GREENFIELD — Transportation, substance abuse, mental health, healthcare accessibility and food insecurity all top the list of areas where Franklin County’s health care system could improve.
That’s according to the latest Community Health Needs Assessment, which is entering the final stages of development before its release this summer.
The assessment is carried out every three years to identify the areas where the region’s health care system can be improved, according to Phoebe Walker, the Franklin Regional Council of Governments’ community services director. Locally, the process is overseen by Baystate Franklin Medical Center’s Community Benefits Advisory Council, a group of representatives from various healthcare and social service organizations.
The results are preliminary, and a gathering of local stakeholders at the Olver Transit Center Tuesday, organized by the CBAC, sought input and feedback, to be considered for the final report.
Kathleen Szegda of the Springfield-based Partners for a Healthier Community, Inc., a group working to improve health systems in the Pioneer Valley, said Franklin County ranks eighth overall for health outcomes, including quality and length of life, among the state’s 14 counties, according to data from County Health Rankings, a collaborative effort between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.
Accessing health care in the first place, Szegda said, was consistently at the top of community members’ lists of concerns. Transportation has always proven to be an issue in Franklin County, especially for seniors who live in medically underserved or remote parts of the county.
Szegda said other barriers to access include issues with coordinating a patient’s care between multiple providers and levels of health literacy among the population.
Mental health and substance abuse disorder was also consistently ranked among the top three biggest concerns. Non-fatal overdose visits to hospitals are lower than the state average in Franklin County, she noted, but opioid-related overdose deaths are higher.
The region generally lacks adequate treatment options, a situation local officials have been working to rectify with a new short-term detox facility expected to open in Greenfield this summer.
Franklin County also suffers from a lack of affordable housing, Szegda said, as well as increased rates of food insecurity in certain areas, including Turners Falls and Orange.
Vulnerable populations, she said, including older adults, children, latinos and blacks, low-income people or those living in poverty, and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community.
At the end of Szegda’s presentation, attendees broke into small groups to discuss the results and submit comments or recommendations for use in finalizing the report.
The full Community Needs Assessment Report is due out sometime this summer, Szegda said.
You can reach Tom Relihan at:
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