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DOH & WellFlorida Partner With Survey To Improve Health Outcomes In Columbia County

Complete survey to win $50 | LSHA strange behavior

Posted August 6, 2014  09:30 am | (1 comment)

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – The Columbia County Department of Health (CCDOH) and WellFlorida have partnered to improve health outcomes in Columbia County. In August of 2013, CCDOH Administrator, Mark Lander, formed the Columbia County Health Advisory Panel (CHAP) whose membership is composed of community and municipal partners ranging from the Governor appointed Lake Shore Hospital Authority, Columbia County and Lake City, health care providers, Chamber of Commerce, and representatives of the educational community.

Link to the survey:
It begins on the second page or click the link (survey monkey) on page 1 and fill it out on-line, then enter to win $50 from WellFlorida.

In July, with the help of CHAP, the CCDOH and WellFlorida developed a health survey to identify the most pressing health issues in Columbia County. The survey deadline is this Monday, 5 pm.

In a recent radio interview, WellFlorida's CEO, Jeff Feller, gave what he called his "30,000 ft." explanation of the Community Health Profile compiled by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Mr. Feller explained the rankings are in two major areas. The first area, health outcomes, he explained, "These are things like why people are dying; how frequently they're dying; what types of diseases they're getting."

The second area is health factors. He said, "Those are the things that contribute either positively or negatively to health outcomes. Columbia and Suwannee counties -- they both rank in the mid-to low 50s in both health factors and health outcomes out of the 67 counties in Florida. It's indicative of the counties in North Central Florida."

Mr. Feller continued, "We are less affluent; have fewer resources; less income; more poverty; less diversified economic bases don't give us access to health insurance. We've had many, many years of struggle. The numbers are an indicator of the challenges we have to deal with. In general these are not high growth areas. We don't have the rich resources of the larger communities."

Rel Perea of the CCDOH is the Department's lead person for the Columbia County Health Survey.

Yesterday, he told the Observer, "The way to get things done is to partner. The Community Health Advisory Panel is trying to improve the health of Columbia County. You get a lot of people pitching in with a lot of ideas. This helps to make people aware of what is going on in the community."

According to WellFlorida's Feller, at 6:23 pm yesterday 172 surveys had been received online. He estimated with the surveys in his mailbox there may be a total of 200 surveys completed so far.

Lake Shore Hospital Authority


Jack Berry

The Lake Shore Hospital Authority's website explains the Authority's mission, "The LSHA must be proactive in anticipating and preparing for the changing medical needs of this region and embraces the role it plays in the betterment of the community. It is through thoughtful, well-conceived actions that the Lake Shore Hospital Authority will fulfill its mission and achieve its vision."

The Authority's Strategic Plan states, "The Hospital Authority must be proactive in anticipating and preparing for the changing medical needs of the region."

With the survey deadline approaching, the Observer contacted Hospital Authority Manager Jack Berry yesterday morning. The Authority is a member of the Community Health Advisory Panel and is represented by Manager Berry on the panel.

Mr. Berry had not mentioned the survey at the July Authority meeting and does not display the survey in the Authority.

Yesterday morning at 9:51, the Observer emailed Mr. Berry four questions:

1) What did you do to promote the distribution of the survey?
2) Why was it not displayed at the Authority?
3) Which Clinics of the Authority’s partners had the health survey available for its clients?
4) Did you, either in your capacity as Hosp. Auth. Manager, and/or as Jack Berry, think the survey was a good idea?

An hour and a half later Mr. Berry emailed his response: "I don't have time to play games with you!"

 

Comments  (to add a comment go here)  

On August 6, 2014 rubydoobie of Columbia County wrote:

I took the health survey! Shame on the LSHA for not promoting it!

 

This work by the Columbia County Observer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.

 
 

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