FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 27 Mar 2019
Contacts: Clay County Progress
Clay County Announces Priority Health Issues for the Next Three Years Priority Health Areas are Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse
Hayesville, N.C. 27 MAR 2019 – Clay County has worked since September of 2018 to prioritize key health issues as part of the community health assessment (CHA) process, and welcomes additional community input in the next phase, which is community health strategic planning.
Every three years we pause our work to improve community health so that we may step back and take a fresh look at all of the current data from our county that reflects its health. We then use this information to help us assess how well we’re doing and what actions we need to take moving forward.
Our newest Community Health Assessment is now available to the public, and it highlights the process our county undertook to determine our health priorities for the next three years. The 2019-2021 health priorities are:
· Chronic Disease Prevention and Control
· Mental Health
· Substance Abuse
“These three topics have been pressing issues around the nation, so there is not a quick fix. That being said, we have designed various programmatic approaches for each of these areas in which we will begin the implementation stage over the next year. We have developed partnerships with key players outside of the health department to ensure success, and we are looking forward to the strides and progress we KNOW we will achieve TOGETHER!” – Stephanie Johnson, MPH, MBA – Clay County Health Director”
All of this information is now available in our county’s Community Health Assessment, or CHA report that is now available to view online on health departments website and social media platforms or for print at the health department or library.
If you’re interested in helping our community take action on one of these issues, contact: Alex Gilpin at 828-389-8052, get involved by joining Healthy Carolinians, or keep informed by following Clay County Health Department on Facebook.
Our county is part of a larger community health assessment and improvement effort taking place in the region called WNC Healthy Impact. WNC Healthy Impact is a partnership and coordinated process between public health agencies, hospitals, and key regional partners in western North Carolina. This regional effort is supported financially by all the hospitals in the region, and is housed and coordinated by WNC Health Network.
Further Resources:
· Read the full Community Health Assessment Report here: https://www.health.claync.us/community-health-assessment
· For more information on Clay County, visit https://www.claync.us/
· For more information about the Community Health Improvement Process, view a WNC Healthy Impact fact sheet here.
Substance Use/Misuse Listening Session: pictured left to right Lorrie Ross, Stacie Ledford, Sheriff Bobby Deese, and Haven Phillips.
