Assessing our county’s health

Together! Healthy Linn is a local, collaborative effort to complete a Community Health Assessment and Community Health Improvement Plan for all of Linn County.

The assessment will identify the priority health and strategic issues that affect our community. The improvement plan will build off the assessment and provide a plan to address those health and strategic issues. Input and participation from the community is essential and we hope you will be a part of this process. A short survey for community members (people who live, work, worship, play, or go to school in Linn County) is available here: http://bit.ly/LinnHealthSurvey. Please complete this survey by June 1. The survey takes less than 10 minutes to complete.

This project is community-owned and community-driven, and many stakeholders who are interested in health are participating in this assessment and health improvement work. After completion of our assessment, Together! Healthy Linn is expected to answer the following questions:

' What are the health problems in Linn County?

' Why do health issues exist in our county?

' What factors create or determine the health problems?

' What are the health needs of the community from a population-based perspective?

Answers to these questions will help us devise a plan for health improvement for Linn County.

The Community Health Improvement Plan will identify action steps to address the priority health issues identified from the assessment. Together! Healthy Linn will implement the plan and will continue to track and monitor progress to ensure the public health system in Linn County is fulfilling its core public health functions.

Many different organizations of Linn County are engaged in Together! Healthy Linn, ranging from hospitals and clinics, not-for-profits, and government agencies, including Linn County Public Health, to schools and colleges. To learn more about Together! Healthy Linn, stay informed and get involved, visit http://bit.ly/TogetherHealthyLinn.

' Pramod Dwivedi is the health director of Linn County Public Health. Comments: (319) 892-6000; health@linncounty.org