Welcome to Skagit County
November 6, 2015
Population Health Trust invites public to help define priorities
SKAGIT COUNTY – If you have strong opinions regarding vital elements of a healthy community, members of the Skagit County Population Health Trust invite you to share them at upcoming forums in three cities. These public sessions, beginning with a December 1 event in Anacortes, are scheduled following publication of a 100-page “quality of life” report from the Population Health Trust.
This summary report, presented recently to the Skagit County Board of Health, was written after surveying more than 1,500 local residents. The Skagit County Board of Health is a public policy board made up of the County’s three elected commissioners.
On October 21 of this year, a group of 90 community and Trust members participated in a community based data analysis event known as a Data Carousel. The result of this work yielded 12 health concerns. The community forums will bring together information from the survey and the Data Carousel for people to see, make comments and suggest direction.
Sponsors of the survey used as the basis of the report were the 28 volunteer members of the Skagit County Population Health Trust Advisory Committee. This group was established in January 2015.
Skagit County Community Health Analyst David Jefferson notes that the survey represented a “giant first step” in an ongoing campaign to present community leaders with “credible, actionable information” about local challenges.
Now Jefferson and Population Health Trust members are eager to hear firsthand from Skagit County residents about the health issues they see as priorities.
“We understand that people have a range of opinions regarding what they believe to be necessary elements of a healthy community,” said Jefferson. “We ask our neighbors to invest some time in review of our work to date, especially in the critical determination of priorities, from nutrition to housing, mental health to environment.”
Upcoming community forums to focus on health priorities are:
Dec. 1, Anacortes, 5:30-7:45 p.m. at the ESD Building, 1601 “R” Avenue;
Dec. 9, Sedro-Woolley, 5:30-7:45 p.m., Cascade Middle School;
Dec. 15, Mount Vernon, 5:30-7:45 p.m., Mount Vernon High School Cafeteria.
RSVP is not mandatory but helpful as food and beverages will be served:
www.surveymonkey.com/r/PHTCommunityForums.
See www.skagitcounty.net/Departments/PHTAC for more information about the Population Health.
Contact: David Jefferson (360) 416-1545
davidj@co.skagit.wa.us