Healthcare agencies in the Shenandoah Valley are calling on residents to give feedback about the community's needs. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
The Central Shenandoah Health District, Sentara RMH, and Church World Service are conducting a community health assessment.
RACHEL DUMENE: The true goal of this assessment is for us to identify any weaknesses to health access or any barriers to health access within the community that Sentara RMH serves … what people feel like needs improvement.
Rachel Dumene is a communications specialist with the health district. The assessment survey is available online in English and Spanish through November 22nd. Local health departments also have paper copies available in Arabic and Russian.
DUMENE: An example of a question would be something like, what three health needs do you think are the biggest importance in this community? What environmental factors do you think are a concern in this community? What barriers might you … meet while trying to access healthcare services?
The agencies are soliciting responses from those in Harrisonburg and Staunton, and the counties of Augusta, Page, Rockingham, and Shenandoah, as well as Pendleton County, West Virginia. The organizers will host focus groups next year to augment the data gleaned from the survey, with the goal of publishing a report in the fall of 2025.
