I am coming up on a year of being the Co-Chair for All in For Health which helps guide the Jackson and Josephine County Community Health Assessment and am proud of the work we have done so far! I am asking for your help to get 250 more survey responses by July 16th! — Amy Thuren, HCCSO Executive Director
A Community Health Assessment (CHA), is an evaluation of the health needs and strengths of our community. It helps us understand how healthy the community is right now and identifies the areas that need the most improvement. To do this, we collect information using different sources — like surveys, interviews, and existing health records — to get a complete picture of a community’s health.
Key Elements of a CHA
Health Status and Demographic Evaluation: We assess the overall well-being of the community, including disease rates, life events, and other health indicators. We also examine population characteristics like age, gender, race, income, and education level to better understand the community’s specific needs.
Social Determinants of Health: Analyzing factors like housing, education, employment, and access to healthcare that influence health outcomes and disparities.
Community Engagement: Involving community members, organizations, and stakeholders to ensure diverse perspectives and voices are heard.
What we’ve done this last year
Contracted with Southern Oregon University and Sparrow to conduct 17 focus groups and 24 key informant interviews from diverse communities in both Jackson and Josephine county.
Created a community health survey that covered questions on healthcare, food, housing, employment, safety, and much more! We wanted to ensure residents from Jackson and Josephine county can give feedback and have their voices heard. We’ve had the survey and several community events in both counties, as well as the Jackson county library branches and Grants Pass library.
All in for Health
All in for Health is a community-wide initiative involving the collaborative engagement and expertise of organizations and individuals from multiple sectors across Jackson and Josephine Counties. As a community, we recognize the circumstances in which people are born, live, learn, work and age directly shape their health and well-being, and that no single organization or sector can improve the health of the community alone. All in for Health invites individuals and organizations throughout the region to come together to create a healthier community because: “A healthy community is everyone’s business.”