Health Department and Hospital to Residents: You Talk, We Listen

From the Putnam County Department of Health:

BREWSTER, NY— Putnam County residents are being asked to share their thoughts and opinions to make the community a better place to live and work. The Putnam County Department of Health is partnering with Putnam Hospital Center to launch a “community asset survey” to gain insight into what the public thinks are the greatest strengths of the community and where the gaps exist so resources can be directed adequately to develop a healthier community. Already more than 300 residents have expressed their views, but everyone who lives or works in Putnam County is invited to voice their opinions. The quick and anonymous survey is on the homepage of the Putnam County website at www.putnamcountyny.com and will run until July 31. The direct link is here.

 “This is a chance to let us know where you think improvement efforts should focus,” explained Michael Nesheiwat, MD, Interim Commissioner of Health for the Putnam County. “This survey is an integral step in developing our community health assessment, which looks at an array of socio-economic factors that affect health,” Dr. Nesheiwat continued, “and the results help form the basis for our Community Health Improvement Plan.”

From start to finish, the survey has 13, easy-to-answer questions that can be completed in five to ten minutes. The first asks respondents to choose the county’s greatest strengths from a list that includes broad factors such as low crime, a clean and healthy environment and public transportation. The second presents a similar list, but asks where improvement efforts should focus. The third question concentrates on specific health issues in the county, and the next two questions ask about how the person gets his or her health care. The remaining eight questions collect simple demographic data such as zip code, age and ethnicity.

Putnam County businesses and other organizations that wish to ensure their employees’ opinions are counted can contact the health department at 845-808-1390 or are encouraged to email the survey link directly to their employees.

The Health Department’s mission is to improve and protect the health of Putnam County residents through prevention of illness and injury. Core services include community health assessment, disease surveillance and control, emergency preparedness, environmental health protection, family health promotion and health education. For more information, please visit our website at www.putnamcountyny.com; or visit our social media sites on Facebook here and on Twitter @PutnamHealthNY.