Expect healthcare survey takers to visit next week

Community members throughout Adams County have an opportunity to offer their opinions on health care and other health related issues by participating in a community health opinion survey. The door-to-door survey will be conducted April 14 through April 19.

The residences visited have been preselected through the Center of Disease Control (CDC), and the results must be completed within the week in order for the area to qualify for official data collection, to be reported in 2015. The goal for the Adams County area is to complete 196 surveys, and the household visits have already been decided based on clusters determined by the CDC.

There are 34 clusters selected in Adams County, with eight clusters selected within the Ritzville, Lind and Washtucna communities. Within the three communities, four teams for a total of eight survey members, will conduct surveys. The concentrations of survey collection is focused on Monday and Tuesday for the surveyors to have time to determine if new households need to be selected by the CDC to qualify for data collection. The surveyors must complete a minimum of 168 surveys for the surveys to be designated official data collection.

The data collection is systemic and random, and the goal of the survey is to gain information about community needs and the understanding of healthcare access in the area.

Teams of two individuals will be visiting the residences regarding the surveys between the hours of 2 and 7 p.m. If the residents are not home when the surveyor’s visit, a door hanger is left at the household with information for the residents to contact the survey team. Residents are asked to call either to schedule a time to complete the survey, or to say they are not interested in participating.

Residents should be aware that the two team members will be traveling together and will be in vehicles with a “CASPER” sign in the windshield.

Each participating household will complete one survey. The survey is confidential and no responses will be individually identified. Participants must be at least 18 years of age.

A McDonalds’ gift card of $10 will be given to each household completing a survey.

The survey is a part of a community health needs assessment that is being conducted by the Adams County Health Alliance (ACHA). Community partners; Integrated Health Care Services (including Adams County Health Department and Adams County Community Counseling), Othello Community Hospital, East Adams Rural Hospital and Columbia Basin Health Association, have joined together to form the ACHA.

The needs assessment process involves reviewing data, developing a vision of health for Adams County and assessing the current health status of the county through community opinion surveys.

Important issues that need to be addressed to improve the county’s health are then identified and ACHA members will set goals and develop plans for working toward improving the health of Adams County and its residents.

Residents are encouraged to participate in the survey and ask questions about healthcare in the area.

It will take about 30 minutes to complete a survey.

Questions about the survey or the community health assessment process can be directed to Callie Moore or Karen Palmer of Adams County Health Department at the Ritzville office, 659-3317, or the Othello office, 488-2031.