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San Juan County moves to form Community Health Network to tackle mental health, housing and access to care
Summary
County health staff outlined plans to convert Community Health Assessment priorities into a Community Health Improvement Plan and launch a Community Health Network to coordinate partners, apply for grants and manage cross‑island projects addressing mental health, housing and access to care.
San Juan County health leaders told the Board of Health on Sept. 17 that they are preparing to convene a Community Health Network to translate findings from the county’s community health assessments into actionable programs focused on mental health, housing and access to care.
Ellen (county presenter) reviewed the 2023 Community Health Assessment and a 2025 youth assessment, saying community‑identified priorities remain mental health, housing and access to care. "We’re really at the next step, which is the community health improvement planning step," she said, calling it the hardest but most important phase.
Staff described coordination with regional partners, including PeaceHealth (which completed a recent community assessment), hospital districts, resource centers and local foundations. PeaceHealth’s assessment mirrored county priorities and added food access. County staff stressed the need to build technical working groups, a steering/advisory structure and a network function that can convene partners across islands.
Speakers also discussed federal rural health transformation funding described in the session as a $50 billion pledge; county staff cautioned the amount and distribution mechanism remain uncertain and will likely be allocated by state. Staff projected that if Washington state received an approximately $1 billion allocation, a county share could translate to roughly $2 million annually over five years, but emphasized this scenario is speculative and contingent on state decisions.
The board heard about an existing pilot (SIM project) that used Administrative Office of the Courts seed funding to improve care coordination between courts, law enforcement and behavioral‑health providers; presenters said that model’s tangible tools (a shared release of information and a dedicated project manager) provide a template for the Community Health Network.
County staff said they have startup funding and will soon launch a survey of community partners to define priorities and identify who will plug into steering, advisory and technical groups. Next steps include a small convening with hospital districts and resource centers and developing metrics to evaluate impact. The board was invited to participate in policy and advisory roles and to help champion access‑to‑care work, particularly where local hospital districts are under operational strain.
No formal board action was taken at this meeting on the Community Health Network; staff asked for feedback and will return with convening outcomes and a plan for staffing and sustained funding.
