July 3, 2012 -- The Central Oregon Health Council is pleased to announce the release of the 2012 Central Oregon Regional Health Assessment.
This data includes health indicators related to population, socioeconomics, education, immunizations, morbidity and mortality. It is being utilized by regional behavioral and public health entities that want to become eligible for National Public Health Accreditation. The data will also be used by those entities to develop strategic plans and the Regional Health Improvement Plan.
The assessment — which is the result of a collaborative effort by the Central Oregon Health Council (COHC), Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson counties’ public health departments and the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation — can be found at http://www.cohealthcouncil.org/resources/regional-health-assessment.
“The Central Oregon Regional Health Assessment is not intended to be a static, single point-in-time document,” said Sarah J. Kingston, a research analyst for Deschutes County Health Services and the author of the report. “Rather, this should be viewed as a first step in a regional effort to continuously assess our region’s data, and identify where we can celebrate successes, recognize weaknesses and instigate community discussion.”
The assessment has allowed the COHC Regional Health Improvement Plan Committee to identify 10 priority areas. These areas include:
- Healthy environments
- Health disparity/inequity
- Food insecurity
- Behavioral health
- Safety/crime/violence
- Access to resources
- Oral health
- Chronic disease
- Early childhood wellness
- Alcohol/drugs/tobacco use
Collecting health data is part of the 10 Essential Public Health Services as defined by National Public Health Performance Standards Program. It is the intent of the COHC and its community partners to continuously update the report, as well as perform health assessment work in the future. This much-needed public health service will benefit the new Coordinated Care Organization, as well as providers in the behavioral health, public health, social services and medical communities.
The COHC encourages its health partners and community members to examine the data to develop a better understanding of health in the Central Oregon region.
