21 counties in Southeastern Ohio. OU-COM collaborates with health agencies, civic groups, schools, hospitals and community leaders throughout Southeastern Ohio.

Guests attending the luncheon also will have access to CSP's new Healthy Project Mobile Van from 11 to 11:30 a.m. and again from 1:30 to 2 p.m. The van, purchased by OU-COM last May, will be parked directly across the street from the OU Inn.

The Healthy Project Mobile Van has been instrumental in improving the health of underserved individuals in Southeastern Ohio. CSP's Healthy Adult Project began in March and has served more than 1,000 people in a 10-county area (Athens, Hocking, Meigs, Jackson, Perry, Morgan, Pike, Scioto, Vinton and Washington). The mobile van has traveled more than 3,200 miles since its arrival May 21 and has provided such services as diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol screenings. The mobile van also has provided immunizations, preventive education and doctor referrals.

The new van and the addition of a certified nurse practitioner have also played a part in linking CSP's Breast and Cervical (B&C) Program with OU-COM's Breast and Cervical Cancer Project. The BCCP, which has been in place since 1994, provides Pap tests to uninsured/underinsured women over the age of 40. Also, the program provides mammogram referrals to uninsured/underinsured women over 50. So far, more than 150 women have benefited from this project.

The Dec. 7 luncheon's keynote speaker will be Jack Frech, director of Athens County Job and Family Services.

"The more we can pull together, the more we can succeed," Frech said. "We have the same people in common. People with health problems can typically have financial problems as well." Frech said that for years, OU-COM has helped Athens County residents who have qualified for Medicaid, citing the lice-eradication program as one example. "OU-COM has been absolutely essential for providing primary care for lower-income families in our region."

Frech said he hopes the collaboration can continue, despite the Ohio legislature's cutting $9 million from the budget. "I think the relationship and cooperative spirit is enabling us to continue some of those services. It's one of those situations where once we have this level of involvement with each other, we're reluctant to give that up. We saw how beneficial it is to have a co-located staff. So we are striving to keep that going."

About 100 people are expected to attend the invitation-only luncheon. Also expected at the luncheon is U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland. When the van arrived last May, former state Senator Dick Schafrath, the governor's spokesperson for "Healthy Ohioans, Healthy Communities," a statewide initiative to promote wellness and healthy lifestyles, took a tour of the van.

At last year's ceremony, among those receiving recognition awards for outstanding community service were Sue Webb, Wellness coordinator for Federal Hocking Schools; Connie Smith, health educator for the Athens County Health Department; Debbie Hooper, Trimble Middle School secretary; and Carol Kline, director of health services at Athens County Jobs and Family Services.

CSP grew out of the state-funded Child Immunization Program for Southeastern Ohio in 1994. In 1996, CSP was formally created to fulfill the goal of serving a wider range of the health-care needs of Southeastern Ohio residents. Other grant-funded programs that CSP operates the Well Child Program, the Baby Steps Program and AmeriCorps.

For more information, please call (800) 844-2654.