Health Summit aims for two Orange County health priorities by December

Mental health, maternal health, wastewater and Covid-19 were among topics at the Orange County Department of Health second annual Public Health Summit on June 28 at SUNY Orange in Middletown. The Summit is held as part of a year-long Community Health Assessment (CHA) process to determine the health of County residents.

Discussion topics included COVID-19 data, top health priorities the County should focus on and epidemiological wastewater surveillance. The main goal of the day was to provide an opportunity for community partners to discuss local health trends, gaps in services, potential areas for improvement and ultimately provide input to select the next health priorities for the Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP).

“Collaboration is the key to improving residents’ health and their access to the programs that are available in our community,” said Commissioner of Health, Dr. Irina Gelman.

The Summit was a collaborative event between area hospitals and the Orange County Department of Health as part of the health assessment process. The OCDOH has been out in the community gathering input from residents at listening sessions and conducting surveys at community events. Community input is vital to assist OCDOH and hospital partners choose two priority areas for the next three years. All input from residents and providers will be compiled over the coming months and the 2022-2024 CHA/CHIP will be shared by the end of the year and available on the County website.