How healthy are the residents of Polk County?

What programs are needed to improve the health and wellness of Polk County for individuals and families, as well as for business and industry? What are the barriers? Strengths and weaknesses?

Organizers invited the public to sit in on a community wide discussion of health priorities and issues that will make a healthier Polk County for individuals, families, businesses and industries.

The public is invited to attend a Community Health Forum set for Tuesday, Feb. 5, at Isothermal Community College-Polk Campus from 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Call St. Luke’s Hospital at 894-2408 to attend. A light meal will be served.

Co-sponsored by St. Luke’s Hospital and Rutherford-Polk-McDowell Heath District, the forum will begin with a presentation of health data and local opinion surveys collected and compiled to assess the current health of Polk County. Breakout sessions will help St. Luke’s Hospital and the health district plan and create programs to address future needs for the health, well being and economy of Polk County.

Community input is a necessary and integral aspect of federally required community health assessments, according to Ken Shull, chief executive officer for St. Luke’s Hospital.

“We began this process a year ago to determine how we can best work together towards the same goal. Hospitals and health departments representing 16 counties in western North Carolina decided to collaborate on a community health assessment,” Shull explained.

Known as WNC Healthy Impact, this innovative regional partnership allowed efficiencies in compiling health data and provided localized telephone surveys to determine the health, attitudes and needs of each county.