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FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH IN SANTA ROSA COUNTY ADDRESSES COUNTY HEALTH RANKINGS

By DOH Santa Rosa

March 16, 2016

Milton, FL – The Florida Department of Health in Santa Rosa County recognizes the value in measuring health outcomes and today acknowledged the 2016 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps tool released by the University of Wisconsin and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. This study highlights the many community factors that influence health and uses established data, much of which is available from the department at www.floridacharts.com. 

“We appreciate the opportunity the County Health Rankings give us to monitor the progress in our community health improvement efforts,” said DOH-Santa Rosa Administrator Sandra Park-O’Hara, ARNP.  “We can see where we’ve been successful, and I credit our community partners for their engagement and support of those efforts, and we can identify areas where there are still opportunities to make improvements.”  

These rankings are a snapshot of the health of counties across the country and they emphasize that health is not a singular effort but a combined work in progress across all community partners. The department works in collaboration with local governments, non-profit organizations, health care facilities, business groups, schools, faith-based organizations and many other stakeholders to improve the health of all people in Santa Rosa County. These rankings use data related to physical environments, social and economic factors, health behaviors and clinical care. 

In Santa Rosa County, the Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) is designed to address specific opportunities for improved health that have been identified by the community. The department has partnered with many stakeholders to implement the CHIP and collaborates regularly to track progress. The Partnership for a Healthy Community, which includes not only DOH-Santa Rosa, but DOH-Escambia, Escambia Community Clinics, Baptist Health Care, Sacred Heart Health System, the University of West Florida and other stakeholders, completes a Community Health Assessment (CHA) every three to five years.  Partnership stakeholders have just completed a new assessment for the community comprised of both Santa Rosa and Escambia Counties.  The document can be viewed on the Partnership’s website at http://pfahc.org/img/Partnership_2016_CHNA_Report.pdf . The 2016 CHA focuses on three community health priorities common to the two county area; reducing tobacco use, improving the number of residents at a healthy weight and increasing access to health care.

One of the programs implemented in Santa Rosa County to address the issue of adult obesity is the National Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP).  Endorsed by the Centers for disease Control (CDC), the program uses an evidence-based curriculum presented by a trained lifestyle coach, and peer support, to help individuals at risk of developing type 2 diabetes increase their physical activity and make healthy lifestyle choices that can not only lead to weight loss, but delay, or even prevent, the onset of type 2 diabetes.  The DOH-Santa Rosa program received full recognition from the CDC and has been added to the Registry of Recognized Organizations.

DOH-Santa Rosa also collaborates with AHEC (Area Health Education Center) to offer smoking cessation classes.  Classes are held once a week at the health department and offer cessation education and approved nicotine replacement products, as well as peer support, at no cost to the participants.

“Changing health behaviors doesn’t happen overnight,” said Martha Zimmermann, executive director of the Healthy Start Coalition of Santa Rosa County and chair of the action committee on smoking cessation.  “One of the things the County Health Rankings allows us to do is monitor health behaviors such as the adult smoking rate in Santa Rosa County.  In 2015, we were at 24%.  This year we are at 17%.  That is a pretty significant reduction and we are happy to see those numbers going down, but we are still above the state rate of 16%, so we still have some work to do in that area.  Fortunately, we have a strong Tobacco Free Coalition and by continuing to collaborate with AHEC to provide smoking cessation classes, we expect to see those numbers decline even more in the years to come.”

Partnership President and Escambia Community Clinics Director, Chandra Smiley, MSW, commends the partnership approach: “There is great value in addressing these issues together. By collaborating and communicating with other health organizations in our community, we have a greater collective impact on these priority issues and can offer better opportunities for our residents to receive quality health care and adopt habits that will improve their individual health, the effect of which will improve our community’s overall health status.”

Last week, the Florida Department of Health became the first integrated department of health in the nation to achieve national accreditation through the Public Health Accreditation Board. Public health departments play a critical role in protecting and improving the health of people and communities. The seal of accreditation signifies that the Florida Department of Health has been rigorously examined and meets or exceeds national standards that promote continuous quality improvement for public health. 

For more information on the National Diabetes Prevention Program in Santa Rosa County, contact Susan Howell at 850-983-5200, ext. 154.  For information on smoking cessation classes, contact Vince Nguyen at 850-983-5200, ext. 142.  Visit the Florida Department of Health in Santa Rosa County website at https://santarosa.floridahealth.gov.

About the Florida Department of Health

The department, nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board, works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts.

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