Blue Ridge Health District presents three-year 'Map to Health' priorities for region

Ryan McKay, director of the Blue Ridge Health District, presented the district's Map to Health community health assessment to the Fluvanna Board of Supervisors on Nov. 5, outlining the process and the priorities the district plans to address over the next three years.

McKay said the district combined primary data — household surveys, 347 key-informant interviews, focus groups and a photo-voice youth project at Monticello High School — with secondary datasets from UVA Health and Sentara Martha Jefferson to identify three priority areas: chronic conditions with an emphasis on obesity and related conditions such as hypertension and diabetes; mental health access and services; and the social drivers of health, such as transportation and income.

"We use data, both primary data from our citizens and then secondary data from datasets from UVA, Sentara Martha Jefferson, and national datasets," McKay said, emphasizing that de-identified patient data (about 99,000 records spanning roughly two years) allowed staff to pinpoint where poor outcomes cluster geographically.

McKay said the district initially planned 100 household surveys in six localities but completed a 100-household sample and supplemented it with other primary data and UVA/Sentara datasets; he argued that the Nelson County household work provides a practical proxy for rural localities across the district when combined with broader datasets.

Staff will draft a health improvement plan based on the assessment and said they expect to complete that plan by January; McKay said the district will share the full improvement plan and provide progress updates over the next three years.

Board members asked clarifying questions about sampling and the geographic applicability of Nelson County household surveys; McKay said the team combined those surveys with UVA data to ensure broader applicability.