Tribe funding efforts to reduce obesity

Sequim Gazette staff

The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe this week committed $150,000 to the Olympic Medical Center Foundation. The funding will be delivered over the next three years.

OMC officials will use approximately half of the funding to address childhood obesity on the peninsula. OMC and the tribe will work together to establish a program to educate those in the local community regarding the issue and to ensure the children of the community have the support they need to make healthy lifestyle and nutrition choices.

“In particular we want to focus on children,” said Ron Allen, tribal chairman. “If children grow up with proper nutritional and exercise habits, they will lead healthier, more productive lives.”

The hospital is planning several children’s health promotions through its Diabetes Education and Nutrition Services Department. The balance will go to support other Olympic Medical programs including cancer care, cardiac services, diabetes and nutrition.

“The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe has been one of the most generous organizations on the peninsula,” said Bruce Skinner, executive director of Olympic Medical Center Foundation. “They have given countless donations to every sector of the community. Once again they are showing that they care about the community they live in.”