Through all the physical, mental, and financial hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a small silver lining to come out of the worst health crisis of the 21st century is that more people are beginning to pay more attention to their health.
Over the last two-plus years, an unfortunate trend in American medical society was that urban-based health centers lacked staffing to accommodate patient influx and that rural-based health centers lacked resources to help take the burden off the aforementioned. For one rural health center though, a plan to have adequate resources remains the goal.
This month, Summit Pacific Medical Center (SPMC) will be hosting two community forums. The events, which will be hosted by Josh Martin, the CEO of SPMC, will allow guests to learn about the top health concerns ahead of the release of SPMCs new three-year community plan.
SPMC is in the process of drafting the new Grays Harbor County Public Hospital District #1 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). The CHNA will help determine what the greatest health needs are for the East County community to focus on for the next three years and provides the basis for strategic plan development and the organization’s master facility plan.
According to Summit Pacific, the draft report, which focuses on 2023 through 2025, will provide an in-depth look at health factors impacting the Grays Harbor County community such as education, household income, age and ethnicity. The report will also compare the community’s health outcomes to state averages. Guests will also be able to ask questions and solicit feedback on the community health priorities for the next three years.
If you want to go:
For people interested in attending any of the community forums being held by Summit Pacific Medical Center, the first one will be Wednesday, Nov. 16, at 5:30 p.m. in Summit Pacific’s Ortquist Conference Center, in Elma. The second one will be Thursday, Nov. 17 at 5:30 p.m. at the McCleary Community Center, in McCleary. These events do not require an RSVP and will be free to the public.
