Marketing & Public Relations

222 Medical Circle

Morehead, KY 40351
(606) 783-6432

fax: (606) 783-6589

www.st-claire.org



For Immediate Release


March 16, 2012




Gateway Wellness Coalition
Improving the Health of Our Community


St. Claire Regional Medical Center (SCR), Morehead State University (MSU) and the Gateway
District Health Department (GDHD) have joined together to form the Gateway Wellness
Coalition. This coalition will conduct an extensive community health needs assessment in 4 of
the Gateway area counties (Bath, Menifee, Morgan & Rowan) over the next 12 to18 months.

The Gateway Wellness Coalition will conduct the health assessment using the Mobilizing for
Action through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP) assessment tool. This tool provides the
framework for assembling the variety of organizations, groups and individuals that comprise the
local public health system to create and implement a community health improvement plan that
targets services and education programs.

The goal for the assessment is to help us identify the most crucial health needs and concerns in
our community so we can develop a plan of action to address identified health priorities, says
Mark J. Neff, SCR President/CEO. This will include a complete analysis of our assets,
resources and data obtained during the assessment to better able us to plan for the future
healthcare needs in our community. St. Claire Regional will begin collecting information from
people within our community who are knowledgeable about local healthcare systems during an
all-day assessment on March 30, 2012 at the Center for Health, Education and Research.
Marketing & Public Relations

222 Medical Circle

Morehead, KY 40351
(606) 783-6432

fax: (606) 783-6589

www.st-claire.org

The Gateway District Health Department has a longstanding history of working collaboratively
with St. Claire Regional Medical Center other health organizations to assess and address
community needs. The community needs assessment is a vital tool that will help us determine
parts of our population who are most at risk for various diseases, says Jahnna Lane, Nursing
Director for the Gateway District Health Department. The Gateway District Health Department
will be conducting field surveys from community events, health fairs, churches as well as other
civic organizations.

Accurately assessing the health situation of our community is important when making decisions
allocating public or private resources. Dr. J. Marshall, MSU Executive Director of Regional Engagement
says, Understanding the health of our community will enable MSU to address our communitys health
needs and lead the way in promoting healthy behavior choices. MSUs nursing students will perform
community assessments in all 4 counties as a part of their community health course studies.

We hope you too will join us in preparing for our communities immediate and future healthcare needs. If
you have any questions, or would like to participate in some way, call Donna Besant at 783-6502 or Sue
Perry at 783-6513.
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Valerie Campbell
St. Claire Regional Marketing & PR Director
Phone: 606-783-6577
Fax: 606-783-6369
vpcampbell@st-claire.org