In 2012 the members of the Mercer County-Community Organizations Linking Together (COLT) collaborated with the Healthy Communities Foundation of the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio to complete a comprehensive community health assessment (CHA).
The 2012 Mercer County Community Health Assessment provides valuable information to be used by organizations in our community to develop and implement strategies that will focus on wellness, access to care, and unmet community needs. In particular, the Mercer County-Celina City Health Department will use data from the CHA to ensure that we are providing public health services that meet the unique needs of our community.
The CHA served as the foundation for development of the Mercer County Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) to guide community health improvement efforts during 2013-2015. Based on the data provided by the CHA, the priorities selected for the CHIP are:
- Decrease Obesity
- Decrease Adult and Youth Alcohol Use
- Decrease Adult and Youth Drug Abuse
The COLT group met extensively to establish goals, objectives and action steps to support these priorities. The group continues to meet periodically to report progress toward completion of the various activities associated with the plan.