Individual members of the community must be involved in issues relating to their personal health.
The question is how to get people interested.
Representatives from the medical profession, city, county, business community and not-for-profit organizations discussed Peoria County’s low health rankings Monday. A recent report that ranked the county 71st in terms of health statewide is being used as part of the Peoria City/County Health Department’s five-year community health improvement effort.
“The report is a call to action to Peoria County in terms of how can we as a community improve the health status of the county,” said Greg Chance, public health administrator for the Peoria City/County Health Department. “It’s easy to look at data and identify community problems from a health department perspective. What’s been challenging is developing a community plan that is actually implemented and addresses those health issues.”
The report, compiled by the University of Wisconsin of all counties in all 50 states, ranked Woodford County third healthiest in the state; Tazewell County was 46th. One Illinois county did not submit data for the study.
The health assessment report revealed Peoria County ranked first in clinical care, but 86th in health behaviors, which include tobacco use, alcohol use, obesity and physical activities, motor vehicle accidents and teen birth.
Highlighted Monday was higher incidences of sexually transmitted diseases in Peoria County compared to the state level and comparatively high infant mortality rates.
“The Health Department is a small piece in a bigger puzzle: physicians, nurses, hospitals, schools, correctional facilities, law enforcement. They all influence or play a role in the health of our community in one way or another,” Chance said.
The community health improvement effort is required by the Illinois Department of Public Health to receive health department certification. Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships, or MAPP, is a citizens group conducting the health needs assessment and identifying health issues.
Farrell Davies, CEO of Heartland Community Health and co-chair of the MAPP committee, said some focus should remain on providing a better overall health-care system that stresses preventative care and better primary care.
“We all know that we cannot afford to continue to have these rising costs of care,” Davies said. “So how can we think smarter, do more prevention and work together to develop systems that allow people the access that they need to get that care?”
The 2005 to 2010 Community Health Needs Assessment Plan identified three top priorities: Cerebrovascular Disease (stroke), hip fractures and infant mortality.
By late spring or early summer the Health Department will solicit community input on the data it collected and identify three to five priority community health issues and strategies to mitigate them.
“We’re mot going to make great strides overnight. We’re not going to reduce the number of obese individuals in Peoria County in five years. But I think we can take steps towards that,” Chance said.
Karen McDonald can be reached at 686-3285 or [email protected].
Read the original article from Journal Star.
Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services