Our community health programs
We provide several services to improve health and safety in the local Plain communities. Programs include:
- Amish Safety Committee: The Lancaster County Amish Safety Committee is a collaborative initiative that uses trauma data from Lancaster General Hospital to identify critical safety needs. The committee develops targeted programs to reduce serious and fatal injuries, focusing on farm, home, road, and school safety.
- Farm and Family Safety Day: Each year, we host a Farm and Family Safety Day to help prevent and reduce the number of farm-related injuries. Community partners teach practical safety measures to use on the farm and at home.
Mental health affects how we think, feel, and act. We’re committed to caring for our community in mind, body, and spirit by offering behavioral and mental health support. Our programs include:
- First Responders-Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (FR-CARA): This program provides medicines and training for first responders and other key community members to administer and distribute naloxone and other FDA-approved overdose reversal medications. FR-CARA aims to address the overdose crisis by caring for populations disproportionately affected by overdose.
- Joining Forces: Joining Forces is a collection of organizations and individuals working together to build a community that supports recovery for those affected by opioid addiction.
- Joining Forces for Children: A program of Joining Forces, this service focuses on caring for children affected by substance use disorders.
- Let’s Talk Lancaster Coalition: This coalition includes medical and behavioral health providers, community and social service organizations, school professionals, and community members. We work together to improve mental well-being by establishing standardized anxiety and depression screenings, increasing the number of behavioral health providers, and providing community mental health training.
- Mental Health First Aid: This research-based training provides skills and resources to recognize and address mental illness, improve care pathways, and reduce stigma. By the end of this five-year project, more than 4,000 students and community members will receive mental health first aid training.
- NARCAN® distribution: Naloxone (NARCAN®) is a medication that can save lives by reversing opioid-related overdoses. Lancaster General Health and Joining Forces partner to provide and distribute naloxone throughout the community.
- Overdose Fatality Review: We work alongside community partners to learn from overdose deaths in Lancaster County. Our goal is to identify system gaps and analyze data to inform lifesaving interventions.
- Tobacco Cessation: Making the decision to stop smoking, vaping, or using any form of nicotine is one of the best steps you can take for your health. We’re working to reduce tobacco use in Lancaster County, creating personalized plans to help you quit.
- Youth Mental Health: This initiative empowers young people by offering resources, support, and education to prioritize mental well-being. Through peer support groups and access to professional guidance, we create a safe, inclusive space for youth to discuss mental health challenges and build resilience.
We’re committed to making our county a safer, healthier place for children. Our child safety programs include:
- Child Death Review (CDR): Co-led with Lancaster County Children and Youth Services, this multispecialty team reviews causes of child mortality. The CDR focuses on identifying risks factors and providing recommendations to improve health and safety policies.
- Lancaster County Children’s Alliance (LCCA): The LCCA is an accredited Child Advocacy Center that offers comprehensive, coordinated, compassionate services to child victims of abuse. The alliance provides forensic interviews, specialized evaluations, family advocacy, mental health services, a non-offending caregiver group, and case coordination for children and families.
- Lead-Free Families: This 10-year initiative aims to eliminate childhood lead poisoning in Lancaster County. With a $50 million investment from Lancaster General Health, the Lead-Free Families program is the first of its kind in the country to be funded and led by a health system.
- Safe Kids: Lancaster General Health is the lead agency for Safe Kids Lancaster County. We’re a member of Safe Kids Worldwide, a global organization dedicated to preventing injuries in children. We strive to help people understand the importance of safe, healthy choices in childhood, focusing on child passenger, farm, bike, road, and firearm safety.
Our Comprehensive Care program began in 1999 and is part of Lancaster General Health’s family medicine residency. We focus on primary and specialty care for people living with HIV.
The Comprehensive Care clinic is run by family medicine providers who are certified HIV specialists. They’re uniquely qualified to provide care for people with HIV/AIDs, offering:
- Sexual health care and HIV prevention
- Sexually transmitted infection (STI) and HIV testing and treatment
- Support services and financial assistance, including programs to address housing and food insecurity, transportation needs, and assistance accessing durable medical equipment
Our Food is Medicine community program aims to address healthy eating in Lancaster County. Programs include:
Food Farmacy: A dietitian offers free nutrition counseling and healthy food to patients and families. You may be eligible for this program if you have a nutrition-related chronic disease and a limited budget. Food Farmacy is located at:
- Lancaster County Food Hub
812 N. Queen St.
Lancaster, PA 17603 - Solanco Neighborhood Ministries
14 South Church Street
Quarryville, PA 17566 - Factory Ministriesv
3293 Lincoln Hwy E.
Paradise, PA 17562 - Community Cupboard of Elizabethtown
61 E Washington St.
Elizabethtown, PA 17022 - Columbia Dream Center/ Hands Across the Street
360 Locust Street
Columbia, PA 17512 - Twin Rose Family Medicine- Columbia
306 N. 7th Street
Columbia, PA 17512 - Ephrata Area Social Services
227 N. State Street
Ephrata, PA 17522
Fresh Express: This mobile food pantry in Columbia provides fresh produce and healthy foods to residents who meet income guidelines. Fresh Express is a partnership between Lancaster General Health, Community Action Partnership, Columbia Life Network, and Central Pennsylvania Food Bank.
Lancaster General Health Street Medicine works to improve the health of unhoused people in Lancaster County. We deliver high-quality health and social care, aiming to provide an accessible transitional primary care home for this population.
We provide a range of free programs to help women achieve healthier lives. Programs include:
- Breast and cervical screening: We offer a variety of free and low-cost health screenings for women, including mammograms and Pap tests for women with limited or no insurance.
- Family planning: Our family planning clinic offers low- and no-cost women’s health care at every life stage. We provide contraception options, pregnancy testing, preventive gynecologic care, and sexual health counseling.
- Healthy Beginnings Plus: We help you and your baby have the healthiest start possible. Healthy Beginnings Plus connects you with the prenatal provider of your choice as well as a nurse, social worker, registered dietitian, and lactation consultant. Throughout pregnancy and after birth, we offer home visits for community connection, nursing assistance, breastfeeding education, and more.
- Nurse-Family Partnership: The Nurse-Family Partnership program is designed to cater to the unique needs of first-time moms. From pregnancy until your child turns 2, your nurse visits you regularly. They provide health checks, childbirth education, and guidance on early childhood development. We can also connect you with community assistance, such as housing, transportation, and nutrition support.
- STEPS: We’re here to support pregnant and postpartum women with a history of substance use. You and your baby receive personalized, compassionate care from a nurse and social worker.