The Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center completes a Community Health Assessment and a Community Health Improvement Plan every five years in order to identify county-wide priority areas to focus on for the next five years.
These assessments serve as a resource for identifying and planning service delivery, program planning, and fiscal obligations in our best efforts to care for public health in our Cape Girardeau County community.
Background
The Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center and its governing Board of Trustees collaborated with community partners and residents to complete the 2023 Community Health Assessment of Cape Girardeau County. The 2023 Community Health Assessment contains baseline and trended data from a variety of sources including the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Missouri Department of Social Services, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Missouri Kids Count, Office of Social and Economic Data Analysis, Missouri Department of Mental Health, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Census Bureau Data Center, County Health Rankings, and other state and local data reports.
For additional insight, a Community Health Assessment Survey was distributed to Cape Girardeau County residents to provide them the opportunity to voice their opinions regarding the major risk factors and health issues facing them and the county. The value of the survey results rely on active participation from the community.
Analysis
This report examines local, state, and national rates and occurrences for key health status indicators as well as year to year comparisons for Cape Girardeau County. In instances where indicators reveal Cape Girardeau County is faring worse than the region and the state, particular attention is paid to the importance of that health indicator being a public health priority issue. When indicators show that the rate for Cape Girardeau County is similar or slightly better than state rates, but when compared to the U.S. as a whole is still faring worse, it is also viewed as a public health priority.
Results
The results of the 2023 Community Health Assessment identify the following Cape Girardeau County Public Center Health Priorities:
- Behavioral Health
- Access to Care/Workforce Pipeline
- General Health and Wellbeing
Additional resources with information about the state of public health in Missouri and Cape Girardeau County can be found below.
The Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center is currently working with community partners and stakeholders to create a plan to address these issues. Once that Community Health Improvement Plan has been developed we will publish this document and use this guide to improve the health of all residents in Cape Girardeau County; the plan outlines goals, objectives, and strategies for the identified priority issues.
The Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center is proud to participate in this exercise that provides optimal insight to help us better advance our mission—to promote good health and protect the county's public health.
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