Healthy Counties Initiative Sponsor Spotlight: Esri

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BlogWhen we are asked to take action to support the idea of a “Healthy County,” we most often think of what they can do as individuals.Healthy Counties Initiative Sponsor Spotlight: Esri
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Blog
Healthy Counties Initiative Sponsor Spotlight: Esri
When we are asked to take action to support the idea of a “Healthy County,” we most often think of what they can do as individuals. These actions usually take single-focused examinations like food access, 0-to-5 Health, child and youth skills development, elder care, access to both physical and mental health services, improvements in social or economic conditions or better dietary education. But we know that while these single-focused efforts require action, they fail when built in a vacuum. For example, one of the demographics with some of the poorest health outcomes is our health professionals, who are highly educated, informed and capable people. Why? They are human. They are humans with multiple responsibilities: job, career, family and community, to name a few. County health programs are like the people we want to address, with many competing responsibilities requiring time and resources.
Like our own health objectives and goals, our county health programs need to be integrated into our lives and integrated with other county obligations and business processes.
As I read the recent publication, Healthy Counties: Fostering Better Health Outcomes in Children and Older Adults, I noticed that each case study described the interweaving of several activities, programs and multiple executive departments in their attempt to address the health and well-being of individuals within their community. Each of the seven case studies connected multiple agencies and funding sources. It is this interweaving or integration that I’d like to address today and perhaps identify an object lesson that we might build upon.
In the health field, one often talks about Social Determinants of Health, as these are the causal factors that predict a person’s viability and prospects. Significant focus has been placed on these data. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute take some of these indicators to develop County Health Rankings. See map. What is lacking with both of these valuable and impressive efforts is integration. How do we build from these information sets? How do we integrate these data with data collected by the numerous programs across many agencies within our county? The short answer that I’d like to propose is integration. There are ways to bring these data into meaningful context by appropriately integrating these national datasets and our county’s local operational health data collected through our regular work patterns. The context is geography.
A geography information system creates, manages, analyzes and maps all types of data, integrating where things are to what is happening there. Geographic information systems help you understand patterns and relationships in a geographic context. The result is improved communication with your citizens and better decision-making.
Learn about some of Esri’s technology opportunities to Healthy Counties.
- GIS for Health | Public Health, Human Services and Hospitals & Health Systems (esri.com)
- Public Health Crisis Solutions | Address Humans in Crisis (esri.com)
- Watch the recording of the recent NACo webinar: Addressing Health Equity: Three GIS Essentials
Healthy Counties 2021 sponsor Esri was founded to help solve some of the world’s most challenging problems. They do so by supporting users’ important work committed to science, sustainability, community, education, research and positive change. They’re committed to serving their users and customers and seek a deep understanding of their challenges and opportunities and work together toward viable solutions. They spend more than 30 percent of their annual revenue on research and development. That’s how much they believe in advancing and shaping the future of geographic information systems (GIS).
Health and human services professionals benefit from insights that the power of place brings to their work. Spatial data and GIS technology can underscore coverage gaps in the populations we hope to reach, the opportunities to improve workflows and the ability to plan for and mitigate against unforeseen events. Learn more about how GIS can help counties address health equity by listening to the recording of last month’s webinar on Addressing Health Equity: Three GIS Essentials.
When we are asked to take action to support the idea of a “Healthy County,” we most often think of what they can do as individuals.2022-02-09Blog2022-02-08
When we are asked to take action to support the idea of a “Healthy County,” we most often think of what they can do as individuals. These actions usually take single-focused examinations like food access, 0-to-5 Health, child and youth skills development, elder care, access to both physical and mental health services, improvements in social or economic conditions or better dietary education. But we know that while these single-focused efforts require action, they fail when built in a vacuum. For example, one of the demographics with some of the poorest health outcomes is our health professionals, who are highly educated, informed and capable people. Why? They are human. They are humans with multiple responsibilities: job, career, family and community, to name a few. County health programs are like the people we want to address, with many competing responsibilities requiring time and resources.
Like our own health objectives and goals, our county health programs need to be integrated into our lives and integrated with other county obligations and business processes.
As I read the recent publication, Healthy Counties: Fostering Better Health Outcomes in Children and Older Adults, I noticed that each case study described the interweaving of several activities, programs and multiple executive departments in their attempt to address the health and well-being of individuals within their community. Each of the seven case studies connected multiple agencies and funding sources. It is this interweaving or integration that I’d like to address today and perhaps identify an object lesson that we might build upon.
In the health field, one often talks about Social Determinants of Health, as these are the causal factors that predict a person’s viability and prospects. Significant focus has been placed on these data. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute take some of these indicators to develop County Health Rankings. See map. What is lacking with both of these valuable and impressive efforts is integration. How do we build from these information sets? How do we integrate these data with data collected by the numerous programs across many agencies within our county? The short answer that I’d like to propose is integration. There are ways to bring these data into meaningful context by appropriately integrating these national datasets and our county’s local operational health data collected through our regular work patterns. The context is geography.
A geography information system creates, manages, analyzes and maps all types of data, integrating where things are to what is happening there. Geographic information systems help you understand patterns and relationships in a geographic context. The result is improved communication with your citizens and better decision-making.
Learn about some of Esri’s technology opportunities to Healthy Counties.
- GIS for Health | Public Health, Human Services and Hospitals & Health Systems (esri.com)
- Public Health Crisis Solutions | Address Humans in Crisis (esri.com)
- Watch the recording of the recent NACo webinar: Addressing Health Equity: Three GIS Essentials
Healthy Counties 2021 sponsor Esri was founded to help solve some of the world’s most challenging problems. They do so by supporting users’ important work committed to science, sustainability, community, education, research and positive change. They’re committed to serving their users and customers and seek a deep understanding of their challenges and opportunities and work together toward viable solutions. They spend more than 30 percent of their annual revenue on research and development. That’s how much they believe in advancing and shaping the future of geographic information systems (GIS).
Health and human services professionals benefit from insights that the power of place brings to their work. Spatial data and GIS technology can underscore coverage gaps in the populations we hope to reach, the opportunities to improve workflows and the ability to plan for and mitigate against unforeseen events. Learn more about how GIS can help counties address health equity by listening to the recording of last month’s webinar on Addressing Health Equity: Three GIS Essentials.

About Richard Leadbeater (Full Bio)
Global Manager: State/Provincial Government Industry Solutions and Government Trade Associations, Esri
Mr. Leadbeater currently holds the position of Global Solutions Manager, focused on State/Provincial Government, and Government Trade Associations. Mr.More from Richard Leadbeater
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Webinar
Addressing Health Equity: Three GIS Essentials
Jan. 19, 2022 , 1:00 pm – 2:00 pmSponsored by Esri for Healthy Counties
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Webinar
Reducing Jail Populations: Revisiting Technical Violations of Community Supervision to Decrease Jail Admissions and Length of Stay
Feb. 2, 2023 , 2:00 pm – 3:00 pmUnable to attend? Watch the recording here. -
Policy Brief
Enhance Counties' Ability to Prevent and Treat Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders
Urge your members of Congress to maintain consistent funding for substance use and mental health services provided through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and pass legislation that enhances counties’ ability to provide local systems of care. Future appropriations bills should meet or exceed FY 2022 funding levels, particularly for the Community Mental Health Services (MHBG) and Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) block grants, which allow counties to direct resources to those with the most need. -
Policy Brief
Protect Funding for Core Local Public Health Services and Prevention Programs
Urge your members of Congress, especially those who serve on the U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Committees, to protect funding for local public health services and prevention programs made possible by the Prevention and Public Health Fund (PPHF). -
Policy Brief
Support Counties in Improving Health Services for Justice-Involved Individuals
Urge your members of Congress to support counties’ efforts to improve health services for justice-involved individuals and reduce the number of people with mental illness in jails. Specifically, urge your representatives on health-authorizing committees to support legislation that would allow individuals in custody to continue receiving Medicaid and other federal health benefits until they are convicted, sentenced and incarcerated; require states to suspend instead of terminate Medicaid for individuals in jails; and allow for comprehensive behavioral health services and the recruitment of health professionals in county jails. -
Policy Brief
Fund Local Crisis Response Efforts
Urge your members of Congress to appropriate Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 funding for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline that is at or above the level of $101.6 million appropriated in FY 2022. -
County News
Hamilton County, Ohio creates ‘Safe Sleep’ Initiative to prevent infant deaths
Hamilton County, Ohio launched a Safe Sleep initiative in an attempt to curb infant deaths related to unsafe sleeping.
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Webinar
Local Strategies for Reaching Families and Young Children Experiencing Homelessness
February 8, 2023 , 2:00 pm – 3:00 pmExperiencing homelessness in early childhood can have long-term impacts on health, education and well-being for both children and parents. Homelessness among young children is often hidden, making it harder to collect accurate data and ensure that these children are connected to the services and resources they need.02082:00 pm<p>Experiencing homelessness in early childhood can have long-term impacts on health, education and well-being for both children and parents.
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Webinar
Reducing Jail Populations: Lowering Recidivism through Jail- and Community-Based Treatment and Services
April 6, 2023 , 2:00 pm – 3:00 pmReducing recidivism through effective jail- and community-based services can decrease jail admissions and populations and improve outcomes for people with criminal histories.04062:00 pm<p>Reducing recidivism through effective jail- and community-based services can decrease jail admissions and populations and improve outcomes for people with criminal histories.</p>
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The Stepping Up Initiative
In May 2015, NACo and partners at the CSG Justice Center and APA Foundation launched Stepping Up: A National Initiative to Reduce the Number of People with Mental Illnesses in Jails.pagepagepage<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%" summary="call-out">
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Reports & Toolkits
COVID-19 Recovery Clearinghouse
The COVID-19 Recovery Clearinghouse features timely resources for counties, including allocation estimations, examples of county programs using federal coronavirus relief funds, the latest news and more.Reports & Toolkitsdocument03127:15 pmReports & Toolkits<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%" summary="ad-block no-top-margin no-bullets">
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Healthy Counties Initiative
Healthy Counties focuses on enhancing: public-private partnerships in local health delivery, access to, and coordination of, care for vulnerable populations in the community and community public health and behavioral health programs.pagepagepage<h3>Healthy Counties focuses on enhancing:</h3>
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Live Healthy U.S. Counties
The National Association of Counties (NACo) Live Healthy Prescription, Health & Dental Discount Program is a NO-COST program available to all member counties.pagepagepage<h1>With <a id="naco" name="naco">NACo</a>, Saving Feels Better</h1>
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Reports & Toolkits
Opioid Solutions Center
NACo’s Opioid Solutions Center empowers local leaders to invest resources in effective treatment, recovery, prevention and harm reduction practices that save lives and address the underlying causes of substance use disorder.Reports & Toolkitsdocument10123:30 pmReports & Toolkits<p>NACo's Opioid Solutions Center empowers local leaders to invest resources in effective treatment, recovery, prevention and harm reduction practices that save lives and address the underlying causes of substance use disorder.
Contact
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Global Manager: State/Provincial Government Industry Solutions and Government Trade Associations, Esri
Related Posts
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County NewsHamilton County, Ohio creates ‘Safe Sleep’ Initiative to prevent infant deathsJan. 30, 2023
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BlogWhat have we learned about governing during the pandemic era?Jan. 27, 2023
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BlogRecent federal action advances key maternal health policiesJan. 19, 2023
Related Resources
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Policy BriefEnhance Counties' Ability to Prevent and Treat Mental Illness and Substance Use DisordersFeb. 1, 2023
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Policy BriefProtect Funding for Core Local Public Health Services and Prevention ProgramsFeb. 1, 2023
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Policy BriefSupport Counties in Improving Health Services for Justice-Involved IndividualsFeb. 1, 2023
Related Events
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8Feb2023Webinar
Local Strategies for Reaching Families and Young Children Experiencing Homelessness
Feb. 8, 2023 , 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm -
6Apr2023Webinar
Reducing Jail Populations: Lowering Recidivism through Jail- and Community-Based Treatment and Services
Apr. 6, 2023 , 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
More From
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Opioid Solutions Center
NACo’s Opioid Solutions Center empowers local leaders to invest resources in effective treatment, recovery, prevention and harm reduction practices that save lives and address the underlying causes of substance use disorder.
Learn More