The Barren River Community Health Planning Council
Vision: The Barren River Community Health Planning Council envisions every resident in the Barren River Area River Area Development District will have the best quality of life possible by ensuring a safe place to live, work, and play. Healthy individuals, families, and communities are the cornerstone of this vision and includes equal opportunities to be healthy with an emphasis on personal responsibility for their own health and wellness and collaboration among all stakeholders.
This group of business, educational, community and healthcare leaders was organized in August 2011 to facilitate an evidenced-based community health assessment process called MAPP(Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships). A great deal of evidence now shows the poor health status of Kentucky and our region, and the impact on our current and future workforce, our local economy, and our quality of life. This Council is a Call-To-Action for local leaders who believe in the power of collaboration and partnerships for addressing the greater good for the organizations involved AND collectively as a community.
Participating members represent key stakeholder groups:
·School superintendents
·Non-profit and for-profit hospitals
·Elected officials such as County Judge Executives, mayors, and state legislators
·Presidents of the county Chamber of Commerce
·Visionary business leaders
·Representatives from our churches and other faith community organizations
·Agencies such as Community Action, United Way, Lifeskills, and BRADD
·Healthcare professionals: physicians, dentists, and nurses
·Western Kentucky University faculty
Our collective poor health status can improve. We have examples all over our region of tremendous efforts currently underway to address various poor health issues. Just imagine how much more we can achieve if we are intentional with our combined resources.
The Council’s MAPP assessment and planning process is scheduled to continue through November 2012. The outcome will be a collective, regional Community Health Improvement Plan that will involve commitments from all stakeholder representatives, and many other partners.
