Spotlight on: Le Sueur and Waseca Counties

In Le Sueur and Waseca Counties, a dedicated team of public health professionals serves their communities with equity at the forefront while leveraging data to meet future goals. Above all, their own lived experiences, as well as those of their family members, give them insights into community concerns and help to establish meaningful relationships and connections.

Colin Ayers is the community health educator and planner for Le Sueur and Waseca Counties. When he started the position three years ago, he focused on data collection and analysis. Now, he’s also the project lead in areas like mental health, cannabis, opioids, and communications.

“What inspires me to go to work every day is knowing that I have an opportunity to give back to the community where I was born and raised.” – Colin Ayers

In 2021, Mariana Izaguirre became the first certified community health worker in Waseca County. Through a state grant, she earned a certificate from St. Catherine’s University, and now uses her skills and background to assist in cultural awareness, communications, and translation throughout the public health departments.

“People who only speak Spanish feel like they’re being a bother. We are changing this by building relationships. I like to say I’m a piece of all our services.” -- Mariana Izaguirre

Le Sueur and Waseca County staff participate in a community tabling event.

Trisha Chimal-Simonette is an administrative assistant at the public health office in Le Sueur County, but her role goes well past any job description. She speaks Spanish and is involved with the community, so she gets visits and calls almost daily from folks looking for assistance. She says she always tries to listen and identify the real issues and root causes.

“My family has personal stories that have affected our lives forever and taught me much. I live and breathe health equity daily because of my own family dynamics. I wear my public health hat, but it’s also about being a human being.” -- Trisha Chimal-Simonette

Colin, Mariana, and Trisha play numerous roles within the county’s public health. Their collaboration and contributions have resulted in new projects, including:

• Power of Produce (PoP) Club: The PoP Club helps children aged 0 to 18 get access to fresh produce. This collaboration is with the Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP), County 4-H, Master Gardeners, and the Waseca Library. In 2023, 587 kids from 33 different communities participated, and in 2024, $5,896 was spent at the farmers market with 32 vendors participating.
• Mental Health Awareness Project: This activity began with a project Colin organized with SHIP collaboration, which aimed to destigmatize mental health, encourage conversations about mental health, and provide mental health resources. The project promoted the passing of a mental health proclamation and started a suicide cohort.
• Rock Painting and Rock Garden Mental Health Project: A part of the Mental Health Awareness project, this included a rock painting event at the Waseca Public Library as well as the distribution of rock painting kits to daycare centers in Waseca and Le Sueur Counties. Mariana took the project further and created a community rock garden that addresses mental health issues through art.
• All About Newborns: This project will start in March 2025 in collaboration with public health nurses. All newborn caregivers will have access to a nurse, baby weight checks, breastfeeding support, and education on various newborn topics in a group setting. No income guidelines or other qualifications are needed to attend.

Colin said that these projects began by completing the community health assessment and community health improvement plan (CHA/CHIP) and analyzing the data that they revealed. He also learned the value of creating information that is easy to understand, worded clearly, and readable. Trisha added, “We need to keep it simple.” Mariana said it is important to think about cultural differences, perceptions, and interpretations and clarify understanding. And, above all, to maintain relationships.

“I learned that having a relationship with our community members is essential to getting messages across. Having events open to everyone surprised some people, but it was a great idea!” -- Mariana Izaguirre

There are many challenges to their efforts, and Colin constantly works to find new ways to collect and communicate data. He said he thinks it’s important to back up what they do with data and to use that data to gain funding.

“Our work furthers health equity because it helps identify gaps in the health of our communities. Plus, it also gives us a chance to develop deeper, more impactful relationships with the communities we serve. We can better understand what is needed to make sure everyone in our community has access to the healthiest life possible. Yes, we’re rural, yes, we’re small, but we’re trying it out.” – Colin Ayers