Otero County Community Health Council
Otero County Community Health Council Resources

Otero County Community Health Improvement Plan FY2008
Executive Summary

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The Otero County Community Health Council is pleased to present the following Community Health Improvement Plan. This Plan is intended for use by anyone, including public officials, agencies and organizations, and individuals with an interest in the community. It is based on the findings compiled in the Otero County Community Health Profile, and strives to be a tool for the Health Council and its members to advocate for and drive change in our community's health status. The priorities of the Otero County Community Health Council Community Health Improvement Plan are: Reduce substance use in Otero County and Reduce obesity rates in Otero County.

The Otero County Community Health Council is a coalition of community agency and organization representatives, and individuals who are interested in building community capacity in order to work together better to share information and resources so we can do a better job with the resources we have. Anyone can be a member of the Health Council and we welcome input from all community members.

In this Plan you will find information and health statistics about the Otero County Community related to our Community Health Council priorities, Substance Abuse and Obesity. These priorities were selected through a group process based on data found in the Community Health Profile (and its earlier versions). The Community Health Council has selected substance abuse and obesity as its priorities for the next few years, because it takes time to change community behaviors that will change health indicators. However, if over time, it becomes apparent that a new issue has risen to the top of community concern, the Community Health Council can and will adjust its priorities appropriately.

The selection of substance abuse and obesity was determined by the prevalence of the problem and the effect of these on other health indicators. For instance, both alcohol abuse and obesity can be associated with increased chronic disease, and substance abuse can lead to other risk behaviors that contribute to teen pregnancy, STDs, violence, and injury or death. Also, it is true that Otero County does indeed have a problem with both substance abuse and obesity. These issues are prominent throughout health councils across the state, though priorities can and do vary among councils. It should also be noted that the New Mexico Department of Health, through which health councils are funded, require that health councils select at least 2 priorities and at least one should coincide with one of the state's health priorities. In our case, obesity is the state priority.

Data in this Plan come from valid statistical sources such as the US Census Bureau, New Mexico Department of Health, New Mexico Public Education Department, and other local, state, and national sources. Analysis of the data may include discussion of community attitudes and perceptions as a way of helping the reader understand that each community (county) is unique and community norms and attitudes should be considered when discussing community health issues. However, anecdotal information should always be understood for what it is: one part of the overall analysis of our community situation.

Also, within this Plan you will find a list of local resources related to the priorities. It is always true that such resource lists are outdated as soon as they are published, but we will continue to update this list as new information becomes available.

If you have any questions or comments about this Profile, please feel free to contact:
Lee Ann Loney
Otero County Community Health Council Coordinator
700 E. 1st St. Suite 720
443-8100
oterochc@tularosa.net