Every three years, Rutland Regional Medical Center has a responsibility to evaluate the health needs of our community. When we say “community,” we’re talking about a larger area that includes all of Rutland County. Being the second most populated county in Vermont means our community is diverse and varied. That’s why we work and collaborate with many people across our local region. This makes it easier to hear from as many Rutland County residents as possible to learn about our health needs.

Through the Community Health Needs Assessment, we ask people from our community, as well as doctors and service agencies, to share their thoughts about the health of their local region, the challenges their patients face, and the groups they help. The last time we asked for our community’s input was in 2021 and we found out that the top health needs were child care and parenting, housing as health care, mental health and supporting the aging community. We learned this through discussions, surveys and looking at local, state and national data.

Rutland Regional Medical Center will publish the next edition of the Community Health Needs Assessment on Sept. 1. Right now, we’re asking everyone in our community to share their opinions and help us identify our community’s health priorities for the next three years.

We want the CHNA report to be easy to understand and helpful for everyone. Many groups and organizations in our community use this report for things like applying for grants, priority setting, and creating new projects to address health needs. We also want everyone in the community to access this information because we think it is essential for everyone to know what our biggest health needs are.

The CHNA Community Survey is a positive way for everyone in the greater Rutland region to help make our community a better place in which to live, learn, work, grow and play. It’s crucial to hear from all parts of the region and a wide variety of people in Rutland County. We want to know how healthy we are, what problems we’re facing, and what things we need. The survey results will help to create a plan for providing critical support to the areas that need it the most.

Your voice is important, and we want to hear it. Please take the survey today at: www.surveymonkey.com/r/CHNA2024.

This week’s Health Talk was provided by Jamie Bentley, community impact coordinator, Rutland Regional Medical Center.

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