From the Rappahannock Area Health District:
The Rappahannock Area Health District is pleased to announce the 2022 Community Health Assessment (CHA) is now available online for viewing and public comment. This assessment identifies health-related needs and community assets for Planning District 16, including the City of Fredericksburg and the Counties of Stafford, Spotsylvania, King George, and Caroline.
“We are proud to be able to share this information with the community,” said RAHD’s Health Director Dr. Olugbenga Obasanjo. “The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how destructive it is when our community’s health is at risk. This Community Health Assessment comes at an opportune time to allow us to reassess the broader health needs in our community and also identify the assets we can leverage to address those needs.”
This is the first time RAHD and Mary Washington Healthcare (MWHC) partnered to complete this initiative. With the support and feedback from more than 70 additional community organizations, the CHA process collected quantitative data, qualitative data, and community feedback related to health in our community. Much of the data looks beyond the traditional medical definition of health to examine the social determinants of health such as housing, income, employment, education, and access to healthy food, all of which play an integral role in health outcomes.
The report is available at www.vdh.virginia.gov/rappahannock and is open to public comment through Sunday, April 3. Area residents are encouraged to provide public comment on the report before the project moves onto its second phase– the Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) .
The CHIP builds on the CHA by prioritizing the top identified health issues and developing a plan to address those issues. The first CHIP meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 5 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. The exact location will be chosen based on COVID-19 transmission levels. It will be confirmed by late March and announced on the RAHD website. All CHIP meetings are open to the public.
