The Health Team is composed of women ranging in age from 35 to 70. Approximately 50 percent of the members are in the health profession. The team members quickly learned they had three main areas of interest. So they wisely divided their project into three areas in order to accomplish more within the same project. The team's three areas of interest were parish nursing, alternative health modalities and TeleHealth support groups.

For the TeleHealth part of the project, the team members were interested in using technology as a tool for health information and support. The team chose to focus on the issue of breastfeeding support. The name of their program is BACH (Breastfeeding Advocates for Community Health). Goals of BACH are to provide education, support and nurturing.

First, they defined the needs of the community using a focus group of moms and health professionals. They used a digital camera purchased with MIRA money in order to record the focus groups. MIRA money was also used to purchase material for the program from AWHONN (Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses). Members of the group attended an audio-conference, "Promoting Breastfeeding Among Special Populations: Innovative and Evidence-Based Strategies." They also purchased a wide variety of material from the conference to use in the program. BACH uses the videoconference system of the Marshfield Clinic System to connect the communities of Park Falls, Chippewa Falls, Ladysmith, Rice Lake and Eau Claire for meetings.

The Birchwood Area Parish Nurse Project was also born from the MIRA program. After a community survey indicated residents needed health information, referrals and one-on-one education, the members decided on a parish-nursing program. The parish nurses are registered nurses with specialized education who provide for the holistic health care needs of their community. The nurses work with a Health Cabinet (advisory board) that helps with program coordination. The cabinet was established as part of the MIRA program and is made of members of the three churches involved. These nurses represent all community denominations and they work closely with church staff.

MIRA funds were used to send registered nurses of the community to the Parish Nurse Ministry course offered by Viterbo University School of Nursing at Sacred Heart Hospital. The project found a home in its office located in St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Birchwood. MIRA money was also used to purchase reference books, office furniture, communications equipment and medical equipment such as blood pressure cuffs and stethoscopes. The office was also equipped with an Internet service. In addition to this equipment, a computer was donated to the project by Northern Wisconsin Area Health Education Center as part of the "Healthier Northwoods People Project."

The Health Team was also involved with NAHEC's "Train-the Trainer" workshop which trained members to act as trainers for community workshops. These workshops were used to train community members to use computers to find health information.

Information on the Alternative Health Modalities aspect of the team's project to come.