How healthy is Clarke County? What can be done to make opportunities for health, wellness, and safety more prevalent and inclusive for all of Clarke County and south-central Iowa? Questions like these drive strategies and program planning for community health professionals and organizations across the state. That’s where the Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNA) comes into play. Clarke County Hospital, starting the first week of January, will be hosting the Clarke County Health Needs Assessment Survey open to all who live work and play in our community.
“The last survey completed was in 2019,” said Brian Evans, Clarke County Hospital CEO. “Results from that assessment resulted in the development extended mental health services as well as the addition of much of Clarke County’s walking/biking paths, public safety programs and more.”
The intended purpose of the CHNA is to gather health and wellness information from those who utilize public health and safety services and programs across the county. The public access to the survey assures a broad cross section of information.
“We’re looking to get insights from everyone,” said Evans of the survey content. “We not only have questions focused on health and wellness for our citizens, but also include questions on mental health, family and community activities as well as multi-cultural and equity information.”
The CHNA survey takes place in each of Iowa’s 99 counties every 5 years to evaluate the status of health and wellness of a community as well as inspire ideas, strategies, and discussions around making improvements or increasing options for a healthier lifestyle. The information gathered through the survey leads to education and information given to numerous outlets including Clarke County Hospital, the City of Osceola, Clarke County Public Health, Clarke County’s Area Agency on Aging, and others. These organizations, in turn, use the survey results as a base for developing activities and strategies to better serve the community.
The survey intake forms – in both English and Spanish – can be found at www.ClarkeCountyHealth.org and will be open to the public for the next six weeks. An easy-to-access QR Code (to the right) can be scanned with your mobile device to take you to the site immediately.
Promotion of and additional information on the Clarke County Health Needs Assessment Survey will continue through all of the key stakeholder participants’ social media channels as well as through information distributed by Clarke County Hospital.
If you have questions, you can contact Clarke County Hospital’s Melanie Boyd through their Web site at https://www.clarkehosp.org/, or call (641) 342-2184
