Work groups will come up with an action plan.
Frederick, Md (KM) Behavioral health, senior citizen needs and adverse childhood experiences are the top three health priorities for Frederick County. They were adopted on Tuesday, Sept. 13th by the Priority Setting Summit, which is an outgrowth of the 2016 Frederick County Health Assessment.
“The priorities were established by community stakeholders who came together on Tuesday to determine the priorities for local health improvement,” says Dr. Barbara Brookmeyer, Health Officer for Frederick County.
She says these priorities go beyond the health care and medical fields. “The solution, in most cases, are not health care solutions. They’re really more social and cultural solutions that we need to be working toward,” says Dr. Brookmeyer.
Work groups have been set up for each of these priorities, and they will set specific goals and objectives to address the issues connected with these priorities. “We’re looking to have both the goals and then the objectives for each goal, as well as the action steps or strategies for each of these objectives to be finalized by Thanksgiving,” says Dr. Brookmeyer.
The Priority Setting Summit was sponsored by Frederick Memorial Hospital, the Frederick County Health Department and the Frederick Health Care Coalition. More than 100 members of the Frederick community, including elected officials, non-profits, county agencies, came together on Tuesday to review the most recent health needs assessment and other relevant data, according to a news release from the Frederick County Health Department. The statement also says attendees took part in brainstorming of several priorities and took a vote.
Efforts to address these top three health priorities will affect the work of the Frederick County Health Department or local health care providers, according to Dr. Brookmeyer.
By Kevin McManus