Participants included Penn State Schuylkill Chancellor Patrick Jones, Ph.D., Schuylkill County Commissioner Gary Hess, LVH–Schuylkill President Bill Reppy, Lori Chaplin, Executive Director of Eastcentral Pennsylvania Area Health Education Center (AHEC) and Amanda Taylor, also of AHEC.
“Improving community health improves our quality of life,” says Hess. “To make a healthier Schuylkill, we need everyone on the same path to identify our challenges and bring suggestions to resolve them.”
The symposium was an opportunity to learn from and support local and community partners regarding their insights into factors that influence health. The attendees were charged with identifying solutions on how to improve some of the most pressing issues affecting our community’s health.
The symposium listed four main objectives:
- Learn from local community partners about their insights into factors that influence health.
- Identify ways in which local community partners are addressing the factors that impact health over time.
- Discuss the evolving leadership role of large complex health care systems in addressing social determinants of health.
- Summarize a collective path forward and short-term next steps that allow all partners to contribute to improving community well-being.
Reppy provided a demographic overview and community health profile that covered Schuylkill’s higher-than-average rates of obesity and cancer, as well as issues such as smoking, drinking, vaping and low birth weight.
Schuylkill County ranks sixth highest among 67 counties in Pennsylvania for cancer diagnoses.
A series of three breakout sessions facilitated by both LVHN and community leaders focused on mental health, addiction recovery and health behaviors. Community health data was shared. Discussions were documented and information was gathered during the brainstorming sessions.
Chaplin focused her keynote remarks on community health workers, a growing trend that could impact communities in Schuylkill County. Community health workers are an important link when addressing issues affecting rural communities, including transportation barriers and lack of access to health services, according to Chaplin.
The main objective of the symposium was to learn from local community partners about factors that influence the community’s overall health. Symposium organizers summarized a collective path forward and developed short-term next steps that allowed everyone to contribute to improved community well-being.
A full report that will outline themes of the conversations and recommendations is being composed. LVHN will use the findings to as part of its Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) and implementation plan.
