Help is needed by the residents of Henderson County by participating in a brief survey by the University of Illinois Extension, in partnership with the Henderson County Health Department. This voluntary Community Health Needs Assessment survey is part of the process the Health Department is undertaking in order to update its five-year strategic plan, or I Plan, as required by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

According to Carrie McKillip, Extension community and economic development educator, the anonymous survey will help inform the Community Health Needs Committee on issues of concern among the residents. “The survey is one of the factors the committee will review in setting the health priorities for the next five years. We will also provide the committee with empirical health data from a variety of sources that will show the incidence of not only negative health outcomes but also risk factors that contribute to negative health outcomes.”

The planning process is expected to be completed in early 2021. The survey can be accessed both online and by hard copy for completion. To take the survey on-line, Henderson County residents can go directly to the link or visit the Extension website. Hard copies of the survey will be available at both the Henderson County Health Department in Gladstone, Illinois, and the Extension Office in Stronghurst, Illinois.  For more information please contact Carrie McKillip or Angela Meyers.

SOURCE: Carrie McKillip, Community & Economic Development Educator, Illinois Extension

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