For Immediate Release: 10/26/2018 4:04 pm
All are invited to the public release of the 2018 Greater Worcester Community Health Assessment (CHA), which will take place on Monday, October 29 at the Worcester Senior Center from 3:30 to 5 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.
The City of Worcester Division of Public Health and the Central Massachusetts Regional Public Health Alliance have partnered with Fallon Health and UMass Memorial Healthcare to conduct this comprehensive assessment. A CHA is conducted every three years to help gain an understanding of key problems that affect health as well as assess the strengths of the community.
Topics will include a summary of the assessment findings as well as moving from the Community Health Assessment to the Community Health Improvement Plan. The six identified priority populations are: vulnerable children and families; youth and adolescents; immigrants and non-English speakers; racial/ethnic minorities and others facing discrimination; homeless and unstably housed; and older adults.
The CHA was designed as a population-based assessment, meaning the goal was to identify the full range of community health issues affecting the region, across all its demographic and socioeconomic segments. The approach to this assessment framed the leading community health issues into four priority areas: mental health; substance use; social determinants of health; and chronic/complex conditions and their risk factors.
