Mathews County has been identified by the Virginia Department of Health as a locality that could benefit from a community health assessment, and meetings are underway to engage the community and begin the evaluation process.

The third meeting is coming up, with two different days and times planned so as many people as possible can attend.

Sessions will be held from 7-8 p.m. on Monday, March 27, at Mathews Volunteer Fire Department Station 1 and from noon to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 28, at Mathews Memorial Library.

Neelam Patel, the community health assessment planner for VDH, and Lisa Laurier, the community health promotion manager for the Three Rivers Health District, are overseeing the assessment.

Patel said that, with the U.S. lagging behind other industrialized nations in terms of life expectancy and overall health, VDH has set a goal to make Virginia the healthiest state in the U.S. by 2020.

To help achieve this goal, community assessments are being conducted in various localities to evaluate the health of residents and come up with ways to improve factors that contribute to overall health.

A health survey will form the basis for the community evaluation, said Patel, and the survey will be made widely available in public places such as the library, stores and restaurants. Residents will be asked to fill out the survey to let the team know what needs exist in the community. VDH needs to have 369 completed surveys in order for the assessment to be statistically valid, said Patel. Volunteers are needed to help develop a plan and make sure the surveys are filled out, she said, adding, “We want everyone involved—all income strata.”

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