The Chautauqua County Department of Health and Human Services (CCDHHS), Brooks-TLC Hospital System, Inc., UPMC Chautauqua and Allegheny Health Network Westfield were part of a greater Chautauqua County Community Health Planning Team that completed the plan.

The Community Health Assessment is done in conjunction with the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) Prevention Agenda.

The assessment researched data trends in Chautauqua County, compared data trends across New York State, and provided a plan for the upcoming years to improve public health concerns.

The top four family and/or community health issues identified as concerns in Chautauqua County’s Health Survey were:

– Medical health (heart disease – high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack; diabetes; obesity; cancer; asthma; chronic lung disease; chronic pain management; etc. (75.55%),
– Mental health (stress; anxiety; depression; suicide; etc.) (66.52%),
– Environmental safety (food/water, neighborhood; roadway; safe and clean housing; etc. (56.75%),
– And drug/alcohol use disorders (49.45%).

The top four suggestions that might help communities make healthy choices and changes identified in the Community Health Survey were:

– Having groups in the community that encourage healthy habits (physical activity, nutrition, stress reduction, diabetes prevention, fall prevention, quitting tobacco/nicotine, etc. (53.48%),
– Having safe areas to play and exercise in the community (51.86%),
– Having more healthy food choices at local convenience stores (48.79%),
– And getting information about how to make healthy changes from social media, internet, newspapers and TV (44.05%).

All hospitals and the County Health and Human Services Department have agreed to collaborate to address the Prevent Chronic Diseases priority area with a focus on Tobacco Prevention. They also plan to work to decrease the prevalence of tobacco use by adolescents.

The plan states they also will work collaboratively with the Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene in the area of Mental and Substance Use Disorders to prevent opioid deaths by increasing the availability and accessibility of Narcan.

Additionally, the County Health Department’s Environmental division will work to Promote a Healthy and Safe Environment by increasing the number of homes tested for radon and increasing educational efforts to increase blood lead testing rates.

And under the priority of “Promoting Healthy Women, Infants and Children” the group will focus on addressing the areas of perinatal and infant health (by increasing breastfeeding) and maternal and women’s health by enhancing collaboration with other programs, providers, agencies, and community members to address key social determinants of health that impact the health of women, infants, children, and families across the life course

More information about the New York State Prevention Agenda can be found at https://www.health.ny.gov/prevention/prevention_agenda/2019-2024/.

You can find the full 2022-2024 Community Health Assessment and Community Health Improvement Plan on Chautauqua County’s website: https://chqgov.com/health-and-human-services/Annual-Reports.

The Community Health Assessment (CHA) and Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) were submitted to the NYSDOH in December 2019 and they are now available to the public through the CCDHHS website: https://chqgov.com/public-health/public-health.

The State Prevention Agenda is the blueprint for state and local action to improve the health and well-being of all New Yorkers and promote health equity across populations who experience disparities. It envisions New York becoming the Healthiest State in the Nation for people of all ages, and designates five priority areas:

• Prevent chronic diseases;
• Promote a healthy and safe environment;
• Promote healthy women, infants, and children;
• Promote well-being and prevent mental and substance use disorders; and
• Prevent communicable diseases.

Just as New York State assesses the health of residents, so do counties.  The Community Health Assessment is a core function of public health agencies and a fundamental tool of public health practice.

The Chautauqua County Community Health Planning Team (CCCHPT) consists of representatives from CCDHHS, the three local hospital systems (Allegheny Health Network Westfield Memorial Hospital, Brooks-TLC Hospital System, Inc., and UPMC Chautauqua), Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene, Chautauqua County Health Network, The Chautauqua Center, The Resource Center, Prevention Works, Chautauqua County Office for the Aging, and Population Health Collaborative of Western New York.

The team met on several occasions to gauge the community’s perceived health priorities, assets, and needs through a web-based and paper survey, and numerous community conversations. It then examined secondary health data provided by the NYSDOH and other key sources to determine the three County priorities to address:

• Prevent Chronic Diseases;
• Promote Healthy Women, Infants, and Children; and
• Promote Mental Well-Being and Prevent Mental and Substance Use Disorders.

The CCCHPT worked together with community partners from all sectors to determine what programming interventions, related to the selected priority areas, were already being implemented in Chautauqua County. Rather than adopting new programs and activities, the local health department and community hospitals desired to embrace the concept of “Public Health 3.0” by working to strengthen the efforts currently underway and better connect community partners.  Interventions focus on a variety of disparity populations, including low-income, seniors, youth, Amish, and those with a substance use disorder or mental health diagnosis.

“This extensive review of health and social conditions in Chautauqua County helped to strengthen relationships between partners and paints a beautiful picture of a ‘Health Across All Policies’ approach in Chautauqua County,” said Director of Health and Human Services Christine Schuyler. “As with the rest of New York State, obesity, poor eating habits, lack of exercise, and nicotine use continue to burden a large proportion of Chautauqua County residents. The problems of mental health and substance use disorders are present across the County and are a focus area for CCDHHS and many community partners.”

Jodi Witherell, CNO/Vice President of Quality Services at Brooks – TLC Hospital System, Inc. said, “Brooks-TLC Hospital System, Inc. is proud of its robust Community Health Program designed to support the CHA/CHIP, and has listed the document on our website under Community Health.  Clinical staff and others in our hospital system are in an optimal position to drive the health and wellness agenda as we interface with patients daily.”

The Community Health Assessment and Community Health Improvement Plan 2019-2021 provides a demographic profile of Chautauqua County, a health profile organized by Prevention Agenda priority areas, identification of the main health challenges including the broad determinants of health, community assets and resources, and documentation of process and methods used for this assessment.

“The Community Health Assessment highlights the need for people and organizations from all sectors of the county—public, private, educational, non-profit, media or philanthropic—to work deliberately and collaboratively to improve the public’s health through policies, programs, and services,” said Schuyler.

More information about the New York State Prevention Agenda can be found at www.health.ny.gov. The Community Health Assessment.

,