HHS calls for community involvement with improvement plan

Resident health keeps Wahkiakum County Health & Human Services (WCHHS) staff busy competing for grants for utility and housing assistance, picking up vital services like WIC and employment services that other organizations can’t, and developing new programs like Kid’s Connection. Addressing the complexity of health outcomes, WCHHS devotes staff time to programs that affect lives in Wahkiakum County like mental health, substance use, housing, food insecurity and nutrition, public safety, transportation, and public and environmental health. The need for services in a rural community is massive but in Wahkiakum County, agencies are not alone in their efforts or focus.

Comparably, all of those plugged into volunteer opportunities - those in an elected position, part of a fraternal organization, or involved with a community lunch - also care deeply about resident health and put great effort towards varying projects. We might labor towards general wellbeing for our neighbors, or we might have a singular focus towards food security, spiritual wellbeing or education. There is no shortage of care in this community.

In the last couple of years, WCHHS began a process of evaluating health needs in Wahkiakum with community voices at the forefront. Beginning with the Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), residents were surveyed on their top-10 health concerns. After compiling feedback from tabling events, community lunches and other public settings, residents revealed that they were most focused on mental health, affordable housing, access to primary care, drug use/abuse, good jobs and healthy economy, alcohol use/abuse, overweight/obesity, diabetes, domestic violence / sexual assault and physical activity.

WCHHS started with the top-10 health priorities and began collecting data points in these areas so that residents could know exactly how these issues were affecting themselves and their neighbors. WCHHS Data Analyst Shannon Hoskins compiled the following data within the Community Health Assessment (CHA) to contextualize both the general characteristics of Wahkiakum County as well as the specific details within each health priority:

Mental Health

In 2020, an estimated 280 residents aged 65 years and over lived alone. In 2023, there were 52 calls sent out to 911 that involved a mental health issue. In 2023, 3 out of every 4 high school students reported feeling hopeful.

Affordable Housing

In 2020, about 1 out of every 3 households were spending 30% or more of their income on housing.

After 2022, median-income households were no longer able to afford a median-priced home. 40 new building permits were issued in 2022.

Access to Primary Care

In 2020, there were 190 residents with no health insurance. In 2023, 80 high school students received a medical checkup in the past year. The estimated proportion of adults with a primary care provider may be 10-15% lower than the state average.

The CHA started giving shape to the next phase of the process, the Community Health Improvement Plan (or CHIP). This phase of the process involves partnering with local organizations and community groups to outline specific actions to address the identified health concerns.

Next week, WCHHS Healthy Community Specialist Erika Zink and Health Analyst Shannon Hoskins will break ground on this next phase of collaboration, starting with the Health & Human Services Advisory Board.

“Our Community Health Improvement Plan will reflect our community’s priorities and engage the community in carrying it out,” Hoskins stated. “Our presentation to the advisory board will allow us to hear their thoughts around our community’s health – their vision, how we should improve it, and what folks are willing to work on. We can use that information to craft a plan that is meaningful and useful for the community.”

The Advisory Board presentation on Thursday, March 20, will mark the first workshop for the CHIP, but they hope many more will participate in this process. “We are reaching out to other groups in the community to have similar discussions,” Hoskins said. “Please reach out if your group is interested in connecting with us and share your thoughts.”

For more information or to get involved, email hoskinss@co.wahkiakum.wa.us or zinke@co.wahkiakum.wa.us.