Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Health topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Humboldt County health officials ask Fortuna residents to complete community health assessment survey
Summary
Humboldt County public-health officials briefed the Fortuna City Council on the community health assessment, urged residents to complete a roughly 15-minute survey that informs a three-year Community Health Improvement Plan, and highlighted priority areas including behavioral health and housing instability.
Sofia Perera, public health director for the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services, told the Fortuna City Council the county'wide community health assessment (CHA) is "a checkup for our entire community" and asked the council to encourage Fortuna residents to complete the CHA survey.
Perera said the CHA gathers data from multiple sources, including cancer rates, prenatal-care measures and surveys, and that those findings feed a community health improvement plan (CHIP) that sets joint priorities across health care, education and nonprofit partners. "Our ask is going to be, by the end of our presentation, that you take the community health assessment survey and that you encourage the Fortuna community as well to take the community health assessment survey and share it with with all of your friends and people you know," Perera said.
Marion Strong, a program coordinator in public health, described how the CHA and CHIP work together: the CHA provides the data "that tells a story of community health" while the CHIP is the "treatment plan" that sets goals and aligns resources. Strong said the county will move to a three-year update cycle going forward so partners can assess progress more frequently and align with regional partners who already work on a three-year schedule.
Presenters identified current CHIP priority areas that emerged from prior assessments: behavioral health (including substance-use treatment and suicide prevention), adverse childhood experiences and supports for healthy beginnings, and housing instability and homelessness. Perera and Strong demonstrated an online data dashboard (livewellhumboldt.org) that staff and community partners can use to view local indicators and compare outcomes to state-level data.
The presenters asked that residents take a roughly 15-minute CHA survey; staff said respondents who complete the survey are eligible to win a $30 Visa gift card. Perera and Strong invited council members to share the survey within the community and offered to answer follow-up questions from staff.
The presentation concluded without council action; staff requested the council's help promoting survey participation so the county receives wide geographic representation in the assessment.
