The Tri-County Health Departments and the Ministry Health Care system are in collaboration to review and implement improvement plans based on the results of a community health assessment. The triennial assessment reveals areas of strengths and weaknesses in Forest, Oneida and Vilas Counties and where the counties rank with the rest of the state. A repeating weakness for the three counties is mental health, AODA and chronic disease. Director of Forest County Health Department Jill Krueger says the assessment is a wake-up call for local communities.
“I think that’s why we are coming together more as a region partnering with the hospital system because those top 3 concerns have come to the top for the past at least 15 years that I know of in Forest County, and I’m sure in Vilas and Oneida Counties they have been working on the same top 3 priorities as well.”
Krueger says the support of agencies that service to the Tri-County area such as the Tri-County Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault and the Human Service Center have drastically improved the growth and development of the Northwoods.
For more information visit the Oneida County Health Department’s website.
