About HHS

PurdueExtensin Health and Human Sciences (HHS) provides education to people of all ages in Indiana's 92 counties on the topics of food, family, money, and health. The community is our classroom - where we bring university information to the local level and help people strengthen families, spend smart, eat right and live well.

Welcome to the Purdue Extension - LaPorte County Health and Human Sciences program. Our HHS educator delivers practical, high-impact, research-based programs to those in our community related to food-based knowledge and safety, money management, health and wellness, and family resources. We offer a variety of engaging and comprehensive programs and services including, but not limited to: Conflict Management Training, Dining with Diabetes, Manager Training, and Where Does Your Money Go? Purdue Extension also offers programs and services including Pressure Canner Testing, ServSafe Food Handler, and other programs. HHS Extension programs offer a variety of adult and youth classes catering to these needs. Contact us today to learn more about what HHS can do for you!

Programs

By identifying needs within the community, Purdue Extension Health and Human Sciences (HHS Extension) delivers educational programs, applied research, and resources. Through HHS Extension, university information is brought to the local level, both in person and online.

For more information about specific programs, visit the Department of Health & Human Sciences

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The new Electric Programmable Pressure Cookers (EPPC) are a very popular appliance in home kitchens. This small kitchen appliance is a versatile multi-cooker that can do the job of a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, and more, and also saves you counter space and money. If you would like to learn more about the features, the benefits, how to safely operate, and sources of recipes – because you are considering a purchase OR you have one but haven’t taken it out of the box – then this class is for you!

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Diabetes adversely impacts the lives of over 10 percent of adults in Indiana dealing with this chronic condition. People with diabetes may experience financial struggles due to higher healthcare costs and are at increased risk for developing long-term health problems. Dining with Diabetes is a cooking school that offers a practical approach to eating well for those with type 2 diabetes and their caregivers. The program consists of four sessions and a reunion. Program topics include:

  • planning meals and snacks with delicious and healthy recipes
  • cooking demonstrations and food sampling
  • motivation and support — connect with others who are living with diabetes
  • ideas for being more active
  • an understanding of how diabetes affects your overall health.

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Food Budgeting and Meal Planning is a one-hour program about how to get the most nutritious food for your dollar. The following topics will be covered:

  • Create a Grocery Game Plan
  • Eating Better on a Budget
  • Food Storage Chart
  • Food Safety Tips
  • Leftover Makeovers/Refrigerator Reboots
  • Make Your Own Casserole Leftovers

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The Purdue Extension Nutrition Education Program (NEP) works to improve the nutrition and health of audiences with limited resources by helping to make the healthy choice the easy choice.

Learn about other Food Programs Purdue has to offer here.

 

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Many older adults experience concerns about falling and restrict their activities. A Matter of Balance is a fall prevention program that encourages cognitive restructuring. It is designed to reduce the fear of falling and increase activity levels among older adults. A Matter of Balance is an evidence-based program that typically meets once a week for 8 weeks. The program emphasizes practical strategies to manage falls.

Participants will learn to:
• View falls as controllable
• Set goals for increasing activity
• Make changes to reduce fall risks at home
• Exercise to increase strength and balance

Who should attend?
• Anyone concerned about falls
• Anyone interested in improving balance, flexibility and strength
• Anyone who has fallen in the past
• Anyone who has restricted activities because of falling concerns

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I Am Moving, I Am Learning is a fun, active training for caregivers of young children (birth to 5 years) to encourage children’s movement and healthy food choices each day.

This training is available for child care providers, parents, or other caregivers of young children to encourage the  use of movement activities to support children’s healthy development. Children can engage in fun physical activities, both indoors and outdoors, as they learn about being active and eating healthy, nutritious food.

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Brain disease is one of the biggest health crises facing the world today. The prevalence of dementia is increasing as our population increases. By adopting multiple healthy lifestyle choices, adults may decrease their risk of cognitive decline and dementia.

Through this interactive program, participants will become aware of the incidence of dementia, understand the 10 warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease, and the benefits of early detection and diagnosis. Learn steps you can take to better your own brain health by adopting a brain healthy lifestyle.

 

Learn about other Family Programs Purdue has to offer here.

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 Captain Cash is an interactive educational program designed to teach basic financial management skills to your students. Along with learning basic financial concepts, students learn and practice important life skills to foster self-sufficiency such as communication, decision-making, problem-solving, managing resources, planning, and organizing.

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Clutter is a disordered collection of things that impedes movement or reduces effectiveness. Empower Me to Be Clutter Free is an educations program that can be offered in one, two, or three sessions, either in-person or online. The sessions are as follows:

  • Session 1 – Provides de-cluttering strategies and discusses the emotional barriers that often prevents us from letting go of our things.
  • Session 2 – Addresses paper clutter.
  • Session 3 – Discusses how to store your things so that you can maintain the order you’ve created in your home or office. 

All sessions last approximately one hour

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Investing for your future can be both risky and stressful – but it doesn’t have to be. With so many investment choices available how can you know where to start? Investments with high risk with the opportunity to make lots of money-but at the same time potentially lose all the money you’ve put in- or more conservative ventures? Do you make those decisions alone or with the assistance of a professional? And if you are already feeling stressed due to your finances, could that affect the investment decisions you make?

Take the Investment Risk Tolerance and Current Financial Stress Assessments. Your answers to the questions asked in both surveys will assist your investment strategy focus as you gain knowledge of your ability to tolerate investment risk. You will also learn your current level of personal financial stress

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Being able to retire when you want and how you want is important to many people. Planning ahead can put you in a position to live comfortably during your retirement.

The objective of this course is to help you with your planning for retirement. Each of the ten modules within this course provides information that can be valuable in answering the questions you need to consider as you make your plans. The modules include specific goals, activities to complete, and sources for more information

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Has someone contacted you unexpectedly? Have they promised you something? Have they asked you to do something?

People all around the world are affected by scams every single day. This free educational program will cover some common types of scams, provide you with proactive steps you can take to protect yourself and your information, and show you where you can go to report scams or frauds that have taken place

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Do you know where your money goes? Most of us don’t. Where Does Your Money Go is a program designed to help you better understand how you spend your money. 

Where Does Your Money Go? (WDYMG) is a program designed to help consumers better understand how they spend their money. Program activities include determining your spending priorities and habits as well as creating a spending-savings plan

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Who Gets Grandma’s Yellow Pie Plate? addresses common decision making obstacles when passing on personal possessions.  It will help you and your family to:

  • Recognize the sensitivity of the issues
  • Determine what you want to do
  • Decide what’s fair for your family
  • Understand belongings have different meaning to different individuals
  • Consider distribution options and consequences
  • Agree to manage conflicts if they arise

 

Learn more about Money Programs Purdue has to offer here.

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The CREW Curriculum is adaptable for varied industries and organizations of all sizes. It can be delivered in person or virtually. CREW offers education and skill-building content related to three topics, available as standalone one-hour sessions or as a series:

  • Work-Life Balance
  • Stress Management
  • Stigma Reduction

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Your heart beats nearly 100,000 times a day. That’s 100,000 good reasons to take care of it.

Purdue Extension’s Be Heart Smart program is combating heart disease—the #1 cause of death for men and women in Indiana. Designed to help adults prevent heart disease, this four-session program offers simple, practical changes to achieve a heart-healthy lifestyle. This program provides information about:

  • managing blood pressure and cholesterol;
  • increasing daily physical activity;
  • improving dietary choices;
  • managing stress;
  • talking to a healthcare provider, and more.

After attending the program, participants will be able to identify their controllable risk factors for heart disease and how to reduce their personal risk. Connect with your local Extension Educator to learn more about Be Heart Smart and opportunities to attend this program.

creating-healthy-community.pngIn Indiana, community leaders make decisions about public spaces such as parks, trails, farmers markets, schools, and Main Streets every day that affect the health and wellness of the community. Using Purdue Extension′s Enhancing the Value of Public Spaces: Creating Healthy Communities program, facilitators coach communities through development of a high quality action plan for the public spaces. The plan can guide decision and better position communities to take advantage of opportunities to promote healthy eating and active living.

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Get WalkIN’ helps to promote and increase physical activity among adults simply by walking more. This unique program is entirely e-mail based. Over a period of 12 weeks, you will receive 16 e-mail messages from Purdue Extension containing credible and useful information about the health benefits of walking, how to overcome barriers, principles of self-efficacy, social support, goal setting, walking locations, and relapse prevention.

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Purdue Extension offers adult and youth Mental Health First Aid. The adult program is for adults who want to help other adults. The youth program is for adults who interact with elementary through high school aged youth.

Mental Health First Aid is open to any adult who is interested to learn. No prior training or specific education is needed, and all experiences are welcome. Recent participants have included concerned family members and friends, faith-based leaders, farmers, healthcare professionals, law enforcement, school personnel, and veterinary providers.

 

Learn more about Health Programs Purdue has to offer here.

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 Contact Us

Meet Our HHS Educator

Hi, my name is Chrissie Lai. The Health and Human Sciences Extension Educator here in LaPorte County. My background is in Public Health, specializing in health education. It is my passion to help people live healthier lives, and I am delighted to join LaPorte County, looking forward to providing university-based information to the community and working with them to improve their health and well-being.

Chrissie Lai

Health & Human Sciences Educator

Purdue University - LaPorte County

lai241@purdue.edu

Sue Salisbury

HHS & ANR Secretary

Purdue Extension - LaPorte County

salisbk@purdue.edu

Purdue Extension - LaPorte County

laporteces@purdue.edu

(219) 324-9407

2857 W. State Rd. 2, Suite A., LaPorte, IN 46350

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