Who We Are

Every Baby Deserves A Healthy Start!

We are a community based, non-profit organization focused on improving the health and well being of pregnant women, their infants and children. Chipola Healthy Start is one of 32 coalitions throughout Florida established in 1991 to implement the provisions of Florida’s Healthy Start legislation. Our membership consists of community-based organizations and individuals interested in improving maternal and child health outcomes. The Coalition coordinates a system of care that guarantees all women have access to services that promote optimal growth and development.

The key functions of the Healthy Start Coalition are to:

  1. Conduct community assessment,
  2. Develop community-level strategic plans to address maternal and child health issues that come from the assessment,
  3. Allocate funds received from the state of Florida and private sources to provide the best services available for pregnant women and infants up to the age of three, and
  4. Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the services for which the providers are paid.

The Coalition’s key functions are linked to each county’s health indicators. Health indicators are statistics that measure the health and well-being of the residents of Calhoun, Holmes, Jackson, Liberty and Washington counties. The health of a community is gauged by the number of low birth weight babies and infant deaths. You will find your county health indicators that define our community’s health status on www.floridacharts.com.

Chipola Healthy Start also encourages you to read our latest publications for up-to-date health statistics to learn more about your community. This information helps to guide future strategies to improve the well-being of mothers, babies and families. Once you become familiar with our successes and the areas needing improvement, we invite you to think about how you can help your community to achieve our vision and improve the community in which you live.

Meet Our Board!

Greetings!

My name is Chephus D. Granberry, and I was raised here in Jackson County, in Greenwood. Born to the late Mattie Lue Granberry Sims, I attended Kindergarten through 12th grade at Grand Ridge School. After high school, I continued my education at Chipola College and then moved to South Florida to attend Miami Dade College. After returning to Jackson County, I established my family and began my career. I have worked in the Jackson County school system for almost 29 years and currently serve as the District Transportation/Fleet Manager. Additonally, I am involved in the funeral business as the co-owner of Long-Granberry Funeral Services, Inc. My wife, Beverly graduated from Marianna High School and we have been married for 26 years. We are blessed with two children, Rache' and Cydney, both of whom attended and graduated from Marianna High School. Jackson County has been a part of my life for a vast amount of time and now I am ready to continue my service to my community.

Judy Corbus represents Washington County on the Chipola Healthy Start Board of Directors and has served since 2000. She also serves as Treasurer. Judy was born in Washington, DC and lived in Arlington, VA until age 8, when her family moved to St. Petersburg, FL. She is a graduate of Florida State University, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Home Economics Education and a Master of Science degree in Consumer Economics. Judy is the Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent with University of Florida/IFAS Extension, Washington and Holmes Counties. She began her Extension career in 1993 in Washington, Gulf, and Franklin Counties and transferred to Holmes and Washington Counties in 1996. She teaches community education programs on housing/homebuyer education, money management, consumer education, nutrition, and food preservation. She also is an Accredited Financial Counselor® and HUD Certified Housing Counselor.

Judy enjoys helping people and supporting the mission of Chipola Healthy Start. She is a member of First Baptist Church, Chipley, where she is active in the children’s ministry. In her spare time, she enjoys sewing, walking, and spending time with family.

Missy Sword Lee is employed with the Florida Department of Children and Families as the Circuit 14 Community Administrator in the NW region. She has a bachelor’s degree in Criminology and is currently working on her Graduate degree in Law Enforcement Intelligence from Florida State University. Missy is a proud veteran of the United States Air Force.

As a native of NW Florida, Missy was raised in Panama City and after doing some time in the Air Force, living in other areas of the United States, she relocated to Holmes County in 2010 and is proud to call Bonifay, Florida her home. She is actively involved with her church as well as several community organizations. Missy has been working in the field of social services for over 17 years in several different capacities such as case coordinator with the Guardian ad Litem program, investigator with DCF child welfare, community liaison and fetal infant mortality review coordinator for Healthy Start, supervisor for case management in the Family Intervention Program and was the Director of Substance Abuse and Mental Health (SAMH) for the NW region of Florida before moving into her current community role.

Missy has had the opportunity to help build a true system of care for families which includes faith based community partnerships, cultural competency and a broader implementation of peers to assist with support and lived experience. Missy has lived experience as a family member of an individual with issues involving substance abuse and mental health so supporting and empowering others, especially youth is a passion of hers. Missy is a certified Florida Governors Sterling Examiner and loves training in the community. She is certified to do so in Youth and Adult Mental Health First Aid as well as Cultural Competency. Missy is married, has 5 children between she and her husband, has a beautiful granddaughter and loves the beach!

Briana has been a Jackson County representative for Chipola Healthy Start since August 2021. She is a therapist at Hope Springs Counseling Group in Marianna, Florida. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from The Baptist College of Florida in December of 2019 and Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Troy University in May 2022.

Melissa Chamberlain is a family nurse practitioner in Blountstown, Florida. She graduated from Florida State University. She currently practices at TMH Physician Partners.

Our Meetings

Our Valued Partners

Jackson County Hospital logo
United Way of Northwest Florida logo
visit Tobacco Free Florida logo
Florida Department of Health logo
visit Florida Assoication of Healthy Start Coalitions logo
visit Healthy Start Mom Care Network logo
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