Hi there everybody and welcome to the Mark Mo
Show Fireside Chats here on 103 .1 FM WVLP. WVLP
.org, the TuneIn app and all podcast platforms
and YouTube. Make sure to check the links to
this interview on the Mark Mo Show, Mark Maloney
and WVLP Facebook pages. This week we chat with
Big D Demetrius Lewis of the Porter County Health
Department. We'll learn a bit more about Demetrius,
what's going on at the Health Department, including
the upcoming kickoff to Summer Health Fair in
Central Park Plaza on June 13th from 11 a .m.
to 3 p .m. Demetrius, thanks for joining us today.
Thank you for having me, Mark. We really appreciate
the opportunity to come on the show tonight.
Well, I appreciate it. And it's great to have
you here. I love the event. This is, what, second
year now, second year for the event. So we're
going to eventually get to that. We're going
to talk a little bit about that. But for those
folks out there in the community that don't know
who you are, why don't you tell a little bit
about yourself? Absolutely. Well, I am Demetrius
Lewis. I'm the Communications Manager for the
Porter County Health Department. Along with the
responsibilities that I have, I am the PIO, Public
Information Officer for the Health Department
and Emergency Management Agency. So if there's
ever some kind of situation, you know heaven
forbid a chemical exposure or some kind of natural
disaster uh you would see me on the uh see me
on tv uh telling you guys what you need to know
to stay safe uh i would coordinate everything
with the media coordinate those press conferences
and whatnot um other responsibilities i'm in
charge of our social media uh That's one of my
biggest responsibilities and probably my most
fun with that. Oh, absolutely. Get to do a lot
with that. I'm in charge of making different
social media videos. I'm in charge of keeping
our websites up to date. I wear a lot of different
hats at the health department. No two days look
alike for me. I'm always doing something different.
I have a background in broadcasting a little
bit. I was a sports anchor and a news reporter
back in my media days in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
So some people have said you can kind of tell
with my voice a little bit. You may recognize
my voice a little bit because we recently started
our own show here on WVLP. We're about eight
episodes deep. It's called the POCO Wellness
Hour. Our program airs on Monday nights. 6 p
.m. Central Standard Time and it's a show that
runs every other every other week so you get
a new show every two weeks like I said the original
playing on that was Monday at 6 p .m. when we
have a rerun on Saturdays at 9 a .m. it's really
an opportunity for us to get a chance to talk
to our local partners everyone in the community
that we think don't excuse me that we think need
a a bigger platform, if you will. I enjoy the
opportunity to kind of sit back and talk to everyone.
It's educational for me to learn about all the
different programs and initiatives that we have
going on. And I think it's a really good benefit
for the audience also. Our last show, actually,
I talked to a gentleman from the Crisis Center
and Gary. We talked a little bit about the 9
-8 -8 hotline. Believe it or not, there are some
people that really don't know about resources
like that and how those things like that can
really help people. So having a program like
this, using the skills that I've been able to
accumulate over the years here with WVLP with
the POCO Wellness Hour has been a really good
opportunity, not just for me, but for our organization
and everyone who comes on the show and of course
the Porter County community. Along with all that,
I'm a radio show host also. I love it. I love
it. And you're a very good one too. It's a great
show. Let everybody know once again the times
they can catch you. Yes, it is on Monday nights
on WVLP at 6 p .m. Central Standard Time and
we have a rerun on Saturday mornings at 9 a .m.
That's awesome. I appreciate that and definitely
the plug and it's a great show and I think based
you know, and the Porter County Health Department
outreach is paramount to what you guys do and
what you're trying to achieve. So I think this
radio show really helps you do that and you guys
do a great job with it. I appreciate it. We really
do. It's definitely something new for us. We've
never done anything like this. So to have this
be placed upon me being the first person to carry
this out for the health department is truly an
honor and I'm proud of it. Oh, that's awesome.
So now I'm very interested because you brought
up a bit of a broadcasting career that you've
had in Fort Wayne, and so communications being
the background, I'm very interested to hear what
brought you to Porter County Health Department.
Well, you know, after graduating from Ball State,
I held a few jobs in news media, kind of worked
my way up the ladder, so to speak, from a production
assistant. to an assignment editor, to a producer,
and to eventually becoming an on -air talent.
I've just accumulated a lot of skills over that
time. Like I said, graduating from Ball State
and working as a communications manager now.
It's really an opportunity for me to use those
same skills that I've been building over all
these years of me being out of college. I remember
in second grade, my second grade teacher said,
Demetrius, you're either gonna be a marine biologist
or you're gonna work in broadcasting. I have
a love for whales. Free Willy changed my life.
Free Willy changed my life. I was a little boy
when I saw that movie. And I tell you what, teachers
are very important people and she clearly knew
me and knew the path that I was on because that's
eventually where I went to, you know? So working
in media. I saw this opportunity at the Porter
County Health Department kind of to go to the
dark side, if you will, the other side of the
coin. Being a reporter, you know, I'm out there.
I'm looking for news, I'm hunting for news, so
to speak. I'm looking for things to report on.
In this position, I'm more of a gatekeeper. I'm
releasing the information, I'm letting people
know what needs to be known out there. It's a
natural transition for people who work in media
to find a job like this and PR, communications
management, marketing. I really touch on all
that kind of stuff. I make flyers. I do different
brochures. Like I said, I wear a lot of different
hats at the health department. It's truly an
honor to be able to work at a job like this.
I feel like people who are like me that have
the degree that I have, we have a unique set
of skills. We have to do a little bit of writing.
We have to do a little bit of filming, editing.
We have to be comfortable talking to people,
large groups of people. And right there, public
speaking is number one fear for most people.
So having a job like this where I'm able to use
all these skills that I've built up, it's truly
a blessing. And to do it in a community like
this where a big part of this is storytelling.
where i'm bringing this from journalism and it
really plays a big part with this also having
a chance to tell success stories having a chance
to do programs like this to talk about the fun
initiatives and programs that we have going on
so that storytelling aspect and our reporting
on good news i'm bringing that from the broadcasting
and journalism world into this position now and
that right there is the biggest thrill for me
because that's That's why you get into the industry,
to tell stories and let people know that not
everything is doom and gloom, you know? That's
right. And it's nice for a change. It really
is. And I think people deep down would much rather
listen to that, things that are informative,
things where you're learning, learning about
resources that can help you and your family.
I think that's great. Absolutely. You know, Porter
County is a, it's a big place and you know, we're,
we're all about a good time here. We're really
big on our festivals and things like that. But
there are people that need help and it's important
for us to let people know that there are resources
out there for those people. Oh, absolutely. And
the Porter County Health Department is a really
great resource. And I'm sure this is a very broad
question, but maybe you could just point out
two few things. What services does the Porter
County Health Department provide? Well, that
is a pretty broad question. I figured it would
be. So we could go to our nursing division. They
do lab work, immunizations. They do STI HIV testing.
You can go to our environmental safety division.
They'll do things like septic checks, excuse
me, septic system checks. They will go out and
check semi -public and public pools. They'll
go out to the local beaches to get those water
samples to make sure that the water is safe.
We have a school liaison division where we are
active in the community. We get out into the
schools and we are putting on programs for the
kids, teaching them things. We have a care coordination
division where we have a care coordinator who's
in touch with a whole bunch of different resources
here in Porter County In terms of getting people
insurance getting them in touch with different
food pantries So really is a broad broad spectrum
of what we do. I've said this before I feel like
a lot of our attention with the Porter County
Health Department is kind of shined on our nursing
division, you know, and understandably so. They're
very active and out there in the community, but
we do have other divisions that are out there
putting a dent in the world in a good way. Yeah,
absolutely. Speaking of health, as it pertains
to Porter County, we'll kind of keep it local,
so to speak. What do you see as like the top
health concerns right now in Porter County? Well,
there's, it's kind of a hard question right now
because right now we're all about being preventative
right now. Hard disease is a really big issue
in Porter County. We did a study a couple of
years ago to find what the major issues are in
our and our community, and that was one of the
big ones. So one of the things that we do at
the health department, you know, our mission
is to promote, protect, and provide a vital public
health services, and a part of that is the being
proactive about things. So we do a lot of education,
you know, encouraging people to, if they're smokers,
not smoke. We focus on a lot of preventative
aspects. Yeah, and I think that's that's really
important and you know even even with the the
older population that's still a very important
thing because that's there's still a lot of life
left to live with a lot of the older individuals
those that work at the mill and things of that
nature. So I think programs like that you know
through the health department through organizations
like YMCA and other groups like that being able
to kind of coordinate and and just talk about
these preventative measures, I think is really
important. Absolutely. And of course, we have
a lot of partnerships in the community. And I
do just want to say, us being at the health department,
we present a compelling alternative to private
doctors when it comes to cost effectiveness,
accessibility. A focused approach on public health,
like I said. A lot of times our services are
offered at a lower cost or even sometimes free
depending on the initiatives that we have going
on. Sometimes we'll put on different clinics
and whatnot. So it's a different alternative
for a lot of people who may be uninsured, underinsured.
Like I said, we focus on a lot of those public
health initiatives. Oh, I love that. That's fantastic
because we do have a lot of folks that are under
-insured or uninsured right now, so that is really
a fantastic service. It's important that they
get the services that they deserve also. Absolutely,
100%. Now, when you think of health crisis, so
let's think of like COVID. Gosh, it's what, five
years ago now. It seems like yesterday, man.
I'll never forget that. So you think of something
like COVID. When it comes to health emergencies
and things like that. What does what does Porter
County Health Department do? How can you guys
keep the public involved when things like this
happen? Well, I will say that I wasn't around
during the COVID time. So I was, you know, I've
heard stories from the team that it was a quite
stressful time. You know, I was in northeast
Indiana. It's definitely a stressful time for
everybody. Yeah, but You know, one thing that
we do and we have done is we've had simulation
drills. We've done things that have kind of get
that stress on us, you know, kind of those. practice
scenarios, if you will. So we've had a couple
of those. We actually had one on Wednesday, June
4th for a Project Atom, but this one was a little
bit different. It was for a cardiac arrest designation.
So we are officially now a heart safe community
site. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah. So talk a little
bit about this drill that took place. We were
at the admin building and it was an all hands
on that kind of deal. We had local EMS, other
Porter County government entities involved. We
simulated a cardiac arrest issue. So we had a
practice dummy. We got some practice with the
AEDs. We made sure everyone knew where those
AEDs are located in the building, just in case.
It's not a matter of... if it's a matter of when
an emergency happens. So practicing things like
this and having these kind of drills, putting
that stress on you when you're not in that actual
situation. Just like sports, it's practice. So,
you know, you gotta get those reps in. And that's
what I think is important. Like I said, I wasn't
around for the COVID time, but that is one thing
that I can say that we do, we're pretty active
about. We've had drills, we've talked about different
scenarios, but right now, you know, knock on
wood, there's no issues right now going on. Right,
correct. We have a community that's made up of
a lot of renters. They rent homes, they rent
apartments and everything else. So when there
is environmental health hazards, so let's say
potential lead, mold, anything like that, can
they come to the Porter County Health Department
and seek help? Absolutely. You can call our number.
I am missing that right now. I'm so sorry. But
yes, you can reach out to us, our environmental
division. We respond to that kind of stuff. Absolutely.
Awesome, I'll make sure to post that number on
the socials for sure. There's no doubt about
that Do you host regular like town halls or have
advisory boards or things like that? That are
open to the public to kind of keep public involved.
Yeah on the first Tuesday of every month We have
our Board of Health meeting at the administration
building It's usually held in the Commissioner's
chambers and the meetings take take place They
start at 530 depending on how many items we have
to go through it can run from an hour a couple
of hours just depends But yeah, usually the first
Tuesday of every month you can catch at the Porter
County Administration building and the Commissioner's
chambers at 530 for the Board of Health meeting.
Got it. All right. That's great. Now, we've talked
a lot in terms of communication, getting people
involved and engaged in that sort of thing. One
of the things that you can do as far as involvement
and engagement is to host events. And so we have
an event coming up, right? And that event is
the Kickoff to Summer Health Fair right here
in Valparaiso, Indiana. Why don't you tell our
audience a little bit about what this fair is
about? Sure. This is the second running of our
event taking place at Central Park Plaza. We'll
be under the pavilion. So I don't know what the
opposite of a rain dance is. Maybe you can pray
to the gods that control that. But rain or shine,
we're going to be under the pavilion at Central
Park Plaza. We're going to have a DJ set up on
the stage on the amphitheater. Hopefully it's
a nice warm day where we can have the splash
pads going. That was a big hit last year. The
event is going to be on Friday, June 13th from
11 a .m. to 3 p .m. You know, the official start
of summer is June 20th, so we wanted to have
our event a week earlier just to make sure that
we are indeed kicking off summer with health
and wellness in mind. We're going to have tons
of giveaways. We have dozens of vendors who are
going to be in attendance this year. I think
we are more than 40. This is a free event to
enter. Like I said, tons of giveaways. be offered
dental screenings, vision screenings, immunizations,
back to school physicals, free haircuts for the
kids. We're going to have face painting, free
backpacks with school supplies. Food trucks are
going to be there and we're going to have so
much more. There is a little bit of a twist on
this year's events. We are joining forces with
the Salvation Army to host a canned food drive.
So please bring in three canned food items and
Come with your child, of course, and your child
will be entered into a raffle for a chance to
win a brand new bicycle. And along with that
bicycle, they'll get a brand new lock and helmet,
because we're all about safety, right? That's
right. That's awesome. That is a new little twist
on this year's event. So please bring out some
canned food items for a food drive, and it will
be much appreciated. And your little one could
be riding off in style this summer. I'd like
to talk a little bit about some of the featured
vendors who are going to be there. The Indiana
Department of Health, they will be offering immunizations.
The Zach Mago Foundation and Northwest Health,
they're gonna be offering preventative heart
screenings. Denmark College from Merrillville,
they're gonna be the ones offering free haircuts
and face painting for the kids. We really appreciate
that. And they also have a medical assistant
student program. So those medical students are
gonna be helping out with the screenings and...
the uh... intake and things like that maybe the
immunization so we're gonna find some stuff for
them to do uh... and those food trucks uh...
we're gonna have doctor dog we're gonna have
northwest indiana snowy and we're going to have
the lunchbox on wheels so these are all big hits
last year and we are happy to have them uh...
come aboard once again. Absolutely, that's great
stuff. And it's really a great fair in terms
of bringing the community out, learning about
health and just learning about the services that
you provide as well. But I also love kind of
a focus of bringing the kids out as well. And
that's really... and a focus but not maybe exclusively
the focus because this is open to the whole community
correct absolutely so The real reason why this
initiative started, you know, we had a lot of
positive feedback from a back -to -school clinic
that we did in 2023. And from there, we were
like, well, hey, we can host our own little party,
if you will, our own community health fair. One
large place where all of our community partners
and local organizations can gather and share
information and resources with one another. I
feel like, you know, with this being such a big
community, there are times where those valuable
resources, they're out there, but a lot of people
don't know about them. So, to have everyone in
one central location that everyone knows, Central
Park Plaza, home of the Northwest Health Ample
Theater, it's a great location and it's going
to be a great time for everyone to come out and
have some fun. but also be educated. I think
you're going to learn some stuff out here. You're
going to learn about resources that are out there
that you might not have been aware of. And maybe
you'll make some new friends. Last year, we had
close to 1 ,000 people out there. Did you really?
Yeah, that was going to be my next question,
because this is year two. So I was going to ask
you. you know, from year one to year two, like
any of the differences, but also like what that
turnout was or what you could expect. We were
expecting between two to five hundred last year.
And yeah, we had some head counters and we got
near that thousand point. We got a little worried
because I think our max was fifteen hundred.
Oh, the party is getting too big. Right. But
like I said, it's a great location. We had such
a great time last year. We had people in costumes,
like I said, the A splash pad was going. It's
a little warm, but hey, it's June. What are you
going to do? Right, exactly. Better than rain,
right? But we're hoping that this year we can
get close to that thousand again and maybe even
a little more. Central Park Plaza, they can hold
it. They can handle it. They can definitely handle
it. There's no question. Well, this really this
has been a fantastic conversation, one that I'm
very excited to have with you because I've known
you for a bit and this is a great event. Last
year was great. I think this year is going to
be great. We are going to pray to those weather
gods for sure. You know, we definitely want want
a nice day, but I'm assuming rain or shine. So,
you know, if it's maybe not the best day, still
come on down. Can I actually add a little something
to that? Please, another couple of twists. I
mentioned our canned food drive, how we're going
to be giving away a brand new bicycle or certificate
for a bike. But we also had another new twist.
So we actually had a t -shirt design contest.
We send out submissions to all the kids in Porter
County, all the elementary schools. We wanted
to get the kids involved this year. This is their
fair. This is their event. So you're going to
see us, our staff, we're going to have these
bright yellow shirts. And they're going to have
an awesome design on there. It's going to be
a little picture that a cool little girl made.
And we're going to present her with a bike because
she won that contest. Oh, that's awesome. I love
that. If you look on our Facebook, I had the
opportunity to speak with her, talk a little
bit with her mom. Let her know that she was indeed
not only one of the top participants that she
was the actual winner. That was a really fun,
really fun project to do. So I couldn't leave
that part out. We're going to be presenting a
young lady with a brand new bicycle helmet and
lock. and she's never had a lock before, she
says. It's a good thing to have. Absolutely.
We're going to have on these awesome t -shirts
designed by an awesome Porter County student,
and we can't wait to rock them. Now, I love that.
And so, folks, running the event. At the department,
you're going to be wearing these shirts. Are
these shirts available for purchase as well?
No, they won't be available for purchase. So
you don't get them? No, no. Just us, you know,
just because it's our party. It is your party.
It is your party. Well, I love that. And so just
keep an eye out for the yellow shirts. If you
have any questions, that's kind of the idea.
Find someone with a yellow shirt. There you go.
I love that. Well, once again, Demetrius, it's
awesome talking to you about this event. So once
again, this is the kickoff to Summer Health Fair
here in Valpo. That is June 13th from 11 a .m.
to 3 p .m. That is at Central Park Plaza. So
make sure that you join us for that event. I
think it's going to be a great event. I once
again, thank you so much for being here Demetrius.
Thanks for having us on. We really appreciate
it, Mark. Absolutely. This interview will air
locally on 103 .1 FM WVLP, Saturday at 2 p .m.
Central Time, Tuesday at 1 p .m. Central Time,
and again Tuesday night at 9 p .m. Central Standard
Time. The interview will also be made available
on the Mark Mo Show podcast. Monday evening,
I think, is when we're going to make that live
on all podcast platforms. YouTube. Thanks again
for joining us Big D. We will see you on Friday
the 13th in Central Park Plaza from 11 at 3 for
the kickoff and I want to thank everybody for
listening. Take care everyone.