With an eye toward collaboration, reps from two dozen agencies–SCCAP, Helios, Headstart, and the county’s own Veterans’ Service Agency among them–met Thursday in Schoharie to keep laying the groundwork.
The idea of the Community Hub came from the Schoharie County Department of Health; it was the Hub’s second time meeting.
“We want to include all of you so the Health Department isn’t an independent silo,” explained Director Nicole Blanchard.
Hub members continued their discussion of barriers to service with transportation and the need for more and more diversified health care services with shorter waiting times–concerns that keep coming up “again and again,” Dr. Blanchard said.
Much of what they’re working on, as well as the data behind it, is being included on the Schoharie Community Hub website, https://www.schohariecommunityhub.org/.
In addition to information on things like flu clinics and car set checks, the website also brings together county- and town-wide health data all in one place.
That’s valuable for agencies looking to write grants, Dr. Blanchard said.
Again, “No silos.”
It also helps provide a snapshot for things like how many households don’t have a car, monthly costs, how many children are living below the poverty level, who has health insurance–or not–and population.
Statistics don’t lie, but they can be confusing, Dr. Blanchard said, with housing one example.
Seventy-eight percent of the county lives in one town, she pointed out, something that can skew the needs of the 15 others.
Also, housing assessments don’t necessarily reflect how people are really living.
“They may have a roof over their head, but no running water, no kitchen.”
Economic stability, education, and housing access are all things that influence health, Dr. Blanchard said.
The website is an effort to give a better picture of that data, she said, both as a way to reflect needs and open up opportunities.
The website also includes a link to the 120-page 2024-2024 County Health Needs Assessment, which prints together that data in one place and prioritizes needs and goals.
Two topics that prompted additional discussion were veterans’ services and homelessness. (See related story.)
Despite the challenges, one thing the county has going for it is its ability to look out for each other, Dr. Blanchard said, as evidenced by Thursday’s turnout of more than 50 reps from non-profits, county government, and health service groups.
“The human face is part of what makes Schoharie County so great,” she said.