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Mission
To improve within Portage County those characteristics that are
generally considered in determining the health of a community

For many years United Way of Portage County has found itself needing more funding than it was able to secure to serve Portage County residents in need of their assistance. In 2004, the United Way’s Board of Trustees adopted a strategic plan that called for a new, updated needs assessment for Portage County and to implement that objective, it formed an Ad Hoc committee, renamed the Healthy Community Partnership. The committee was composed of both United Way Board members and others from Portage County.

The goal of this committee was to design an initiative that would achieve tangible, measurable improvements in conditions that contribute to the overall health of the Portage County community. These improvements, it was hoped, would reduce the demand for some United Way services and thus allow dollars to be distributed more effectively in other areas of need.

It is the mission of the Healthy Community Partnership Initiative to improve within Portage County those characteristics that are generally considered in determining the health of a community. The committee adopted the World Health Organization's definition for health, which encompasses multiple factors in determining the health of a community (i.e. health access, public health practices, public education systems, housing, public/private cooperation and decision making, cultural characteristics, economic conditions, and so forth).

United Way of Portage County contracted with Dr. Scott and InfoExpress of Ohio, Inc. to assist the Portage County Healthy Community Partnership process by providing data collection and research services, and by preparing a written summary of findings regarding how Portage County ranks in comparison to regional/state/national data. The report, Leading Health Indicators for Portage County, Ohio, includes both narrative and graphic information and was presented to the Ad Hoc Committee of the Portage County Healthy Community Partnership in November, 2006. This report focused on health and economic factors.

Having solicited a wide variety of leaders in Portage County, the following people have offered to participate in the initial Healthy Community Partnership, which began meeting in January, 2007.

The expanded membership first met in February 2007. Using the, Leading Health Indicators for Portage County, Ohio Report, the committee adopted as the first "action" project the immunization of children in Portage County who are 36 months and younger. The report showed that in Portage County children 36 months and younger had a much lower immunization rate than in the State or nationally. The leadership of the Portage County Health Department accepted responsibility with some Healthy Community Partnership members to research the options to address this issue and move forward.

Since the summer of 2007, the focus has been on addressing the weaknesses in the data collection of immunizations and related issues. The goal is to establish a centralized database that will enable all providers of immunizations to know the status of a child's immunizations and to establish a follow-up process to contact those families that are not timely. Two meetings with the Director of the Ohio Department of Health have been held to gain their support and assistance in not only the immunization project but future "action" projects of the Healthy Community Partnership.

April, 2008 Update:
The immunization project is proceeding, almost on schedule. The Portage County Health Department leadership has spearheaded this effort and gain the collaboration of state, county, local government support and local physician input. The goal of this project is to increase the immunization documented rate from the current 65% to 75% and then to 85%.

A 3-year budget to do this is projected to cost $170,000 - $180,000. The major costs are for hardware and software for the central data base and a public health outreach coordinator. Robinson Memorial Hospital Foundation (RMHF) has pledged $86,500 over three years toward our budget as long as the Healthy Community Partnership raises the balance. This is a major, major commitment from RMHF and the HCP would like to thank Steve Colecchi and their Board for making it happen.

The Healthy Community Partnership is now focusing our discussions on the adolescent obesity/physical exercise topic.

The Healthy Community Partnership has also drafted a "sustainability plan" for the HCP, which among other things includes the need to tell our pubic officials of our purpose, activities and try to gain their support for the principles of a "health community" so that as they develop policy and set regulations, such issues are taken into consideration.