From JUDITH ZACCARIA/Cowley CourierTraveler
(Editor’s Note: Reporting for this story was underwritten by a children’s health grant from the Kansas Newspaper Foundation made possible through the Legacy Regional Community Foundation for the use of all media outlets.)
A health and wellness survey conducted every three years in Cowley County has been retooled this year as organizers hope to get more feedback and to more fully implement changes to make Cowley County healthier.
The HealthCounts survey this year is designed by RISE Cowley, a coalition of health interests, to collect feedback from residents about health and wellness concerns and resources.
William Newton Hospital public information officer Sarah Johnson oversaw the development of the last survey, as well as the current one. She said the 2021 effort had some challenges that this year’s survey won’t face.
The most obvious was the COVID pandemic that prevented the surveyors from contacting the community at large. All the work was done virtually, and only 2-3% of the population was surveyed.
“We weren’t able to do what we wanted,” Johnson said.
Most of the feedback came from medical organizations in the county because they were accessible. Only one “town hall” meeting was held, with fewer than 40 residents.
The resulting assessment of community health needs in 2021 lists several goals, some of the quite ambitious: lessening poverty, more mental health providers, obesity education, lowering drug and substance abuse, more affordable health insurance, and access to affordable and healthy foods.
One way to measure whether progress is being made is how well Cowley County does in annual health rankings. The county’s health ranking among the 105 Kansas counties was 93 in 2023.
The ranking actually improved to 84 in 2022, according to information found at the Kansas Health Institute, then regressed back to 93 in 2023. Cowley ranked 94 in 2021 and 97 in 2020.
“It takes a great deal of work to move the ranking even one point,” Johnson said.
The rankings, done by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, measure about 30 areas that range from things such as premature deaths and low-birth weight, to smoking, obesity, health insurance, poverty levels and even commute times.
Although the 2021 survey was limited due to the pandemic, some programs did emerge from it: the Downtown Doc Walks in Winfield, further development of the Cowley County Resource Directory, increased public education about insurance plans and increased advocacy of KanCare expansion, Johnson said.
The 2024 survey was launched the week of March 11 and can be taken online at risecowley.org/healthcounts, or through personal contact for about six weeks with volunteer survey takers.
“We need information from people on their perceptions of the health system, what they feel is most important,” said Tom Langer, the county’s public health officer. Making the survey available both online and on paper will enable people with and without computers to participate. Volunteers are available to help people who might be intimidated by the survey itself.”
And for the first time, the survey is available in both English and Spanish. The goal is to reach in excess of 4,000 homes.
“We’re including many more groups of people,” Langer said.
The committee also has $40,000 in incentives to get people to participate. Every household taking part in the survey will receive Chamber Bucks worth $10. Those working as surveyors can win considerably bigger prizes.
“We’re inviting a response from the public,” Langer said. “Good, bad or indifferent, we want to hear what the county residents think. It’s an opportunity for people to be heard.”
The survey is composed of two parts — a general survey and a second part for those willing to share personal experiences and challenges in obtaining healthcare or healthy living.
The 2024 needs assessment is the fifth that the Cowley County health collaborative has used to get a reading of the county’s health. The federal government requires that each 501(c)3 hospital, in this case William Newton Hospital, conduct a needs assessment every three years.
In addition to the survey, organizers also plan to hold eight focus groups centered around issues such as healthcare, public health, worksites and early childhood education. Those groups dovetail with existing focus groups being done by Cowley ACTS (Addressing Challenges Together) and Four County Mental Health, according to information provided by Johnson. Also, the 2024 effort brings in a wider collaboration of both health providers and advocacy groups, such as RISE Cowley, Legacy Community Foundation and the Kansas Health Foundation.
William Newton Hospital, the City-Cowley County Health Department and the Community Health Center in Cowley County are the main health care entities that worked on this year’s survey.
Asked why South Central Kansas Medical Center was not one of the participating health care providers, Langer said it was a matter of timing.
“The Ark City hospital was undergoing some changes and wasn’t able to become a participating member,” he explained.
