Substance Abuse: Priority Health Area #2

Goal: Prevent and effectively treat substance abuse across the lifespan.

Improvement Strategy: Raise public awareness of the risks and consequences of alcohol abuse and opioids

Activities:

• Conduct annual public awareness campaign

Improvement Strategy: Educate youth and adults about the risks of drug abuse (including prescription misuse) and excessive drinking

Activities:

• Implement education measures

Improvement Strategy: Improve availability of substance abuse data

Activities:

• Engage partners in dynamic process to identify data sources and gaps in descriptive substance abuse health data

Substance Abuse: Priority Health Area #2

Goal: Prevent and effectively treat substance abuse across the lifespan.

Improvement Strategy: Initiate Overdose Fatality Review Team (OFRT)

Activities:

• Provide data to identify contributing factors and inform prevention activities

Improvement Strategy: Raise public awareness of the risks and consequences of alcohol abuse and opioids

Activities: 

• Conduct annual public awareness campaign

Improvement Strategy: Reduce opioid overdose fatalities through expanded naloxone access

Activities: 

• Initiate Naloxone Use Surveillance

Improvement Strategy: Reduce inappropriate access to and use of prescription drugs

Activities:

• Examine Prescription Drug Monitoring Program trends

Improvement Strategy: Educate youth and adults about the risks of drug abuse (including prescription misuse) and excessive drinking

Activities:

• Dispense household lock boxes
• Implement education measures

Improvement Strategy: Expand, facilitate and promote medication collection program to reduce drug access

Activities:

• Collect data on medication drug box utilization

Improvement Strategy: Improve availability of substance abuse data

Activities:

• Engage partners in dynamic process to identify data sources and gaps in descriptive substance abuse health data

Access to Healthcare: Priority Health Area #4

Goal: Increase access to comprehensive, quality healthcare across the lifespan

Improvement Strategy: Explore a more integrated, effective health system through collaboration between clinical care and public health.

Activities:

• Convene meeting of partners
• Ensure community agencies understand current healthcare initiatives e.g. targeted outreach for chronic disease, 3.99 prescriptions program

Improvement Strategy: Promote use of primary care provider for all clients

Activities:

• Identify barriers to utilizing medical home
• Identify # of clients linked to primary care provider through urgent care and EDs
• Identify why people repeatedly return to urgent care and/or EDs
• Identify characteristics of east-end versus west-end users of free healthcare

Improvement Strategy: Obtain more detailed insurance coverage and access to the entire care continuum (from clinical preventive services to oral health care to long-term and palliative care)

Activities:

• Survey of providers
• Access detailed prevention and treatment coverage
• Explore perception of access versus reality i.e. relationship of insurance coverage to access and relationship of high deductibles to access
• Identify areas of need for health literacy (what plans cover)

Improvement Strategy: Linking those in need with potential providers in a health assurance role (quality of care)

Activities:

• Continue navigator role (HSD)
• Utilize health care advocates and other programs which link people to insurance
• Implement care coordination
• Integrate resource guides and directories

Improvement Strategy: Promote early identification of mental health needs, substance abuse needs and/or and access to quality services

Activities:

• Participate in workgroups
• Participate in strategy teams
• Support school-based mental health clinics or other healthcare/school relationships

Improvement Strategy: Explore public-private partnerships to implement community preventive services

Activities:

• Convene meetings with healthcare providers and community providers e.g. free care clinics, school-based health centers, other clinic models
• Continue to advocate for pediatric subscribers

Improvement Strategy: Improve availability of healthcare access data

Activities:

• Engage partners in dynamic process to identify data sources and gaps in descriptive healthcare access data
• Identify access at County and other facilities (crisis versus ongoing care)

Chronic Disease: Priority Health Area #3

Goal: Prevent and effectively treat chronic disease

Improvement Strategy: Make facilities available for physical activity

Activities:

• Convene local partners

Improvement Strategy: Support tobacco control efforts

Activities:

• Participate in coalition meetings and/or initiatives

Improvement Strategy: Initiate Health in All Policies

Activities:

• Assess potential for HiAP plan

Improvement Strategy: Support community efforts to promote breastfeeding

Activities:

• Education
• Support peer breastfeeding

Improvement Strategy: Provide community and establishment education to prevent foodborne outbreaks

Activities:

• Continue Establishment inspection and licensing
• Implement food safety online class

Improvement Strategy: Identify additional strategies for health promotion and disease prevention

Activities:

• Provide HPV vaccinations
• Other TBD

Improvement Strategy: Improve availability of chronic disease data

Activities:

• Engage partners in dynamic process to identify data sources and gaps in descriptive chronic disease health data

Mental Health: Priority Health Area #1

Goal: Increase opportunities for Racine County residents to experience their best mental health.

Improvement Strategy: Raise public awareness of mental health stigma

Activities: 

• Initiate annual public awareness campaign (Ending the Silence); use social media for awareness
• Ensure united and cohesive messaging through collaboration
• Update resource guides

Improvement Strategy: Increase local agency awareness of impact of childhood trauma on health outcomes

Activities:

• Implement trauma-sensitive and trauma-informed training
• Increase knowledge and tools for community agencies to assist residents

Improvement Strategy: Promote healthy families and healthy relationships

Activities:

• Implement and expand programs that focus on early childhood
• Implement programs that facilitate social connectedness

Improvement Strategy: Promote and enhance interventions aimed at improving coping skills and social-emotional resiliency

Activities:

• Conduct school needs assessment
• Initiate school-based interventions based on needs assessment and best practice e.g. mental health, bullying, suicide prevention; inclusion of parents
• Implement Mental Health First Aid training
• Engage youth organizations

Improvement Strategy: Improve availability of mental health data

Activities:

• Engage partners in dynamic process to identify data sources and gaps in descriptive mental health data