Community Engagement Meetings

Community Vital Signs initiative uses data to identify key health issues. The data collected is then analyzed as part of the Community Health Assessment process. The purpose of the Community Health Assessment is to learn about the health of the residents within our county, identify areas for health improvement, and identify contributing factors that impact health outcomes and identify and locate community assets and resources that can be mobilized to improve health outcomes.

The Community Health Assessment is a collaborative process conducted every 5 years. Data collected is shared with the community for input and identification of key health issues. The sharing of the information is conducted via Community Engagement Meetings throughout the county.

The goals of the Community Engagement meeting is driven by the initiative, and include:

1. Increase communication and alignment between the efforts of Community Vital Signs Steering Committee and community stakeholders;
2. Utilization of existing networks to engage a balanced and representative group of community stakeholders; and
3. Using a participatory method of gathering and utilizing input from the community to inform the Steering Committee’s decision-making.

The community engagement phase consists of meetings to gather input from community stakeholders-a rich mixture of professionals, community leaders, and residents -on health, education, economy, environment and other indicators that are of high importance in examining the quality of life.

Community Engagement meetings may include:

1. Community Stakeholder Summit
2. District Engagement Meetings, five meetings (one in each Supervisorial District)
3. Small Engagement Meetings, meetings with special and vulnerable population groups

The meetings are structured with the following engagement activities:

1. Networking, which consists of community members from different constituencies.
2. Informational sessions, this consists of government representatives giving keynote addresses, Community Vital Signs representatives introducing the initiative, Data presentation; and
3. Input sessions, which consists of Data Discussion – community members participating in rich dialogue sharing their reactions and knowledge about the data presented.