LIBERTY — The Northland Health Alliance seeks community members to share their opinions and perspectives on health in the Northland. Residents can do this through a survey or in-person events with facilitated conversations.
“The survey and community forums are crucial. They provide valuable insights into local health challenges and we can tailor our programs and services to address specific issues,” said Michelle Lane, senior director of Community Health and Wellness at North Kansas City Hospital, who also serves as co-chair of NHA’s mental and behavioral health task force. “For example, if the feedback indicates a high demand for mental health services, we can prioritize expanding our mental health outreach and support initiatives, ensuring we effectively meet the community’s needs.”
The NHA regularly seeks feedback from the public but this latest, large-scale effort is part of a three-year cycle. The information gathered this fall will be combined with local health data to create an updated Community Health Assessment.
This assessment informs which three areas the health alliance will focus on for the next three years.
During the previous cycle, the priorities were access to transportation and access to healthy foods and mental health resources.
Community conversation events
All community forums will offer food and participation incentives like gift cards. Most will include free child care. Those planning to attend should register, especially if needing child care.
The forums are 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, at Riverside Mid-Continent Public Library, 4510 NW Gateway Ave.; 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, at Ventana Grill, 117 West Broadway Ave., Excelsior Springs;11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9, at A Turning Point, 1900 NE Englewood Road, Gladstone; and 1 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, at Synergy Youth Resiliency Center, 2005 NE Parvin Road. A Wednesday, Oct. 23 forum at North Kansas City High School Auditorium, 620 E. 23rd Ave., will focus on children’s health in partnership with Children’s Mercy and LevelUp Kids, Inc.
Community Health Survey
To access the survey, community members can go to northlandkchealthalliance.org and click “Take Survey.” It is available in English and Spanish.
Questions in the survey cover a wide variety of health-related topics such as health care costs; access to providers; health information; drug, alcohol and prescription misuse; transportation; safety; housing; and prevalence of resources that improve health such as parks, gyms and grocery stores.
The survey closes Oct. 21. For more information, call 319-6171.
