County Health Needs Assessment Forum Yields Good Information

Decatur County health agencies conducted a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) Community forum on Wednesday, November 18 at 5:30 at the Leon Golf and Country Club with 50 people in attendance.

“Our community has a wealth of expertise to be tapped.” stated Kolton Hewlett with Decatur County Hospital, “For this reason, we decided to host a community forum to gather community insight and provide an atmosphere to objectively prioritize county health needs.”

The community forum was facilitated by Ethan Pitt, Executive Director of the Decatur County Development Corporation. Bethany Elsbernd with the University of Iowa School of Nursing gave a presentation for County Health Rankings and obesity rates in Decatur County.

The Health Implementation Plan (HIP) from the 2013 Community Health Needs Assessment was reviewed as a way to acknowledge the health priorities from 2013 and examine what had been accomplished.

The Community Health Needs Assessment Survey results were shared with the entire group as well. The survey was conducted from September 15 through October 30 and ended with 309 total responses from people throughout the entire county including Leon, Lamoni, Davis City, Grand River, Decatur, Weldon, and Van Wert.

Based upon the comprehensive Community Health Needs Assessment Survey and the community forum, the group developed the following seven health priorities for Decatur County in order of importance: Pediatric Mental Health and Expansion of Mental Health Services, Drug and Tobacco Abuse Prevention, Nutrition Awareness and Obesity, Business & Industry/Infrastructure/Economic Development, Poverty Alleviation, Preventative Healthcare, and Youth Health and Wellness Programs.

Representatives from Decatur County Hospital, Decatur County Public Health, Community Health Centers of Southern Iowa, and CROSS Mental Health Region will be meeting soon to discuss their Health Implementation Plan and will continue to meet monthly thereafter to work on each of the health priorities and cultivate collaboration between the county health agencies.

The final CHNA Report will be completed and made available to the public after the first of the year.