NEWBERRY — Newberry’s Multi-Agency Council hosted a “data walk” for local leaders to review data related to health issues facing Newberry County.
The event, held at Westview Behavioral Health Services, was the culmination of the first phase of a project started by the Multi-Agency Council almost two years ago. The council’s data task force worked to survey residents in the county about prevalent health needs.
Along with data collected in this survey, epidemiologists from S.C. DHEC dredged Newberry-specific data from multiple sources to include in the review.
Information was assimilated into eight different categories. Two of these categories contained general information like poverty, income and employment and demographics. The six health-specific categories included access to care; chronic disease; maternal and infant health; infectious diseases; injury and behavioral health.
Of the data presented, attendees identified four areas of priority: Access to Care, Injury, Behavioral Health and Chronic Disease.
“Participants saw a lot of data and we able to decide which would be most pertinent to address,” said Tyler Dorman, a member of the DHEC Community Systems Team for the Midlands Region, “This is so important because, at the end of the day, the results of this process are really Newberry driven.”
The next phase focuses on developing action plans to address those priorities and a Community Health Improvement Plan. To be a part of the initiative, contact Hugh Gray at Westview, 803-276-5690.
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