Welcome to Skagit County

November 1, 2016

Join Population Health Trust for its website kickoff event Nov. 9

What does it mean to be healthy? How do you know if your community is healthy? The Population Health Trust wants to help you answer those questions with the launch of its new Data Indicator website: Skagit County Trends.

You’re invited to a celebration of the new site from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9, at McIntyre Hall – 2501 E. College Way, Mount Vernon.

“Health is more than just being active or eating well – it’s about having access to accurate information,” said David Jefferson, Skagit County Community Health Analyst and PHT member. “ There are hundreds of factors that affect not only our personal health but our community’s health – and we wanted to find a simple, meaningful way to present these factors to our community.”

Since the beginning of this year, Skagit County, the Population Health Trust and Eastern Washington University have collaborated to develop the new website. More than 150 community members participated in eight focus groups to help select the data indicators that would best represent the interests and needs of Skagit County.

“This is the first time all the health data for Skagit County is in one place, available to anyone with just a few clicks of the mouse,” Jefferson said. “We’ve pulled together more than 160 different types of data – data that was once spread across many different sites. We have high hopes that seeing this information in one place will help our community start talking about how – and where – we can make health improvements.”

Knowing where Skagit County community members are doing well and where there’s room for improvement can help inform decision-makers to take concrete steps to improve individual and community health.

To learn more about the PHT website kickoff, or register for the free event, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/skagit-county-data-indicator-launch-tickets-27220551402. For more information about the Population Health Trust, contact David Jefferson, davidj@co.skagit.wa.us or 360-416-1545.