Input sought online for county health assessment

The Clallam County Department of Health and Human Services and multiple healthcare and human service partners are beginning to develop the county’s next Community Health Assessment. The CHA will provide information about the health issues, strengths, assets and priorities of the county and will lay the groundwork for policy formulation, program implementation and evaluation over the next five years.

The CHA will be part of an ongoing and broad community health improvement process for Clallam County. A community health improvement process uses data to identify priority issues, develop and implement strategies for action, and establish accountability to ensure measurable health improvement. The community assessment will lead into a community health improvement plan (CHIP), later in 2017. There will be ongoing opportunities for input and involvement, as the process progresses.

Residents are encouraged to share their opinions as the CHA is developed. In order to hear from as many county residents as possible, a brief survey has been developed, asking questions about quality of life, social connections and examples of ways the community can be strengthened. The survey is available on the Clallam County Health and Human Services website at http://www.clallam.net/HHS/index.html.

The Clallam County Community Health Assessment is being supported by Clallam County, Olympic Medical Center and a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Office for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support and administered by the National Association of County and City Health Officials.

Clallam County Health and Human Services has been awarded $15,000 to support its progress in meeting the requirements of the Public Health Accreditation Board, the first and only voluntary national accreditation program for public health departments. The Clallam County Department of Health and Human Services is one of 28 local health departments from 21 states to receive this funding through the Accreditation Support Initiative.

“We are grateful to have received the Accreditation Support Initiative funding from the CDC and NACCHO. The funds will help us improve our performance, achieve our strategic goals and continue making progress toward better health outcomes in our community,” said Dr. Christopher Frank, Clallam County Health Officer.