Public Health Departments Get Nods For Novel Data Use

Three local health departments in Oregon, North Carolina and Colorado have won awards from the National Association of County and City Health Officials [NACCHO] for data- and IT-driven projects in sustainable transportation planning, health disparity reductions and mobile immunization collections.

The Crook County Health Department, in central Oregon, won the small region award for designing a pedestrian and bicycle safety health impact assessment as part of a 20-year transportation plan with the county’s lone city, Pineville.

Serving a county of roughly 20,000 with a full-time staff of 13 and a $1 million budget, the Crook County Health Department compiled a health impact assessment as a part of work with the Pineville city council and community groups in a bid to expand sidewalks and bike-friendly roads in response to population health problems.