By Greg Halbleib
BLOOMINGTON – Local agencies have combined efforts to determine the community’s most pressing health needs.
The McLean County Health Department, Advocate BroMenn Medical Center, OSF Saint Joseph Medical Center and United Way of McLean County have released a first-ever joint community health needs assessment. The study identifies obesity, behavioral health including mental health and substance abuse, and access to heath care as the top three health priorities for McLean County.
Advocate BroMenn’s Sally Gambacorta tells WJBC’s Scott Laughlin the hospitals and health department have conducted similar studies in the past separately. She says the combined effort also helps other social service agencies in McLean County.
“Social service agencies don’t have to go and look at four different reports with different health issues,” said Gambacorta. “They can look on any of our sites and see that we have agreed upon with help from a community health council the most important health issues, and that we’re all going to be working on those collaboratively.”
Work is expected to begin this fall to develop a plan to combat those main health issues. Cathy Coverston Anderson of the health department said the work surrounding the plan is not finished.
“All of the stakeholders we brought together in the spring to go over the health problems and set some high-level goals will be brought back in the early fall to start looking at some interventions,” said Anderson.
The complete plan can be viewed at the web sites for the hospitals, McLean County Health Department or United Way of McLean County.
Greg Halbleib can be reached at greg@wjbc.com.
