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Blue Ridge Health District presents Nelson County Community Health Assessment, prioritizing mental health, obesity and access
Summary
Blue Ridge Health District presented a Community Health Assessment that identified chronic conditions, gaps in healthcare access, and social drivers of health (food access, economic stability, transportation) as the three priorities for Nelson County; recommendations include targeted universalism, transportation improvements, and partnerships to expand services.
Officials with the Blue Ridge Health District and the Virginia Department of Health presented Nelson County’s Community Health Assessment (CHA) and recommended priorities for the Community Health Improvement Plan on Nov. 13.
Ryan McKay, director of the Blue Ridge Health District, said the CHA process spanned 18 months and included local partners such as UVA Health and Sentara Martha Jefferson. Project officer Jen Fleisher summarized the findings and the three priority areas: (1) chronic conditions, with emphasis on obesity and mental health; (2) improving healthcare access; and (3) addressing social drivers of health such as healthy food access, economic stability and transportation.
Fleisher described a mixed-methods approach: a randomized door-to-door survey in Tract 9501 (Arrington-Wingina) that knocked on 238 doors and returned 100 responses, roughly 1,000 online respondents across the district, about 300 one-on-one interviews, multiple key-informant interviews, focus groups (including people with disabilities, Spanish-speaking community health workers, reentry community, and LGBTQ respondents), and a photovoice project with Monticello High students. She said secondary data—census measures and health system patient data—corroborated local findings, including high obesity and elevated hypertension in certain tracts.
"Money was the number one support needed for health improvement, followed by community support or 'peer-to-peer assistance,'" Fleisher said, summarizing residents’ responses. She noted that Arrington-Wingina scored higher on deprivation indicators in the Area Deprivation Index and that many Nelson residents travel at least 30 minutes for medical care and 45 minutes for dental appointments. Implementation ideas in the CHIP include healthy-eating classes, budgeting support, community-led groups, mobile clinics, and transportation solutions.
Board members discussed where the County could have leverage; supervisors suggested zoning changes to encourage small grocery stores and support for transit expansion. McKay and Fleisher emphasized partnership across healthcare systems, local organizations and nonprofits to align resources and legislative advocacy on transportation and economic-stability measures.
Next steps include moving from assessment to the CHIP (health improvement plan) and coordinating local stakeholders to implement interventions focused on priority populations identified in the report.
