Survey seeks community input on health concerns

Springfield’s doctors want to know what’s making you sick.

An upcoming survey will give residents a chance to sound off about health issues in the capital city and surrounding area, and those comments will help set the priorities of Springfield’s medical community for years to come.

The Sangamon County Healthy Community Survey is a joint effort by the Sangamon County Department of Public Health, St. John’s Hospital and Memorial Health System in Springfield. Under the federal Affordable Care Act, hospitals and public health departments are required to conduct a “community needs assessment” periodically, so rather than work individually, the three organizations are joining together to get a comprehensive picture of the community’s health.

“It’s more efficient and more effective,” said Mitchell Johnson, senior vice president and chief strategy officer for Memorial Health System in Springfield. “This is a much more comprehensive approach than any of us could do by ourselves, with a lot more opportunities for input.”

The survey, which will consist of an online questionnaire and public forums, will ask participants about diabetes, cardiovascular issues, access to healthy food, drug abuse, domestic violence and several other facets of overall health.

“We haven’t really done a communitywide survey on this scale before, or community forums in multiple locations,” Johnson said. “You get to tap into everybody’s expertise and get a common understanding of what the issues are and how different audiences perceive them.”

Once the survey period is over, analysts from the Survey Research Office at the University of Illinois Springfield will compile and study the data. Information gleaned from the results will help the hospitals and the health department set their priorities.

“What we’re trying to do is really get a good handle from people in the community on what they see as the biggest challenges to being healthy,” said Brian Reardon, spokesman for Hospital Sisters Health System, which runs St. John’s Hospital. “For example, if folks feel they don’t have adequate access to health care, we need to know that, and then we can increase access.”

Reardon says a similar survey taken about two years ago revealed that residents of Springfield’s east side felt they had little access to fresh fruits and vegetables – a condition known as a “food desert.” In

response, St. John’s Hospital, Downtown Springfield, Inc., and the Sangamon County Department of Public Health created the East Side Farmers Market, which is held on Monday mornings from July through September at the health department parking lot, 2833 South Grand Ave. East.

“That’s a pretty good example of how we really asked the community what the barriers were to being healthy, and what can the hospital and the health system do to address those concerns,” Reardon said.

The community health survey is similar to the Sangamon County Citizen Survey released in June 2013 and commissioned by the United Way of Central Illinois, the Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln, and the Center for State Policy and Leadership at UIS. However, that prior survey had a broader scope, including public opinion on crime, corruption, schools, roads and more. While the Healthy Community Survey will address some similar topics, the emphasis will be on how those issues affect health.

Jim Stone, director of the Sangamon County Department of Public Health, says the public’s input is important because the public may have a different view than those who work in the health sector.

“Oftentimes, perception can be a driving factor in whether or not somebody even seeks medical care or changes their lifestyle,” he said. “This is going to cover a broad spectrum. We’re going to lay out what statistics tell us and rely on input from the public and see if they agree with what statistics show as far as what the needs might be in our community.”

Dr. David Steward, associate dean for Community Heath and Service at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, calls the survey a “singular opportunity for the community.”

“If we’re going to bring the biggest problems forward to be addressed, this is the time to do it,” Steward said. “Springfield has an outstanding medical community, but parts of the community aren’t healthy. We could be better, and that would be better for everyone socially, economically and in all kinds of other aspects. If we can make an effort as a community to improve our health, that’s going to take us a long way in every other area of life.”

The first of five public forums is scheduled for Oct. 1 in Riverton. To participate in the online survey, visit www. go.uis.edu/sangamonhealth.

Contact Patrick Yeagle at [email protected].

Public forums for the Sangamon County Healthy Community Survey

Wednesday, Oct. 1, 6-7:30 p.m. Riverton Town Hall 1200 E. Riverton Road

Thursday, Oct. 2, 6-7:30 p.m. Union Baptist Church 1405 E. Monroe St.

Monday, Oct. 6, 6-7:30 p.m. Washington Park Botanical Garden 1740 W. Fayette Ave.

Wednesday, Oct. 8, 6:30-8 p.m. Auburn Community Center 118 N. Fifth St.

Thursday, Oct. 9, 6-7:30 p.m. Lanphier High School 1300 N. 11th St.