How healthy are we? New report finds far too many struggling for dear life in here.
Jeff Klingler is president and CEO of Central Ohio Hospital Council. Joe Mazzola is health commissioner of Franklin County Public Health. Dr. Mysheika Roberts is health commissioner of Columbus Public Health.
The health of Franklin County residents is impacted far beyond the care they receive from healthcare providers, clinics and hospitals.
Access to basic living needs and racial disparities in our community and healthcare system must be addressed if we are to have a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of our community.
Improved access to and coordination of services, especially in the areas of infant health and mental health, are important to central Ohio residents.
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These and other health priorities are highlighted in Franklin County HealthMap 2022, a report issued this week by the Central Ohio Hospital Council, Columbus Public Health and Franklin County Public Health.
Our organizations have collaborated over the past 18 months to conduct a community health needs assessment. Dozens of community organizations partnered with us to analyze hundreds of health indicators and listen to our residents’ health concerns through a series of focus groups held last summer.
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HealthMap 2022 provides our hospitals, our health departments and other community organizations with an important tool to better understand the health needs and priorities of our residents.
Through this collaborative work, we learned:
Many Franklin County residents lack access to basic living needs, such as safe, affordable housing and nutritious food, and it is negatively affecting their health. Feeling safe from crime is critical to a healthy community because it benefits mental health and physical activity.
Health disparities due to racial and ethnic discrimination result in gaps in health outcomes. Our residents of color are concerned about access to quality medical services. These concerns reinforce declarations of our health departments that racism is a public health crisis and our need for commitment to equity.
Poor mental health, exacerbated by a lack of access to mental health care services, is an issue for many residents. Existing mental health services may be underutilized due to stigma associated with seeking help.
A high number of infants are dying in our community before they reach their first birthday. Pre-pregnancy and prenatal health of women are areas of focus if we are to reduce our infant mortality rate in Franklin County.
Other health issues raised in the report include the need to increase cancer screening and physical activity and decrease tobacco use (especially among youth), firearm injuries and incidents of sexually transmitted disease.
More important than what we learned is what we now do to improve the health and wellbeing of all central Ohio residents.
As leading health organizations in our community, we are working to better align our health improvement efforts. As we have done in the past, in areas such as infant mortality and drug overdoses, our hospitals and health departments are working to better coordinate efforts to address our community’s most pressing health needs.
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In the weeks ahead, we will reach out to community organizations, state and local elected officials and other community leaders that serve, care for and support our residents. We invite our partners to join us in this work.
Together, we can make great strides in improving the health and wellbeing of all central Ohio residents.
Jeff Klingler is president and CEO of Central Ohio Hospital Council. Joe Mazzola is health commissioner of Franklin County Public Health. Dr. Mysheika Roberts is health commissioner of Columbus Public Health.
The Franklin County HealthMap 2022 can be found at https://centralohiohospitals.org/franklin-county-healthmap
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: What the the findings of HealthMap 2022. How healthy if Franklin County?
