A healthy community is necessary to ensure the growth and vitality of a population. Many factors contribute to sustaining a healthy community. In January 2000, a diverse group of community representatives identified access to quality health care as one of the priority health issues in Barry County. Since that time, a group of community leaders has worked to develop a community plan that begins to address the issue of access to quality health care.
The first step in the process was to define a focus for the plan. Realizing that the term access to quality health care can mean something different to each person, the group identified the one component they believed was currently most important in Barry County.
A healthy community is one that ensures access to quality health care. Access empowers a community to provide opportunity and education for its members to pursue healthy lifestyles. For increased access in the community, members and providers must be aware of the resources available and knowledgeable of the process to obtain services.
To begin addressing issues outlined in the focus statement, the workgroup identified community resources on access to information. Many resources exist in the community that provide information on a segment of the services available through agency newsletters, community calendars, and newspaper articles. For a more comprehensive picture of services in the community, resources such as the In Touch with Community Resources database, the Barry County United Way Information and Referral line, and the Pennock Hospital/Hastings Library Health Education resource room are being developed.
In addition to identifying community resources, a brainstorming session was held to identify gaps in the community on access to information. It was clear that although many of the resources were helpful in disseminating information to the community, all had certain limitations affecting their usefulness such as not comprehensive, limited audience, lacks personal contact, and/or requires literacy/technology skills.
Another issue identified was the discrepancy between information entry points and information warehouses. When a consumer is in need of service and does not know where to access it, the natural resource is to consult with a physician, clergyperson, teacher, or other similar community contact--the entry points. However, these entry points often lack sufficient information to appropriately refer the consumer to the needed services. Instead, information on community resources can often be found through agencies such as the FIA, Commission on Aging, United Way, or the Health Department--information warehouses. Yet, it is these agencies that many people are either unaware of or hesitant to approach.
Perhaps primary to increasing access to health care is knowing what choices exist in a community around health and human services. A common complaint heard amongst consumers and services providers is the frustration in not knowing a service was available. Of even greater concern, many people in the community do not know who to contact when in need of a particular service. The normal reaction is to contact a trusted community leader--a church, school, or physician perhaps--but those contacts are not necessarily aware of all the options available in the community.
It is unrealistic and impractical to expect that these "entry points" can keep current on all the services available in the community. In addition, many agencies struggle to effectively publicize their services in the community and often budget constraints limit them from informing a wider audience of their services. Instead, on the wish list of many service providers and community members is one centralized access point for obtaining information on resources available in the community. With such a system, community members and service providers only need to be informed of one service--the information and referral system. From there, access to information on the many other community services can be obtained.
The following recommendation was developed to begin to address the issue defined through the focus statement and to ultimately impact access to quality health care.
The Barry Health Assessment Team makes the following recommendation for Barry County:
The following considerations should be made in building a system:
 | The ability to provide 24-hour, barrier-free service (e.g. TDD/TTY access for people with hearing impairments; and translation services for inquirers who speak languages other than English). |
| The technology to access the In-Touch database and provide the necessary telephone equipment. |
| Staff who are or can be trained in information & referral. |
| The ability to monitor and evaluate the demand, accessibility, and efficiency of the system by using an automated call management system that is capable of measuring such items as call volume; call abandonment rate; and average length of call. |
The Health Assessment Team recommends inviting BCRN to provide leadership on this initiative, working closely with the Health Assessment Team. BCRN is committed to maintaining the In Touch system and has begun exploring the Michigan 211 initiative.
The following timeline is proposed for this initiative:
February 2001 – present recommendation to BCRN and the community.
April 2001 – research current capacity for service through United Way
June 2001 – develop business plan
September 2001 – fund development
February 2002 – implementation
For more information, contact:
Colette Scrimger
Community Health Assessment Coordinator
Barry-Eaton District Health Department
528 Beech St.
Charlotte, MI 48813
517-541-2602
517-543-7737 fax
cscrimger@hline.org
