The Belmont County Health Department has been awarded a Tobacco Community Prevention and High Need Population grant.

Awarded by the Ohio Department of Health in the amount of $37,500, the local grant was one of five grants awarded to deal with the high incidence of tobacco use in Ohio's Appalachian counties.

Linda Mehl, director of nursing for the local board, said the grant will be used to help meet several goals.

Some of the measures include increasing the number of work sites that provide cessation coverage or on-site cessation services to their employees.

Additionally, there will be efforts made to increase the number of families with smoke-free policies for their homes and vehicles and to reduce children's exposure to secondhand smoke.

Another priority is a goal to increase the number of school districts with 100 percent tobacco-free school campus policies.

In conjunction, a goal to increase the number of communities implementing laws requiring licenses to sell tobacco products will be explored.

Mehl, meanwhile, was lauded for her efforts to acquire grant funding.

"At our monthly meeting, the entire board applauded Linda's skills, which have served out department very well," said Deputy Health Commissioner Jim King.

"We have been awarded two grants in as many months which targeted specific problems relative to Belmont County," King said. "In a time when budgets are suffering, grants such as these really help financially as well as providing additional services to the residents of Belmont County."

Registered nurse Holly Sroka of the Belmont Health Board will be working with the new program as well as a yet-to-be-named county health educator.

The new grant took effect Aug. 1 and is scheduled to run through March 29, 2010. Pending successful implementation of the program, additional funding of $50,000 may be awarded.