County health agency seeking community input

The Jefferson County Health Department is undertaking a community survey as it looks toward the future.

“As the Jefferson County Health Department (JCHD) begins 2022 under new leadership, and as we continue to respond to and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the JCHD is developing a five-year agency strategic plan,” interim director Elizabeth Chilsen stated in a news release.

Chilsen follows longtime director Gail Scott, who retired in January after four decades in public health.

The Jefferson County Health Department is asking community members to complete the survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JCHDSPCommunity by Sunday, Feb.20.

Chilsen noted that the strategic plan will provide updated organizational mission, vision, and value statements; clear objectives and outcomes of public health programs; and a structure to aid departmental decisionmaking for short- and long-term planning purposes.

JCHD operations will be evaluated on an ongoing basis in context of the new strategic plan. 

“The development of a new agency strategic plan is an exciting opportunity for our health department to assess how we can continue to best support the health of Jefferson County community members,” according to the release.

It continued: “Stakeholder participation in the development of the strategic plan is key to the successful planning and implementation of the plan. This includes engagement with a broad range of partners, including neighboring local health departments, healthcare systems, county and municipal agencies, libraries, schools and school districts, institutes of higher learning, childcare providers, long-term care facilities, senior centers, community members and more.”

Chilsen said in the release that “community participation in the strategic plan is critically important to the success of its development and implementation, and consistent with principles of and best practices related to health equity and community engagement.”

The JCHD interim director encouraged community members to share the survey link with others who live, work, play or study in Jefferson County. 

Visitors to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JCHDSPCommunity will find the above screen prompting them through a Jefferson County Health Department online survey. 

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