PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Community members from across Aroostook County will be given an opportunity to shape priorities for community health at a special forum aimed at providing input to the region’s public health and health care organizations.
The forum will discuss the Aroostook County Health Profile and is scheduled for 9-11 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 3, online via Zoom. The Aroostook County Health Profile contains data that describe health outcomes, health behaviors, healthcare access and quality, and the social, community, and physical environment that affect our health. Previous forums were held in 2011, 2015 and 2018.
“We want to share this data and get our neighbors’ input about what they see as our biggest health issues. The presentation will also include a list of past priorities and what our partners have been doing to address them,” said Karen Gonya, communications manager at Northern Light A.R. Gould Hospital in Presque Isle.
The event is free and open to the public. To reserve a spot, please register at Maine Shared Community Health Needs Assessment: Community Forum Registration Survey (surveymonkey.com). In addition to collecting input on local health priorities, the forum will also collect information about local resources that could help to address those priorities. Forums and other community feedback will be used as guidance to create new, county-specific health improvement plans in the spring of 2022.
As in the past, this forum is an important step in the Maine Shared Community Health Needs Assessment (Maine Shared CHNA), a statewide public-private partnership that occurs every three years, Gonya said.
Community forums and other outreach are taking place across the state from now through the end of the year. This includes community presentations, conversations and other input. Final CHNA reports are scheduled to be released in April 2022. These reports will include a summary of the input collected from our communities. This effort is being led by Northern Light Health, Central Maine Health, MaineGeneral Health, MaineHealth, and Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For more information, go to the Maine Shared CHNA website (www.mainechna.org) for schedules, local contacts, health profiles and an interactive data portal. The website will also host event agendas, handouts, presentations and when available, the final CHNA reports.
The Aroostook forum is a collaborative effort among the Aroostook Agency on Aging, Aroostook Mental Health Center, the Aroostook Public Health Council, Cary Medical Center, Houlton Regional Hospital, Fish River Rural Health, Maine CDC Aroostook District Liaison, Northern Light A.R. Gould Hospital, Northern Maine AHEC, Northern Maine Medical Center, and the University of Maine at Fort Kent.
The Maine Shared CHNA is a public-private statewide effort. Funding for the Maine Shared CHNA is provided by the partnering healthcare systems with generous in-kind support from the Maine CDC and our community partners.
