The St. Clair County Advisory Board of Health voted Wednesday, May 20 to move away from using outside contractors for the county’s Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) and Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) process, instead pursuing what members described as a more in-house or hybrid model ahead of the department’s next assessment cycle.
The board voted 7-0 to accept a memorandum from Medical Director Dr. Remington Nevin proposing reforms to the process. Board member Leann Clink made the motion and Carolyn Richards seconded it.
Clink’s motion stated: “To not commission a CHNA or CHIP with an outside agency and proceed through negotiations for hybrid models to obtain needed public health needs priorities for St. Clair County,” Clink said during the meeting. The motion was later amended to include “the board, the health officer and medical director.”
The CHNA is used to identify local health priorities, while the CHIP serves as the strategic plan developed from those findings.
The current 2023-2027 CHIP identified mental and behavioral health, substance use and obesity and associated health behaviors as the county’s three priority areas.
The most recent CHNA and CHIP cycle involved Health Department staff, outside contractors and community partners working together to gather survey data, identify priorities and track progress on community health goals through HealthySCC.org.
During discussion of the memorandum, Nevin criticized the current process, arguing it relies too heavily on outside organizations and data collection methods he believes are unreliable.
“This process is a lot of busy work that is a really good money maker for some outside consulting firms who produce big thick reports full of numbers and make it look really important,” Nevin said during the meeting.
Nevin also argued the department should play a larger role in determining county health priorities.
“What I’m proposing is that we internally take control over setting broad policy direction for the department,” Nevin said.
During the meeting, Nevin said future data collection and planning could continue in a different format, even if it is no longer formally called a CHNA or CHIP.
“We may not necessarily call it a CHNA,” Nevin said. “We may not participate in a process consistent with what others call the CHIP.”
Board members emphasized the future structure remains under discussion.
“So this isn’t necessarily, we wouldn’t be saying, okay, let’s pass the memorandum, let’s accept this hybrid model,” Richards said during the meeting. “We still have time to discuss the hybrid model that we wish to see.”
Richards added that the board was “just taking back what we feel we can do interdepartmentally.”
Health Officer Liz King raised questions during discussion about how participation with existing community groups and committees would work under the new structure.
After the meeting, Alyse Nichols, public information officer for the St. Clair County Health Department, told the Times Herald the department now expects future data collection and analysis to likely occur internally rather than through an outside consulting firm.
“I think the big takeaway is that we are not going to be using an outside contractor,” Nichols said.
Nichols said CHNA and CHIP data are used by agencies throughout the county to help guide grant applications, establish priorities and coordinate community efforts.
“This gives us an opportunity to say, okay, these are the three health priorities identified by the community,” Nichols said. “And how does my agency, or how do I as an individual fit into this and what can I do to move the needle?”
Nichols said details of the future model, including how the department would work with community groups and how surveys and data collection would be conducted, are still being discussed internally.
“We haven’t solidified any specific details yet,” Nichols said.
The Advisory Board of Health holds regular meetings at 9 a.m. on the third Wednesday of each month.
Meetings are held in the County Administration Building, 200 Grand River Ave., Port Huron, and are livestreamed on the county’s YouTube channel.
The board’s next meeting is scheduled for June 17.
Contact reporter Andy Jeffrey at ajeffrey@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: St. Clair County health board changes how it assesses community needs
Reporting by Andy Jeffrey, Port Huron Times Herald / Port Huron Times Herald
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