Stakeholders from across Oxford County will have the opportunity at a special virtual forum to provide input to the region’s public health and healthcare organizations and shape community health priorities.
The virtual forum on the Oxford County Health Profile will take place on Tuesday, November 9, 2021, from 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. The Oxford County Health Profile contains data on health outcomes; health behaviors; healthcare access and quality; and the social, community, and physical environment that affect our health. Previous forums were held in 2011, 2015, and 2018.
“We want to share this data and get our neighbors’ input about what they see as our biggest health issues,” said Becky Hall, Rumford Hospital’s vice president of nursing and patient care services at Bridgton Hospital. “The presentation will also include a list of past priorities and what our partners have been doing to address them.”
The virtual event on Zoom is free and open to the public. To register, follow this link https://bit.ly/3BMBJEo or contact Cecilia Natale at (207) 795-5792 or natalece@cmhc.org.
The forum will also collect information on local resources that could address the priorities. The information from forums and other community feedback will be used in the creation of new, county-specific health improvement plans in Spring 2022. Such forums are an important step in the Maine Shared Community Health Needs Assessment (Maine Shared CHNA).
The Maine Shared CHNA process will roll out in three stages:
County Health Profiles are scheduled to be released in August 2021.
Forums and other outreach will be held between September – December 2021. These include community presentations, conversations and other input.
Final CHNA reports are scheduled to be released in April 2022. These reports will include a summary of the input collected from our communities.
For more information, go to the Maine Shared CHNA website (www.mainechna.org). The site includes schedules, local contacts, Health Profiles, and an interactive data portal. The website will also have event agendas, handouts, presentations, and the final CHNA reports.
This forum is a collaborative effort among Bridgton Hospital, part of Central Maine Healthcare; The Opportunity Alliance’s public health program and Maine Behavioral Health.
