Three months ago, Rock County released results of a survey that listed mental health and access to care among its biggest community health deficiencies.
Wednesday, the county’s health department outlined a plan to address those in a .
Among the strategies in the department’s three-year Community Health Improvement Plan are increasing health and mental health literacy; improving coordination and collaboration among care providers; improving understanding of language, culture, ethnicity, gender and sexual identity; and supporting ethnic, racial and intergenerational diversity. The plan is partially funded by a $100,000 Wisconsin Department of Health Services grant.
The county has nearly 20% fewer mental health providers per resident than the national average, which hinders progress on both of the county’s key issues. The report based off a 2021 survey also identified substance use and quality-of-life problems in the county, including a rise in opioid deaths and a lack of affordable quality housing, as well as positive shifts, such as high-quality education and a dropping teenage pregnancy rate.
After the March unveiling of the survey results, the county formed two subcommittees with 10 to 15 volunteers each to determine how to address the top concerns. One looked at access to care; the other looked into mental health.
Each subcommittee features representatives of some of the county’s biggest agencies and departments, such as area hospitals, governments and nonprofit organizations.
“These groups are responsible in finding evidence-based strategies that reduce the existing disparities and inequities in mental health an access to care,” explained Christine Gunn, public health strategist for the Rock County Public Health Department.
Gunn is also the Health Equity Alliance of Rock County coordinator, representing a coalition of more than 100 community representatives who work together to remove barriers to health equity. Her presentation explained that the health department is focusing on making measurable progress in these goals, not just providing lip service.
“Measuring change is key to this process so the data can justify the the need to continue a program, especially when there are external funding and/or partners needed,” Gunn said. “Measuring progress helps to change procedures and policies and is a great tool to let funders and partners know if the program should continue after the designated implementation period.”
The department is also cross-referencing its goals with those identified in the state’s 2020 health assessment and a national Healthy People 2030 plan, all of which are working to change policy. All three identify health literacy and education, telehealth, and health insurance as significant issues affecting access to care.
Now that the strategies have been identified, the next step is implementation, which is set to continue through 2024.
Access to care
The Access to Care subcommittee featured area hospitals; the city, county and school district; and nonprofit groups such as the YMCA of Northern Rock County and the Wisconsin Nurses Association.
Volunteers from HealthNet and the Beloit Area Community Health Center are facilitating the Access to Care Partners subcommittee, and the Rock County Health Department and SSM Health trained those volunteers.
It identified several individual strategies, including improving health and health insurance literacy, facilitating better collaboration among health care systems, and providing better care services and competency in language, culture, as well as growing diversity in the health care system.
Among the proposed plans are working with libraries to hold trainings on health care software, forming a cooperative aimed at helping the system adapt through policy changes, providing eight scholarships for training to be community health workers, trainings to supplement existing community health care and creating a “community resource map” to simplify the process of identifying resources.
Mental health care
The Mental Health Partners subcommittee is led by representatives of YWCA Rock County and the Rock County Public Health Department.
The list of agencies represented by the group is similar to the Access to Care panel, with the notable additions of NAMI Rock County, ECHO and UW Division of Extension.
As with access to care, improving mental health and health care literacy and educating providers on various forms of diversity are key strategies. Others include reducing the stigma surrounding mental health, supporting intergenerational relationships and connections, and creating “inclusive spaces” to encourage gatherings and reduce loneliness.
“We will be working with youth groups to conduct an environmental scan of public places in the county and using that information to inform city and county planners,” Gunn said.
Among the proposed plans are holding mental health first aid trainings, funding NAMI’s Raise Your Voice club in schools, supporting a racial trauma summit, encouraging community gardens and “walking school buses” with older volunteers.
