Thompson

At Tuesday’s Marshall County Board of Health meeting, residents were asked to complete the Community Health Assessment (CHA) and Community Health Improvement Plan (HIP).

Marshall County Public Health Director Pat Thompson said that every five years, assessments are provided by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. Residents have until mid-August to complete the online survey. Then, Thompson must submit the results to the State Department in November.

“My job is to get the information out there so that people respond to the survey,” she said. “I know it’s not fun to take a survey, but please do your best because it’s important.”

CHA and HIP assessments, conducted by local Iowa public health entities, help lay the foundation for improving public health across the state. In completing the survey, Thompson said county health needs and people’s concerns will be identified.

“This isn’t the first time we’ve done the survey,” Thompson said. “I have been doing this for almost 20 years and this is the fourth I have participated in. We know that not all needs will be met, but this will identify the most important ones and help create a health improvement plan.

Some of the community health questions asked in the survey include:

In general, how would you rate the overall quality of health care provided to your community?

Are there health services in your community or neighborhood that you think need to be improved and/or changed? (Be specific please.)

Participants are also asked questions about whether or not they participate in health practices, such as exercise; assess medical services, such as hospitals, eye care and mental health; and whether certain conditions are problems for the community, such as diabetes, cancer, and sexually transmitted diseases.

To prepare for the assessment and get an idea of ​​possible community health needs, the Board of Health held a town hall meeting at the Marshalltown Public Library in May with “stakeholders”. According to Thompson, these included YSS, Big Brothers Big Sisters, McFarland, Salvation Army and more.

“I sent out a lot of invitations and 23 people showed up,” she said.

In other cases:

A brief discussion took place regarding Thompson’s impending departure. She will retire from her position at the end of January 2024. After the meeting, Thompson said there was nothing but talk. A job posting hasn’t even been created yet. At the May board of health meeting, it was revealed that Poweshiek County approached Marshall County and asked about the possibility of working together. Thompson pointed out that Marshall County hasn’t asked for help trying to find a successor for him, nothing has moved forward with Poweshiek, and talks have only just begun.

“It’s pending,” she said. “Nothing has been proposed. Nothing is written. This is just a discussion of what each is looking for, how they could make it work, and possible resources.”

Thompson said while succession plans are in the works, options are still being weighed. She said she was still working for another seven months.

HEALTH CARE SURVEY AVAILABLE ONLINE:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdjuR2n_UgYUwfUdkcZYZD-2tegCOiNhustmXIAM-1mIUuEGw/viewform

——

Contact Lana Bradstream at

641-753-6611 ext. 210 or

lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.